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I had done a month of orders and big pieces and I really just wanted to do some fun things for a bit. I do love seeing dancing( reels on Instagram) but I cant dance myself. This might be the closest I will come

I had just done some insect forms where i combined wood and metal to make lady birds and spiders. The rock was sitting in the ground by my letter box and I had the idea of doing something similar.I think he works well.

A lovely man at gembrook gave me 2 large tins of nails a few years ago. I had mostly ignored them but for my recent big piece(frill) I used lots of them… and barely put a dint in the pile. I have since been amused by the properties of this unloved material I have done a couple of mothers and sons but this one is also playing with old nails too

I do like playing with human sculptures and this one was very interesting with the feature panels in her dress. They took a while! Still they add to her charm and she is a little bit awkward and shy and a little bit happy her skirt is behaving so well. I think the flying man is showing off for her!.

I did something like this a long while ago but for some reason the idea reoccurred. I do like the possibility but I guess we do tend to make everything else in the world conform to our wishes. Like birdcages have gone out of fashion , perhaps this transport mode has no place. Still it is sort of fun to imagine!.

I have done a few pieces using axe heads,  as motorbikes ,dresses, etc but I was thinking about what else the shape would suggest. The idea of making it into a car appealed as it had a ready cabin area. Nothing really deep and meaningful but part of the creative process of trying to see things in a new light.

 I am a very messy guy and I had a shelf full of treasures.. things that were worthy of making a sculpture featuring them. In this case the base piece was the starting point as it was heavy rounded and rusty. I do capture ballerina pictures from Instagram and I used a photo of Katie Boren by James Jin as the form. Simple but attractive.

I did a between books with a tightrope a while ago, This one is much more simple . I must admit I usually have a few books on the go but often in a range of areas. Some really grab you and you cant put them down and others I am content to just potter on through. Most of my books now are on the ipad for convenience although I still have a legacy of a house full of paper books

 I was making small teapot forms using lots of small scrap and I was enjoying the process. I still had one big ring left from the last set of rolling that I had done and I thought why not a large flat teapot form as well. I also had the idea of doing one side with smallish flat rectangular bits to make some of my collection go away , so one side was small junk and very compact and the other side was flat geometric pieces. Simple and it found a home within the month of making.

I continue to experiment with how to make nice birds, This one has a bent flat bar profile filled with plasmacut sides and then covered with triangular feathers.Seems ok and it has its own charm sitting on an old piece of she oak and robinia.

I do like birds and I am continually exploring different ways to make them . In this case I wanted to see if tube cot round at the front and squashed at the back and with off cuts for feathers would be successful.It seems to work but I have ideas for further modification on the next piece..

I had made a piece a while ago called birds in the trees which was a combination of positive forms and negative spaces suggesting birds hidden in the trees. It sold recently and I felt the urge to explore the idea further. Some of it is similar but other parts are more dense. It will change too as the corten steel rusts as then the colors will be more varied .It is on a different style of base and this is much more floral and taking the forms outside the circle.

 I have been semi isolated with this covid stuff as has everyone else. It seemed appropriate to make some work reflecting it. This is the third piece. I must admit I live a semi isolated life most of the time , working in my shed with others occasionally dropping in. It really is no big fuss to me but for the rest of the world it is huge. I just thought I could make a version of it and put it in the same isolation that it is forcing on us all

I did a version of this a long time ago. Now I have improved the butterfly and possibly my character. Whimsical and a bit silly but it was interesting to me to do something away from the serious covid situation.

There was a lovely illustration on Instagram by Akira Kusaka of girls juggling stars and I thought of it being a changeover from night to day. I have reinterpreted it in my own style and added the window( another of kusakas idea) and came up with this. I do like the outsized hands.

Tidying up my bench( still not tidy) I found the negative form of a bird shape I cut out. It sort of suggested an egg so I cut it to shape, did the other bird forms and it seemed to suggest the variety of changes a bird goes through… I don’t really think they fly off to the stars but it seemed sort of poetic.

I have a number of ex students who do exercise pole dancing and gymnastics using the ring. It always amazes me the amount of strength and balance they achieve and this little piece is sort of a honouring of them. I also liked that I was able to bend the leg to be on one side of the ring.. still exploring the plasmacutting process.

 I bought a small furnace to be able to cast( melt) a lot of the odd bits of metal I have trouble using at present. This means I can transform aluminium, brass, bronze etc and this is one of my first pieces combining the casting technique with woodturning and welding. The face is bronze and the base is all welded but the body is a recycled merbeau post. Its a simple piece but more of an experiment in seeing what I can do. .

 I have been playing with combining copper and steel and this is really the latest  piece. The image was of a girl with a butterfly on Instagram but I do like birds more. The copper flower adds to it too.

I had a biggish wave form offcut on the bench. I often try to think of creative ways to use up pieces and the idea of couch surfing came to me. Needless to say I had to make a small couch and a surfer so there was a bit of development in just using up the off cut. Still I think the finished piece is fun.

 I count things all the time. Washing off the line, steps around the garden , all sorts of things. Numbers used to be a fairly important part of my life ( when I did sciences and civil engineering) but now I usually only use them for counting.I started on these numbers in 2019 but only got 2 finished. This year I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do with them and this tower form seems just right. We all countdown to something.. and sometimes the actual event doesn’t quite match the expectation. Hence my smallish boom after the big numbers. Still this is a lovely tall piece( and at present I can still lift it ) .

Having cut out the characters for Rosy ring I was left with some quite nice negative shapes. I was going to have them as a group but then thought that they would be a nice contrast to a positive scene in the foreground. Some of the poses suggested bowling and catching so I made the cricket players and the length of the pitch suited the line of negative backdrop… either fielders or audience.I don’t have any time for cricket myself but I did like the composition.

There was an album by Joan Baez csalled diamonds in the rust. I decided to make a diamond form and was thinking of a ring to put it on, mount it. I didn’t get the exact proportions of the diamond right and the original setting looked off.I remounted it and it looks quite fine now. I also learned that what we call checkerplate is called diamond plate elsewhere.  

I get lots of odd things added to the pile at times and one thing that arrived was this lovely pick. I could have cut it down but I do like to give credit to the original form if I can. I had made some landscape based pieces over the past months and this one suggested another landscape and character. It also reminded me of the gloomy painting in the Gallery about the Burke and Wills expedition and a pick… digs and the Dig tree is an Australian Icon. My wife suggested the character should be digging but I more or less wanted to portray a bit of the heartbreak of that return to camp .( and I didn’t have a lot of room left on the handle!)

I was given a weight this year and thought i might be able to make him a ”weighter” but the weight being cast iron would not allow itself to be welded. Hence the axle through the middle and the structure around it.. Different ways to use everything I guess. He has a bit of character and the title refers as much to my problem as to his...

 I Had some pieces of flat bar rolled into circle forms at Martin steel in Longwarry, I didn’t have any great plan at the time , just thought they could be used somewhere.I was trying to sort through my internal piles of metal and it seemed to make sense to start to use these. Hence one side is junk and the other is offcuts from Plasma cutting. As I looked at the finished form I moved it about until it looked good on the base. The eclipse idea just suggested itself because it is now in that form rather than perfectly vertical.  

I look through instagram for inspiration at times and a site called ermakova_a_g had some wonderful realist paintings. One was of a cat looking at its shadow. IT was in strong light so the top was light and the rest was shade and shadow. I wondered whether I could make it as part gal steel and the other part rusted corten. This is the result.

I have never surfed. I suspect it is because I have poor balance . Hence I have never skied, surfed or skateboarded. I have a girl who comes and does her own welding and she had cut the hole out of a spiked offcut of steel and it suggested a fish to me so I went further, added scales eyes and fins and then wondered what to do with it. I had previously made several characters in a variety of poses and one looked like a surfer so the two pieces came together to create extreme surfing..

There is a lovely site on instagram called silence is Platinum and they have pictures of silent screen stars of the past. Some of the photos are delightful and there was one of a girl dressed as a fairy. I sketched it and made it into a plasmacut but thought it needed a touch of colour to help it become more magical. The coloured feathers give it just the right otherworldly ness I was after.

I bought a bag of feathers from Zart art a while ago and I have used them in some of my small sculptures.I love the elements of colour and delicacy that they provide.I made some small simple boxes from a piece of murray pine and thought they would be an interesting combination with feathers and maybe metal. An experiment… as much of my work is.!

I follow Tjitske Kamphuis on Instagram and she does a series of lino cuts featuring birds. I thought I would create a piece inspired by her but modify the idea so it became my idea not a copy of hers

I am a very messy guy and I had a shelf full of treasures.. things that were worthy of making a sculpture featuring them.. this started with a building lifter and included some strainer bits and a couple of ball bearings. As it came together the contrast of fragility and heaviness suggested one of the creatures from one of my favourite movies.. the fifth element.. where the lumbering alien uses a key that is almost like a butterfly. Must be related somewhere!

My sketch book was full of ideas I hadn’t attempted and this was one of them. Simple really but it was interesting to combine the punchings and the plasmacuts… and used the head of a fish I had done once before  from the scrap box( with modifications)

I do Pilates and this has increased my flexibility, not quite this much! I saw a lovely illustration on instagram and thought to do something similar in metal. I couldn’t get a small enough curve to be the characters bend but as I was looking through my pie I saw the old trampoline springs.. Problem solved! I do see ballet girls showing this much flexibility and I must admit to not feeling that this level is not quite right. To each their own I guess

I do Pilates and this has increased my flexibility, not quite this much! I saw a lovely illustration on instagram and thought to do something similar in metal. I couldn’t get a small enough curve to be the characters bend but as I was looking through my pile I saw the old trampoline springs.. Problem solved! I do see ballet girls showing this much flexibility and I must admit to not feeling that this level is not quite right. To each their own I guess

 I was given a small box of finials, tops to fences , and 1 have made two into insects. This is the second one and I felt it needed butterfly wings. This reminded me of muhammed alis quote from the 60’s so I added the stinger and the title. It seems appropriate.

 I saw an illustration of someone hanging off a flower and it reminded me of the musical theatre where people would leap onto something and break out into song. I can see this character singing about how his love is like a flower ( but I can’t hear him!) .

 I started this piece because I had a small blue propeller type device from an old fan. It sat on my bench for a while , initially trying to become a plane then I decided it would serve this fellow for a hat. I then made the man and his wings . I think I would love to fly myself but being very solid I suspect that will never happen. I did parachuting once and that was pretty good and I do like that others attempt this from time to time in special suits. However I got the man done and took him up to put him on the log but he fell out of the trailer and smashed the blue propeller to bits. I aim to make a new metal propeller but my starting point has sort of gone away… still I do like his details and degree of fanaticism! .

I am a very messy guy and I had a shelf full of treasures.. things that were worthy of making a sculpture featuring them . I also like our humour in suggesting to tourists that there are drop bears so flying spiders would fit in wonderfully with australias fauna.

I Have had the face for over a year and she was quite nice but seemed unfinished. I had the idea that she might offer a bunch of flowers and as it is she is almost hiding behind them in a sort of shy manner. I think it works… but we will see.

Garden girl started as a portrait of a lass I met in Vietnam. I sent it to her but either the address was wrong or she had moved. Anyway I am good at recycling so I added flowers and here is Garden girl.

Where do ideas come from. I had sketched a treble clef and the fluid lines suggested a female form so next thing I know I have made one. The base is the bottom of an old doorknob but it seemed appropriate for the form above. And the title is sort of a play on words… sort of.

My granddaughter did this drawing last year . She doesn’t draw a lot but this on was sort of charming. When I was down the shed I found this twisted painted material which reminded me of the drawing so I made a small girl( face is recycled spoons) and body is part of a trampoline frame . Just fun but cute too.. like the drawing

 I have used some simple sketches to do plasmacuts but I always want to add colour and this one seemed to call for that. I found some earrings with the help of my wife and the finished piece seems quite neat

I am aware of gold leaf, thinly beaten sheets of gold which are used to cover statues etc.I liked the play on words of leaf so I cast some bronze leaves and made a tree of gold leaf.I guess it sort of reflects on how much nature is a treasure.. I know I love my environment here and I delight in having the chance to live among the garden and green..

Friends often bring me metal things they think I might use. This started off as a small green desk lamp but it suggested a skipping girl to my mind so with a bit of muddling here she is. The dress is anodized aluminium.

There was an offcut piece of spring sitting on the bench and I was saying to some visitors that it could be made into a holder , by adding a face etc. Well the next day I thought that would be fun to try and this is how he developed. It will hold handtools like scissors or secateurs but it was just another excuse to play.

I did a hillside form inspired by some of Fred William’s paintings in 2019. This went in Tessellar sculpture show and sold. I then did a much bigger version that sat in Warragul’s Smith st for a while but I did like the form so this is another version. In this one I chose a different shape and added birds to the trees and also the birds flying above the scene. As it riste( it is mainly Corten steel) it should develop a greater contrast to the tree tops .I live amongst the hills here at Jindivick so I am continually reminded and inspired by the scenery.

 I do love words that can be misinterpreted,. I saw something on Instagram which had a girl as a house and it sparked off a link in my head with some small building forms I had made for another piece. I did these two and the title just made itself..

I did a piece called homebodies and used a small house form. When the idea of house holders came I thought to use a similar form. As I made the bodies I had the chance to use a range of punchings and these worked out quite well. I do love playing with words and householder is a word that could be interpreted a number of ways. Maybe this is only the first!

 I made a face from odd metal parts many years ago and it sold at my first exhibition. I hadn’t thought of the idea for a long while until I saw another artist making similar rough pieces with clay.I decided to do a small series of faces using different forms of metal and this one using 3mm plasma offcuts is the first.I do like the ruggedness of the planes created by the pieces of metal and he is mounted on a base made from a gear from the old Kongwak butter factory.

 I made a face from odd metal parts many years ago and it sold at my first exhibition. I hadn’t thought of the idea for a long while until I saw another artist making similar rough pieces with clay.I decided to do a small series of faces using different forms of metal and this one using odd pieces of flat bar is the second. I do like the ruggedness of the planes created by the pieces of metal and he is designed to be a wall hanging.

This is the first casting I tried when I got my furnace. It is the impression of a spiky ball in green sand. It didn’t go in as deep as I expected but it produced this lovely texture which suggested an insects shell.I added the legs and character and the name suggested itself. It is not gold… just brass formed from melted keys.Sort of a lie I guess but gold bug sounds more appropriate than brass bug!  

I saw an illustration on Instagram of something similar and the idea of being able to make my 2 d image more 3 d appealed. It suggests that the girl got the ladder to get the cat down and now the cat is hitching a ride home… hence the title..

I was given a huge pile of offcuts from another sculptor ( Grant Flather) and one of the first pieces made was this lovely circular form. It is based on a wooden sculpture by Benoit Avery, another sculptor I follow on Instagram but the randomness of the panels and the slightly spiralling pattern reminded me of a lens on an old SLR camera. It has a bit of yin yang to it too and the colour is rather wonderful for blending in with the landscape..

I have two cats. This is the one that is most affectionate and I have done several sketches of her. In this case I hadn’t sketched her for a bit and the opportunity came up and her pose was neat and self contained… as she often is.

I did a piece similar to this years ago but this developed because I had made the character for one purpose and then found a different character with a better pose. I was left with the problem of what to do with this fellow and as I was cutting hearts out for another purpose this came to mind. The old JPY song “love is in the air” sort of comes to mind but also he is choosing the highest one so there is some symbolism there also.

There is an artist I follow on Instagram called Kensuke Koike who cuts up photos and rejoins them. I was looking at one of his pieces and I decided to make a split character… I then had the problem of what to do with it so I gave it a positive message by adding the heart and title. Odd but interesting

I have made a few love birds in the past , usually just trying out different bird shapes with heat shaped wings etc. Ihad been doing a series of things where I made a surround then filled it with nails and screws and punchings. I decided to do a heart shape and before I could stop it had turned into a bird. It looked too heavy to fly well so I decided it needed a perch and what better base than a horseshoe. Hence the title!.

Some one was demonstrating how to draw a manga character on Instagram. I could see how with a few variations it could make a lovely plasmacut so I had a go. I had to change the thickness of the lower ½ after I had completed her to give her a bit more stability but she worked out quite nicely.

I saw some weaving on Instagram and at the time I was trying to figure out a use for some braided wire I had. At college I had made a 2 ft cube with woven threads in each face.. sort of a coffee table. I decided to make this and it looked ok but I felt it needed a colour and texture contrast .. so I turned some small wooden balls and added them in. It is an interesting composition  but it did not use up all my wire.

I do like to draw faces and for this one I used a sketch from Instagram. I did like the balance of Positive and negative forms .

I saw an image of Akira Kusaka’s on Instagram of a character punting the moon through the stars and thought of this version. I think I have done something similar in the past but this has a different take and it was interesting to make

I have been doing some casting of late to try to get rid of the collection of Brass bronze and copper pieces I have. I made a small bird with the plasma cutter and pressed it into the sand. It then filled with the molten metal and the result was this bird. I had the idea for a heart being like a bird although my character has ended up a bit like a birdman superhero… so it goes!

I do like playing with human sculptures and this one was very interesting with the feature panels in her dress. They took a while! Still they add to her charm and she is a little bit awkward and shy and a little bit happy her skirt is behaving so well. I think the flying man is showing off for her!.

I cut some flowing forms in a big column for another sculpture. The other piece was definitely improved by cutting out these shapes( among others). .However I delight in looking at different forms and exploring interaction with them and these two made this beautiful simple but strong heart shape. I also had a small leg for a stool given to me and it was made from murray pine and it seemed a perfect base for the heart.

There was a title of a piece on Instagram called the birdhouse of the soul and that was the initial starting point.I did the piece and thought I really didn’t understand the phrase so I changed it to something that was appropriate to me.Ideas seem to land at all sorts of times but you have to be prepared to receive them( hence the birdhouse) .

I was given a box of finials, tops to fence posts or poles. I let them sit for a while then decided I should see what I could come up with..This is the second piece and I have added every bell and whistle I had , bobbins, gears pipes etc. It seems new versions of machines always do more than you can possibly deal with so this character has his problems figuring out all the levers etc.

I have made several pieces involving pianos and sometimes changed piano orientation a bit over the years and this is the latest version , swept away by the music . He is a bit cluttered but the idea was fun and he sort of works.

I bought a small furnace to be able to cast ( melt) a lot of the odd bits of metal I have trouble using at present. This means I can transform aluminium, brass, bronze etc and this is one of my first pieces combining the casting technique with plasmacutting and welding. The flowers are bronze and the rest is steel. I do like the play on words and although a simple idea I feel it works quite nicely

I had been given a bucket of keys from school and I was exploring melting some of them for casting. I then discovered some of them were steel so I could weld them as they were. I made these key flowers and it suggested to me a garden locked away.. hence a private garden

 I got these coloured wires from Zart art and I had the idea of using them as rainbows and soon the idea developed of adding them to a cutout tree form done with the scroll saw. The character is loving being near the tree and it was a nice combination of wood , wire and steel

I did this small plasmacut from a sketch I did of my son’s dog Ralph.He would like more activity but he just waits patiently for us to do something exciting… like offer him food!

I have done quite a few sketches of my granddaughter and in this one I changed an icypole into a book . The pose is the same although the plasmacutter does not seem to quite get the delicacy of her features. i did like the skirt flowing over the floor though

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with offcuts so this sculpture is about using up quite a few. I do love the randomness and earthy brown forms of the rusty panels and that suggested that the infills should be plant forms recolonizing the world.. sort of.I do worry about the amount of overharvesting people do and my solution is to live here away from most of it.

I have been experimenting with welding bronze to steel and in this case I had some lovely tap pieces in the pile.It sort of came together in a playful way and then needed sides for completion.

I used to really enjoy Peanuts cartoons and snoopy was a favorite. I also love climbing to the top of the roof mainly for the view. I don’t think I could have the ability to lie on the ridge like snoopy but with this time of self isolation maybe its not a  bad idea. My character looks fairly relaxed( mind you he is welded there so has little chance of sliding down one of the sides).

I saw a lovely illustration of this scene by Leanne Hatch on Instagram. What appealed was making the 3d ring a rosy into a 2-d with characters in the air. It didn’t look so odd as an illustration but I quite like this element. I did cut out each character separately and join then at their hands and I quite like the movement of the poses.

I have done a series of teapot forms using odd materials to fill in the sides. In this case I have used lots of old screws.Totally non functional but certainly clay people have played with the form so I thought I could too.

I have done girls flying on birds before but each time I develop a new bird form or person form I seem interested in how they will work together. Im sure we would all love to do this but it would have to be a dinosaur type bird to be able to carry me..

 I bought a small furnace to be able to cast( melt) a lot of the odd bits of metal I have trouble using at present. This means I can transform aluminium, brass, bronze etc and this is one of my first pieces combining the casting technique with plasmacutting and welding. The clouds are aluminium and they are attached to the rain by drilling holes in them.Its a simple piece but more of an experiment in seeing what I can do. .

 I look at Instagram for inspiration and there was a site from ‘crisalidadesigner” which had a series of women forms in a circle .. sort of matisse dance but clothed. I did like the idea of long hair and long dresses so I used that as the basis for my own sketch which has since translated to this plasmacut. It looks sisterly to me( who has never had sisters) hence the title.

I saw a distorted cat in an illustration on Instagram and it inspired me to do this piece. I added different layers to get the effect of a skinny curious cat.

 I have been semi isolated with this covid stuff as has everyone else. It seemed appropriate to make some work reflecting it. This is the first piece. I must admit I live a semi isolated life most of the time , working in my shed with others occasionally dropping in. It really is no big fuss to me but for the rest of the world it is huge. The title comes from a Warren Zevon song and although it is splendid to me I can see it would be fairly traumatic for most people.

I saw someone on Instagram cut up a star stake and create something from the parts. I did a version of this a few years ago and made the strange face which was not noticed by one of my little characters. He didn’t attract much attention so I recycled it into this rugged looking cats head . He certainly has more presence and the bits of star stake give him quite an interesting quality.

I do watch Star trek and I do enjoy Star wars and I had a collection of insulators given to me a few years ago. One I made into a ballet dancer and I suspect I will do so in the future. This one seemed appropriate to the wings I was making using the pieces of ballustrade as the frames and then filled with plasma offcuts and designs. It sort of suggested a star trek type device and the addition of two milking machine” engines” almost made it take off…. Well in my imagination anyway.

I do love birds and i have 2 birdfeeders near my shed. Everytime I venture forth most of the birds think I am coming for them and a giant rustle of feathers occurs as they fly to safety. I guess it suggested this piece but without the feeders or the shed.

I was given a box of finials, tops to fence posts or poles. I let them sit for a while then decided I should see what I could come up with..This is the first piece.  And it really is just the shape with metal bits added..More ideas to come!

Another metal sculptor made a stretching cat and I thought to do something similar using one of the old trampoline springs I have.My version has quite a different structure and head but the pose is sort of universal.

Sometimes I come home and there are additions to the pile. In this case this lovely handsaw made by Sandvik. There are a few people with plasmacutters making scenes of trees and landscapes using saw blades so I tried to do a girl with the hair becoming the handle. Because it’s a Swedish saw she became Swedish ballet dancer.

I went to an art fair a few years ago and there were wrenches covered with hundreds and thousands. I liked the idea as I love the randomness of colour and the incongruity. The note popped up on my computer as part of a scrolling through old sketchbook page and the idea of a sweet girl came to mind .Probably the phrase is sort of politically incorrect but it seems appropriate.

I follow a site on Instagram which has photos of silent movie stars, I drew a sketch from this and then a plasmacut.. not looking quite like the original. However she did have a feathered hat and this gave me the chance to use some of the feathers I had bought at Zart art.I do like the combination of materials although the girl looks a bit unimpressed.

I do like to draw faces and for this one I tried to minimize what was needed to still look lovely and make an interesting composition. The red flower just set it off perfectly .

I have done several face forms trying to get the lines down as simple as possible. This is the latest using a thicker metal. Faces continue to fascinate me and I will draw faces anytime.

I have always been a reader starting from kinder going through comics and now I read on my I pad. I have done a number of pieces using recycled books. Somehow sitting in our gallery I looked in the pamphlet racks and there was this bookmark from the book depository. I don’t know how it got there but I decided to do something similar and here it is. Similar but challenging nonetheless.

I was sorting through my boxes of small metal scrap and this lovely gear appeared. Someone had tried to weld it in the past but being cast, it didn’t weld well. I thought it would be perfect for a tutu for a smallish ballerina and so it is.I love the grace and beauty of ballerinas and I tried to make her static pose have just a bit of movement.

I had an idea for doing a tortoise and rider mainly through the plasma cutter. It worked out quite well I thought! I had a tortoise once but it wandered off in the garden never to be seen again. Such interesting creatures… and as to riding one.. well I have seen giant tortoises ridden in pictures .

I don’t ski.! But the idea occurred to me with all this talk of social distancing that skiers were already there. A bit silly but I have never made skiers before so that was interesting .

At the end of the school year DSC decided to get rid of all its old tripods from the science area. Knowing I worked in metal they told my daughter and she duly brought them home. My initial reaction to a car load of tripods was “oh no” but as soon as I got them home I thought they could be an interesting ball. I decided on legs in rather than out  for safety, and the first one I made a Gal steel ball to sit against the legs like a core. The second form I added a turned wooden ball mounted at roughly the focus of the direction of the legs and supported it on 4 triangles  and this is quite different from the first but seems to work well..

 I look at other peoples photos on Instagram. A printmaker and birdwatcher Kate Gorringe smith had a lovely photo of her two cats in the form that I have reproduced.I sent her a comment saying it would make a great print and then decided it would make a fine plasmacut. … and it is. .

I had a small piece of metal that was a lovely hemisphere. I made it into a stake and was looking at making some of my flower forms more rounded. This is the first attempt and the idea of a flower umbrella seems sort of charming.

I have done a few pieces using axe heads, motorbikes dresses, etc but I was thinking about what else the shape would suggest. The idea of cutting the top with the plasmacutter opened up some new ideas and this rather funky echidna was the end result. Nothing really deep and meaningful but part of the creative process of trying to see things in a new light.

I used to have a trike and I loved riding it…..Few years ago now.   I saw a trike drawing with the rider with his head over the bars putting in a great effort and it inspired me to do this one. When I came to find a wooden base for the piece this block was smaller than the metal but I decided to try something different and have him pedalling uphill. I still remember it!.

Some one gave me a collection of Gas bottles and I cut one up to make the round form in the centre here. I wanted to do something “ lying in the gutter and looking at the stars” Dylan Thomas ish but I saw a sort of similar form in an illustration by an instagrammer called Tobo Kurara and it then evolved into different points of view with one person looking to the stars and the other focusing on the ground. I guess we all have bits of each of these viewpoints. I also had the idea of it spinning a bit and the wooden ball just finishes it off

 I do sketches of cats all the time. Usually they are asleep and sitting near me in the lounge room, This was one off Instagram and it just appealed as it was caught mid contortion .I do love the flexibility of the beasties and although the pose is a bit awkward I do like that it isn’t the expected form I often do. .

I had been given a pile of balustrading during 2019. I already had used quite a bit of it but it keeps suggesting interesting shapes, I made the outside forms( 3 of them ) and was exploring different combinations. This is the one that appealed most at the time and filling the forms with very dense  “junk” both looked good and suggested a degree of pollution of our seas. Mainly its plastic out there but the suggestion still counts.

I have made 4 birds on this rough design now. I quite like the feathered edges and this one called to be an individual. I decided to add the girl as a rider and most of the other pieces came about as they were on the top of the pile. I often work that way… just letting combinations suggest themselves.Hence a mower handle , a cut rim of a wheel and the base is the cut rim of a tractor wheel( heavy). She reminds me a bit of a Harry Potter Quiddich game but the idea of flying through an obstacle course also suggests.I guess the idea of flying with a bird is age old and even though I am 2m tall it still appeals to me.

I made these characters in this pose and I was undecided about whether they were just releasing each other or hanging on tight. Either seems fairly positive.I have a wife who does this for me…  the keeping me grounded part..

I did a piece last year where I added one coloured flower to a plasmacut piece. I saw a lovely sketch by Ramon Casas and I adapted it to have a flower in the hat and a negative and positive form. Simple but an interesting form.

I saw this basic heart form with the circles on top in someones Instagram feed. It obviously lent itself to being made with bent bar but in thinking of my “junk” I decided to fill each part with matching  nuts and bolts so the message was emphasized. It is fairly large so I have painted so it can go outside if needed..

I used to do quite a bit of wood turning . I did a bit recently turning up some ball and egg shapes out of red gum and English ash. Initially I was going to make metal wings for all of them and make them into Harry Potter snitches( they have a golden snitch in the movies)However in my rummaging I refound a bag of craft feathers from Zart art  and a range of different snitches suggested themselves.

I did a lot of turned forms when I was mainly working in wood. I had this lovely Jarrah shape in the box and as I am combining plasma-cutting with wood I thought to make it a cat by adding an aluminium face. It also needed feet and a tail and it now works nicely

I was given two large aluminium discs. Initially I didn’t know what to do with them but this idea soon developed. I still need to do the second one but it took a bit of effort on this one so I have been putting it off. I do like the contrast between the junk steel and the aluminium and although no deep an maningfull statement it is fun. .

 I love to try to recycle things and obviously metal works well. In this case I have done plasma-cutting for the base, recycled timber for the body and brightly coloured plastic bottle tops for the dots.I am quite happy with the result and perhaps it bodes for even more combinations in the future

 I love to try to recycle things and obviously metal works well. In this case I have done plasma-cutting for the base, recycled timber for the body and brightly coloured plastic bottle tops for the dots.I am quite happy with the result and perhaps it bodes for even more combinations in the future

I used to do quite a bit of wood turning . I did a bit recently turning up some ball and egg shapes out of red gum and English ash. Initially I was going to make metal wings for all of them and make them into Harry Potter snitches( they have a golden snitch in the movies)However in my rummaging I refound a bag of craft feathers from Zart art  and a range of different snitches suggested themselves.

I was rummaging in my pile looking for inspiration and this strange heavy electrical thing caught my attention. It suggested doing something electrical with it but as I have very little knowledge of electricity this is what suggested itself. It actually came from my son-in-laws family and they gave me a trailer full of metal and tools etc but as the years have gone by these have been buried in the pile. I hope I did it justice with this humorous use.

I was interested in cutting something from tube and using the diagonal to create the form. I had a sketch in the book and I thought it would be interesting. I did a similar design last year but these are extended further. It has a bit of a batman feel but overall I was pleased with the result.

Bridges are so symbolic as well as practical I again wanted to do a bridge piece for the new wilddogs exhibition.

When we went to Jui Jiang one of our drawing excursions was to the bridge across the Yangtse( although they call it something else in Jui Jiang) I had the idea of using ½ a circle as the basis for a bridge and making some lovely pillars with the plasma cutter.I added the river and the cows we saw walking along the bank and the boats/barges almost to scale. It looks a bit formal but each piece allows me to try something different and overall I am pleased with the composition

I have used axe heads in some of my work before but when my pile was rearranged two more came to light. For some reason the idea of a “chopper” suggested itself. Peter Fonda in Easy rider was so cool and like any teenage boy at the time I wanted one The second head was a hatchet head so Chipper seemed a more appropriate name. This is the nearest I will get to owning a “chopper”.

I have used axe heads in some of my work before but when my pile was rearranged two more came to light. For some reason the idea of a “chopper” suggested itself. Peter Fonda in Easy rider was so cool and like any teenage boy at the time I wanted one. This is the nearest I will get.

I found some copy of Picasso’s dove of peace and again I modified it slightly to suit the limitations of the plasma cutter. When I assembled the leaves in the beak the photo made the bird look more like a cocky rather than a dove. Perhaps the cocky of peace doesn’t have quite the same connotations as Picassos but it is an Australian variant. Maybe next time I will try to do a cocky and see how it develops.

 I saw an image on Instagram of a girl collecting stars.  I was going to call it star collector like the old monkees hit but as there is a moon there I wanted to be accurate. Anyway I altered the pose and I like the overlapping plasmacuts..

I was thinking of ways to use some of the square tube in the pile.I had seen an artist years ago who made lovely polished buildings like this but I wanted to do something that suggested a community of buildings/people. I used up all sorts of odd bits in its creation and finally all it needed was the road to lead to it. I live in a small community at Jindivick( on top of a hill) and although it is not walled it does feel quite close.

Part of a series where I explore plasmacut faces but include other materials. In this case I added the wire to suggest the hair. I do enjoy trying to capture a face in just a few metal lines and the trying to get expression can be quite challenging. I think she looks happy with her situation hence the title

This piece developed from aiming to make some pieces more 3d  than I had been, I had the curved piece on my bench and it seemed a good base for a circular form. To present it I made the base using some of the many plasmacut off cuts I was amassing. The spiral form was part of a piece of agricultural machinery but is such a tight spiral that it has its own beauty to me. It really was a sort of tidy up piece but it developed quite a nice form

 I do like a good abba song but this girl initially was just using the dress form of a mechanical joint. Inside it were some lovely ball bearings and a holder which when released from the dress looked like a crown… don’t you think? Anyway I do like to keep similar parts together so she had a crown and the name was obvious.

I had made a plasma cut cello a few years ago and recently I had made a life size metal bar piece. This one was more to follow up on a sketch I had done in my sketch book and they are such interesting and sensuous forms.I have never played one but they were very common in my youth in folk groups.

 I did a series of fashion girls a few years ago and I delighted in their poses and then patterns made on their dresses by the recycled metal used. This is in the same direction and as I haven’t used recycled metal as pattern for such a while I thought it was appropriate to do a girl again.

 I don’t boat!. I have been on one once or twice but the idea seems always more romantic than the practice. Still I have been doing a series of boat forms and this one of the person drifting trailing their fingers , was an idea I had. I am a great follower of serendipity and there was a star on my bench left over from another piece so this was included to create a slightly different message. .. just drifting I guess!.

This started from an illustration by Meg Kolac  a Victorian illustrator which made me think of breaking up a face into sections for doing a plasmacut. I added more detail and it is really a simple experiment with the plasma cutter but the end result is effective

I follow an artist called Kensuke Koike on Instagram and he does the most amazing things with photographs of faces. This idea inspired me to use face elements in this manner. I have done versions where they have all been joined together but this time with wire for each part seemed very interesting. I think an even bigger version would be quite exciting and maybe that will develop in the future.

I follow an artist called Kensuke Koike on Instagram and he does the most amazing things with photographs of faces. This idea inspired me to use face elements in this manner. I have done versions where they have al been joined together but this time with wire for each part seemed very interesting. I think an even bigger version would be quite exciting and maybe that will develop in the future.

 I have made vases in the past and all seem to find a home. I saw an illustration of a vase with a face and thought that would be fun to build up layers with the plasma cutter. I also made a wooden mallet and dish to get the rounded form and it turned out quite well!

 I have made vases in the past and all seem to find a home. I was playing with some new flowers and a different vase shape and this is the result! They flower all year long but I wouldn’t want to be hit by a thrown vase!

I had this dress in my pile pretending to be part of a universal joint. It was calling out for a new life and I had seen a piece recently of a girl with hair streaming out behind her and flowers at the ends. The two ideas came together and here is my girl with flowers in her hair…. Maybe going to Sanfrancisco… like the 60’s song… maybe not.

I had a series of circles made at the local metal supplier.One  half circle was used in Chinese bridge and the other piece was sitting quietly. I had a sketch in the sketch book of an upright curve with spikes but I had another sketch inspired by an illustrator of some odd pieces around a circle. I had some interesting off cuts and this piece just came together as a change from the formality of the bridge piece. It looks fun to me.

 I often look on Instagram to see ideas. I saw a childs drawing on one post and liked the triangular dress form and skinny legs.I made a version as a plasma cut and decided that her hair would be better as chainsaw chain and I altered the flower position too. Cute I think and fun.

I often pick up things that attract me with thoughts of what I could use them with. The green glass pebbles did just this and they sat in the shed for years. I was looking at how some jewelers set stones in small cylinders and this came to mind. Of course I had to add a star and the idea seems to work quite well.

I often pick up things that attract me with thoughts of what I could use them with. The green glass pebbles did just this and they sat in the shed for years. I was looking at how some jewelers set stones in small cylinders and I did green tree 1. This is a second composition. Of course I had to add a bird…. It is a tree.. but overall this idea seems to work .

There was an idea for a bird on Instagram. It was made in fabric and had feathers loose from the wings. It suggested that I use some squashable tube ( trampoline frame) and also use the offcuts I collect when I make insect wings. The first one was sort of rectangular and the next two were sort of diamond shaped bodies but they ended up better than I expected. Initially I had them attached to clouds in a big ring but the rind seemed to have too much empty space and seemed to confine the darts and swirls of these playing birds. I cut the top part off and its much better now.

 I seem to have a thing for boats at the moment and the idea of a house boat of this form came to mind. Sort of the right shape really  and I guess its another word play

I had done a few pieces where I had one side as Corten and the other as junk to contrast what was below the surface and what was visible. I decided to do that for a person( face) and also start to use a bin of nuts, bolts pins etc as the complex form hidden. As it all came together I was very pleased with the junk side but I wanted another element to make the piece more 3-D. The idea of birds representing ideas seemed appropriate and the piece has quite a few aspects I am very pleased with.

 I started a small series using recycled old nails and some of the lovely bits of timber I have collected. I decided to add to the forms by turning small top sections and this has worked out well. The main branch and base is Rubinia, a lovely tree with hideous thorns but beautiful wood. There are roofing nails, fence wire and rusty nails in the piece and it does suggest to me the variety and ruggedness of the bush  

 I have made vases in the past and all seem to find a home. I was playing with some new flowers and a different vase shape and this is the result! They flower all year long but I wouldn’t want to be hit by a thrown vase!

 Part of a series using old nails and some of my timber collection. This piece has such texture and I love the contrast with the various turned timbers and the old nails. I added the plasma cuts to give a whimsical wave form as well

I saw a photo of a small jack russell. I am not a big fan of small dogs as I reckon if I had one I would stand on it and squash it. However, I do love the intelligence and keenness of the little fellas. All dogs seem to work so hard just thinking of ways to please us and it’s a real pleasure to be involved with any dog.

I had a series of circles made at the local metal supplier. In my sketch book was a series of bird silhouettes and the two came together. It is a simple scene and can be just beautiful or more meaningful suggesting species depletion depending on your own interpretation. I am very much a person who reacts to an idea and this is the one that called to me at this time. I do love birds and I delight in the amount and variety we have here. I would hate for them to “leave”

I found a lovely picture of Louise brooks a silent movie star, in a fluffy dress. It was a challenge for me to cut out the shape with the plasma cutter and I also had some feathers in my collection I decided to use as the dress . It seemed the sort of thing that would suit her fine

 I had the idea to make a heart form and then develop it into a cow.There is a song by the stray cats called Love Cat and I thought why not love cow. . It sort of worked and I do like the feet but it does look a bit sad.. I will try again for a cheerier piece

I had the idea to make a heart form and then develop it into a cow.There is a song by the stray cats called Love Cat and I thought why not love cow. . It sort of worked and I do like the feet but the original piece does look a bit sad. This one is simpler and more lively

 I had the idea to do a queen of hearts a while ago but I didn’t have the metal available. I had a sheet eft over from another project and I thought this was the time. I did like all the detail and I added bits to make the form more solid and supported. I have played with heart symbols in quite a few of my pieces so this is more or less following a theme.

 I was exploring the abstraction of landscape via textured cypress and turned forms and old nails. I was happy with the result but thought it was a bit non relatable to others so I have been adding a plasmacut form.I quite like the composition and all of us tend to choose where we live so it has a sort of universal reach…. Maybe.  

 I was exploring the abstraction of landscape via textured cypress and turned forms and old nails. I was happy with the result but thought it was a bit non relatable to others so I have been adding a plasmacut form.I quite like the composition and all of us tend to choose where we live so it has a sort of universal reach…. Maybe.  

I often look in the pile and try to think what to do with a particular piece. This started with the lovely propeller on the motor and it developed from there. I have been trying to use up my plasma cut offcuts so I decided to cover the frame with them giving a slightly battered and moth eaten appearance. I did think of adding another wing to make it more Tiger Moth like but I decided it looked pretty nice this way.. sort of Thunderbolt type of monoplane.It looked fine on the ground but it looks even better “flying”.

I had this girl and initially she was called” eco warrior”. She stood proud for a few years but no one seemed to identify with the piece. I also had a piece called “my special place” where I had a girl sitting on a large rock. I did like the form of this but thought that a combination of sorts would work well. Her “mountain” has been conquered. She obviously has achieved her goal and we all have goals of sorts in our lives. May all your mountains be conquerable. I was asked to repeat it in 2018 and add another character. This is the result

I started off by making a small junk ball. I then thought what I could do with it that was different and the idea of a bust came to mind. We all have such a random collection of ideas that they make us individuals and that is certainly one interpretation. The face and glasses came together and when someone saw him they commented he was a bit of a “no-body). The stand developed from trying to use a piece of retaining wall support from the pile and I think it works well in this case.

I have done pieces in circles where a drop was hanging from a chain. In this case I decided to make a cracked egg as I had been using lots of small offcuts to cover a number of recent pieces and I thought it would look quite effective.  When I came to hang it I couldn’t find the right sort of chain but I do regard myself as flexible regarding solutions and a spring was nearby. I think it works quite well after a bit of tweaking. The title could refer to me, the spring, the egg or nothing much at all. Again it just seemed appropriate

I often pick up something from the pile and depending on the direction my mind is going something strikes me. This started off as a big off cut from a wheel and as I was down on flower vases amongst my stock it occurred to me that I might make an oval form vase from it.The off cuts from the circle became a frog and the base was some off cut of metal lathe work somewhere that also was in the right place at the right time.

I see different jewellery pieces on Instagram and one of the shapes I saw was similar to this. I was trying to decrease the amount of offcuts I had lying around the place so I started the form and used large off cuts on one side and graduated size offcuts on the other .The centre part also used up some flat bar pieces I had and the overall effect I think is both harmonious and interesting

I used to do quite a bit of wood turning . I did a bit recently turning up some ball and egg shapes out of red gum and English ash. Initially I was going to make metal wings for all of them and make them into Harry Potter snitches( they have a golden snitch in the movies)However in my rummaging I refound a bag of craft feathers from Zart art  and a range of different snitches suggested themselves.

I do love the grace of Ballerinas. I have very little of it myself but they create images I love to play with. I have been doing a series of pieces from looking in my pile and seeing what is suggested.The body piece again suggested a ballerinas torso ( it’s actually a car part) and that pretty much developed from there. I have tried to get movement into the form and she works quite well I feel.

I started on this piece aiming to make a character, and probably a male character as I have made quite a few female ones in the past. It was initially to use up the old rusty square tube that made his legs. He then had a spring as a chest and was left as I worked on recycled landscape. Once I did his head the upper body came together and again he waited for a bit. I decided that he needed a coat and staff and he took shape as the pilgrim. The birds were the final addition and gives him a less forbidding air.Really just enjoying the creating and playing process.

When I did my last piece( ideas take flight) I started to use a bin of nuts, bolts pins etc and the positive and negative spaces were quite delightful. It was time consuming to set out all the bits and then weld them on both sides, but the end result was better than I expected.

I still had a part tin full of similar things so I designed this basic form in the sketchbook and had part covered with the plasma-cut offcuts to provide a contrast. I felt it needed a ball in the circle and I had an old counterweight that had sat in the shed for a long time waiting for the right use. It all came together nicely and the end chaos is all contained effectively by the circles.. leading me to title it placid.

I saw a picture of a painting that had lots of curved arches. I liked the idea and set about making a series of different sized arches with flat bar and junk. When it came to assemble I thought hard about whether to keep it mostly 2-D or move some of the arches to give it more of a rounded form. I so decided and the arches more or less made a fountain form. There actually is a rainbow fountain in Seoul but this is more just a rainbow of shapes within an ordered frame.

I have been experimenting with combining metal often plasma cut and wood and this is another one. I do like the combination of redgum and steel although it is a bit clunky.

There was this lovely piece of tube in the pile and I was thinking about how to make different cats. I changed it from the Tiger piece by adding paws and changing the face to use up some cut outs I had made for a bird bowl. Recycling! With these plasmacuts and bits welded on ,it certainly changed the scruffy tube into a much more interesting piece.

I have done a few treble clefs as sculptures. They are such an interesting shape. It originally was the letter G but changed over the years. I had a small bucket of river pebbles from a garden supply and I thought that it would make an interesting combination. I was going to add lines as in lines of music but I decided it would detract from the grace of the initial form. The pun is a touch lame  but I sort of like puns so I still kept it.

 I have made vases in the past and all seem to find a home. I was playing with some new flowers and a different vase shape and this is the result! They flower all year long but I wouldn’t want to be hit by a thrown vase!

We had an exhibition by Nicole Smith a few years ago and I was taken by her girls with things in their hair. I saw another piece by Chaosego on Instagram and I wanted to try out a different way of doing hair and this evolved. They were definitely the inspiration but both had done illustrations and I do love welding things. I have never sailed so although I have thought about it I have no experience but it did seem an interesting idea.

I never had the seventh book. I did have quite a few of the other  readers going through primary school but Preston Tech must have thought we didn’t need a reader. I found this one in an opp shop and I do like the bored scribbles on the cover. I looked at some of the content and it had all sorts of introductions to great writers and poets. it is only lightly glued together so have a look. It was supposed to take you to different worlds( hence the balloon) and some of the characters might have become part of your reading journey.

In the weekend paper was this lovely pose of a running girl. I can’t run much but I appreciate the style and grace of those who can. I redrew it and cut out the body parts and added nails to fill in the parts almost looking like muscles and tendons. She looks sharp and hence the title.

I was looking at a spiral woven basket and the idea came to me of a shell form using junk material on one side and offcuts on the other. I was in the process of lifting my plasma cutting bench off the floor so I didn’t have thousands of small off cuts underneath and these are what I used to give that close grained texture to the other side. The last element was an old wagon wheel rim which was in the pile for years and it was almost the ideal size for this piece,

I was given a small pile of cut up balustrade at the end of 2018. The shapes were quite graceful and I explored using them in several ways. One is in this form which looks to me like a ninja star.I used to watch the Samurai when I was a kid and like everyone was amazed at ninjas and their throwing stars .

“In the past, shuriken ( Ninja stars) were typically considered to be a secondary weapon to the sword, and were not generally considered to be a killing weapon. Ninja stars were commonly used to slow down attackers or used as a distraction. There is even evidence that ninjas sometimes partially buried throwing stars in the ground as a way to maim their attackers when stepped on.

Shuriken come in many different weights, sizes and styles. In Japan, ninja stars were initially made from everyday items like nails, knives, and plates of metal, which is one of the reasons why you can find such a large variety of ninja throwing stars.

I tried a few different arrangement but this one seemed to be the a dynamic and interesting one. The covering is all odd bits of plasma cutting off cuts.

One of my friends gave me an old BBQ and the orange dish that went under it suggested a type of skirt for one of my girls. I did most of the girl and I was looking on Instagram and there was an artist making faces out of different sized tubes and I thought “how would that process work with metal” . Hence her face.. perhaps a touch plain but full of character. Having just finished her I was showing her to a lady saying I still needed to decide on the name for her and she came up with”sitting Barbie”. The original Barbies did not have knees but obviously there are some that have… including mine!

I have been experimenting with combining wood turning with my metal creations. I used to turn lots of stuff but now I find more fun to be had with metal. This is a unique combination in that the top part is screwed to the dress and really that should pull out after a bit but because it has the skipping rope joining the two metal parts it should be fine for at least my lifetime!.. and she is cute on top of an old gear from the Kongwak butter factory!

 I had power problems with my plasma cutter and it was out of action for over a week while it was fixed.I must have had withdrawal from not using it as when it was back in action I looked through the sketches I had done over the week for a suitable candidate. The girl looked lovely but I ended up making her neck too long. I cut her head off and shortened her neck and then welded her back together with her head slightly turned so her hair flowed over her shoulder. Possibly better than the original. 

 I did a piece called home loan earlier this year and I had the idea of doing a piece of a man with a house on his back.. sort of like a snail. I do like the sense of struggle I have achieved and certainly for the younger generation this is possibly a thing of the past as house prices keep on rising

I saw this image as an illustration and I thought to make it into a flying rider. Is he just loving riding or is he thinking of something else? It does seem joyous to me whichever is the answer

 I do sing the “skye boat song” from time to time and speed bonnie boat like a bird on the wing is one of the lines. It got me thinking about winged boats( not so much winged keels) and I did two versions. One with feathers and one with butterfly wings. Just whimsical but amusing and maybe there are possibilities in the idea!!

 I do sing the “skye boat song” from time to time and speed bonnie boat like a bird on the wing is one of the lines. It got me thinking about winged boats( not so much winged keels) and I did two versions. One with feathers and one with butterfly wings. Just whimsical but amusing and maybe there are possibilities in the idea!!

I often see odd things on Instagram and this idea must have come from there. I hadn’t done any small pieces for a bit so I was trying to catch up on ideas I wanted to do. When I was at Mortlake one of the other teachers had a land yacht and it was odd not see a sail going past the windows as he sailed up the road. The title is from an old Lulu song written by Neil Diamond that I had almost forgotten about until I made this piece.

I was listening to a Leonard Cohen song and this line was part of the song. A version is also attributed to Rumi and also Groucho Marx and Spike Milligan ( and it even featured in a Dr who series). All sort of heroes of mine. I had a very large piece of hollow square tube and the idea of making it into a cube, separating it by a crack type line and then filling the space with a very different texture seemed interesting. As I did it it called out to spin and then needed a joyful character to appreciate it.Sort of a round about way to come up with a sculpture but that is how it does happen at times

I was looking at different ideas and there was an illustration similar to this. I was doing small characters for an order at the time and I thought to do something fun.We often have visitors here of different parrots but I don’t usually lie around waiting for this to happen..

I saw a brooch on Instagram with two parts of an oval form joined by chain, I did like the form but thought I might make it as a big sculpture but at 90 degrees. I also wanted to cover each part with corten and leave the junk only visible from one side. I felt this suggested we all had a cover and there were complex and possibly strange workings within. As the parts are separate but joined I thought it suggested a relationship where you commit to each other.

I had a sculpture called Grist to the mill. I made it to show off the hand mower cylinder as a part of its structure, but after a few years , and no comments I decided to recycle the whole sculpture, The base became a birdbath and I made a new  structure above it. It sold fairly quickly and I decided to do something similar with the top structure. This became the bottom structure and I filed it in with other material. I made a new bowl and again a new top part. The aim being that birds would enjoy the birdbath aspect and it would be sculpture, birdbath.

At the end of the school year DSC decided to get rid of all its old tripods from the science area. Knowing I worked in metal they told my daughter and she duly brought them home. My initial reaction to a car load of tripods was “oh no” but as soon as I got them home I thought they could be an interesting ball. I decided on legs in rather than out  for safety, and the first one I made a Gal steel ball to sit against the legs like a core. I mounted it on three legs to honor the tripod element and this is the result. It sort of suggests worlds within worlds or a half finished death star and I am happy with the piece.

 Every now and then I see a piece of metal laying around and I decide to do something with it. This is such a case and the piece of tube sort of suggested the conning tower of a submarine . I also had a cat face lying around on the bench and by serendipity I tried the two together and it then suggested a conning tower in a cat !. Where would such a thing be used . The trojan horse came to mind .. and jeff koons big dog of flowers and I thought surely the trojans would find a cute kitten much more attractive than any old horse. Hence trojan Kitten.

I was looking at different ideas and shades of grey at Castlemaine was doing some lovely big flowers. I decided to go the other way and do a series of flowers for vases. I was rummaging in the pile and found some pieces that would be good vase forms and added the white marble as a filler.

I was looking at different ideas and shades of grey at Castlemaine was doing some lovely big flowers. I decided to go the other way and do a series of flowers for vases. I was rummaging in the pile and found some pieces that would be good vase forms and added the white marble as a filler.

There was this lovely piece of tube in the pile and I was thinking about how to make different cats. I did like cutting the stripes and the other parts plasmacut and welded on certainly changed the scruffy tube into a much more interesting piece.

I used to do quite a bit of wood turning . I did a bit recently turning up some ball and egg shapes out of red gum and English ash. Initially I was going to make metal wings for all of them and make them into Harry Potter snitches( they have a golden snitch in the movies)However in my rummaging I refound a bag of craft feathers from Zart art  and a range of different snitches suggested themselves.

was looking at Alberto Bustos’s creations on Instagram and he had done some abstract pieces with curls on the end. I wondered if I could do that with plasma-cut colour-bond on a plasma-cut girl’s face. I think it worked out well and it had quite a different feel from my usual wire hair.

I often start with something that attracts my attention in the pile. In this case it was an old seat spring which I discovered and thought it suggested a wonderful tornado like whirl of ideas that we sometimes all achieve at different times. Sometimes overwhelming sometimes so positive that you are swept along. I was swept along to create this little character !

 I have been working with a series of books given me from Warragul Regional College. I went to have a look at what the next book in the pile was and it was Anna Karenina. As I had been doing a series of girl faces with the plasma cutter, the idea occurred of making the book a hairstyle leaving the name clearly visible. It seems to work quite well and she looks a strong dynamic girl.

I found a similar image on Instagram without the puddle and a slightly different pose.We are all fascinated by the world shown in reflections in a puddle and there are numerous stories of the puddle being a portal to another world. It certainly is another world of imagination and theis piece does hint at that. I do love the light captured by mirrors and because my character is only 2 dimensional she sort of vanishes when you gaze in….. another world indeed.

 I am interested in overlapping images made with the plasma cutter. In this one I used both the positive and negative forms to interact. I tried to make the back form decorative as well , sort of art nouveau. Another experiment that seems effective.

I did a piece last year where I added one coloured flower to a plasmacut piece. Well I now have some new car panels and I cut out a series of small flowers to use on a couple of ideas. This in one and the finished result suggests to me something from Mucha. Just an experiment really but still learning what I can do.

I made a piece involving the circle with the dragonfly called unnatural balance. Some clients asked if I could turn it into a weather vane without the heavy dragonfly part. I duly did this and then had to make something to make the most of my dragonfly in the circle. It suggested a pond and so I simply added the tree form and birds and it all fitted together… more recycling!

I have done lots of plasma cuts of cats and they have been quite popular. I also have dogs and I do sketch them from time to time. This was the offcut from the sketch I did of Ralph and I am always looking to recycle things , especially those that have interesting shapes. I added a few pieces of wire and a couple of other aspects and I think it sort of works. It isn’t Ralph anymore though although the pose is familiar .I just thought the dogs should get equal billing

I had seen lots done with the plasmacutter in cutting patterns in old saw blades. It had not occurred to me to try other tools until I saw an illustration on Instagram of an axe head with a face.Talk about a light bulb moment so here is a male and female face  made into a pen holder. Silly but fun too.

I have been revisiting woodturning a bit. I used to do this as my main interest and source of money but as I moved more into metal things I sort of left it behind. I saw an image of a ball shape with a tail and it sort of conjured up an idea of a dog with a turned body and metal paws and head. I had some English ash lying around so I did this little fellow. It could be the start of a whole breed of creature or it might be a one off. There are so many ideas to play with that some don’t get developed as far as they could. I was happy to do him though.

My grandson is into dinosaurs and my granddaughter is into … well girly stuff including barbies. I made a casual remark about Barbie being a dinosaur and it amused me considerably. When I next went to the opp shop I bought three sad Barbies and proceeded to dismember them. This is the second idea I had and I was happy with the result although many found it quite disturbing when I posted her on Instagram. They seemed to think my painkillers for my leg were too strong ! Some one else suggested a hangover from toy story and now I do think back there was something similar there. I think there are echoes of terminator in there too. Still, this is my version!

I often draw from images I see on Instagram. Sometimes I develop them further and this one liked the perspective of the big foot and smaller body so I extended it a bit. I do like the old Fats Waller song “your feets too big” and as someone who has size 13 feet maybe I identify. Still I like the triangular form of the image

 I have done a tricycle girl before but I thought it would be fun to have long hair streaming out behind her. As I was looking through the pile this rusted bike chain appeared and it seemed that that would be even more appropriate than the wire I was looking for. Just fun really , but she does work!

I do like to play with old axe heads. This one has done tons of work before it arrived in my pile. It would be at least 50 years old maybe even 100. To then make it into something whimsical and relatively playful is a joy. I also tried overlapping plasma cut hair as a first trial on this piece. ( seems to be ok) and there was a heart on the floor which I added to the piece along with the bird. Needless to say she loves birds.!

 I look at images on Instagram and some just suggest ideas to me.  I was looking at an illustrator who made images where one character came outside of the frame of the picture and as I was looking for ideas for wall work for my foster show this suggested a different way to present work still using plasmacuts. I was very happy with the range of ideas I had and how they worked within this format.

In looking through Instagram the random grouping of ideas sometimes triggers new thoughts. I saw on ome site a bowl shape and on the other something intersecting. I had the idea of intersecting plasmacut forms in making a flower bowl. With the added ring and base I thought the result would work quite well and I think the idea is possibly able to be scaled up as well.

I am still exploring things to do with the plasma cutter. I have done quite a few picture type things but this is one of the first where I have intersected the forms and added to them. I think it has worked quite wonderfully. Simple yet interesting!

I periodically take things to opp shops and also peruse the objects there for things I can use. I spied this cake platter which folded out into three stands to present cupcakes . I brought it home and at one stage it was going to be a dancers skirt but the other day the idea of a cake fairy came to me and hence here she is.Such lovely wings!

I have done a number of cat plasmacuts exploring multiples and overlapping. This is another with an action pose. Simple enough but fun

I was interested in cutting something from tube and using the diagonal to create the form. I had a sketch in the book and I thought it would be interesting. Has a bit of a batman feel but overall I was pleased with the result.

 I look at images on Instagram and some just suggest ideas to me.  I was looking at an illustrator who made images where one character came outside of the frame of the picture and as I was looking for ideas for wall work for my foster show this suggested a different way to present work still using plasmacuts. I was very happy with the range of ideas I had and how they worked within this format.

 I have done quite a few cat images… they seem to appeal to me and to people who buy them!. However I hadn’t done a profile and I saw a lovely image on Instagram and used that as the basis for this piece. The negative shape cut out also was used to produce a piece called Lion cat..always recycling!

 I was given a collection of cut up balustrade. All very regular with curves and odd curliques. I decided to use some of it to make balls as most of the form was already there and I hadn’t made a stacked ball sculpture before.This was the result and the colour has just added to the joyousness of it . Our neighbor said it looked like a circus so the name was decided.( 3 rings, balancing balls, movement and colour etc)

I had some cake pans in my pile of stuff and they called out to become bums and boobs for a girl form. It was like making a paper doll but with welding. The size was governed by the size of the cupcake moulds so hence she is quite big. Another silly idea but I quite like following silly roads as they often provide intriguing directions eventually.

I look through Instagram in the morning and some things spark ideas in me. I was attracted by this idea for a piece involving curly hair.I did one version in 2017 but this piece has a different starting point and she looks like she is a confident strong character.. 

I have been doing a series of cat designs as the mood takes me. This is the latest and he was sitting neatly on someones Instagram site (kymetalfab) and I thought I hadn’t done one like him. It was going to be called cat design but he seems to have something in mind so the words got switched.

Another lovely pose from Instagram (-mmp-88) that attracted me to  create this piece. I modified it so she looks as though she is dreaming or thinking rather than just staring at the camera. This gives me drawing practice and a lovely pose or expression always pleases me.

I often see things in the pile and puzzle over what to do with them. The big pin that makes up part of this piece is such a thing. It sat there for years and finally I felt it was like a pin that coupled carriages together so what better use than to upgrade it to an actual engine. Some of the other pieces were just nearby so it really is a collection of bits that spent time together outside. It certainly is a heavy piece but sort of fun and cool too!

I have done a few cat plasmacuts and am always thinking about different situations. I feed my cats every morning and I am glad they aren’t of this scale otherwise I would end up as catfood as like all cats they are pretty demanding at meal times. Scale plays such a part and thinking about a cat this size makes us glad cats are the scale they are.

 Girls and flowers seem to go together all the time. I had this idea and it might have been from seeing a girl walking through a field of sunflowers or some such like. The main forms are plasma-cut and by using relatively thin material I am able to bend arms around the flower forms. The image was a challenge in that the size is reasonably small and the detail has to work. And as to the tall flowers… hmm that is what I had sketched so hence here it is. .

I did a piece last year where I added one coloured flower to a plasmacut piece. Well I now have some new car panels and I cut out a series of small flowers to use on a couple of ideas. This in one and the finished result  works well I think. I did want to keep most of the colour on the flower cutouts and mostly this has happened. Again, just an experiment really but still learning what I can do.

I did a piece last year where I added one coloured flower to a plasmacut piece. Well I now have some new car panels and I cut out a series of small flowers to use on a couple of ideas. This in one and the finished result  works well I think. I did want to keep most of the colour on the flower cutouts and mostly this has happened. Again, just an experiment really but still learning what I can do.

I did a piece last year where I added one coloured flower to a plasmacut piece. Well I now have some new car panels and I cut out a series of small flowers to use on a couple of ideas. This in one and the finished result  works well I think. I did want to keep most of the colour on the flower cutouts and mostly this has happened. Again, just an experiment really but still learning what I can do.

I do like drawing cats and with a nice new plasma cutting tip it was relatively easy to get the fluffy aspect. I was thinking of painting him black but I feel the metal effects have their own charm.

I was interested in cutting something from tube and then displacing it. The tree forms are what I did and I think they worked quite well but they needed the bird profiles to just make them a touch more interesting. Just an experiment really  but they would be nice desk or kitchen holders

I have used cutlery for all manner of things. This sort of has a bit of Edward Scissorhands about it but it seemed an interesting juxtaposition. Although there is no food present the suggested title seemed appropriate and fun

I have been doing a series of designs using cutlery as the main structural components. I was interested in trying for a bit more expression and using the forks as eyelashes.  There are lots of people using cutlery on Instagram but mainly as feathers and such like, so I was just interested in trying something different. Its not bad except the eyes are a bit close together but the expression is interesting. A fine experiment.. but still further to go.

 I look at images on Instagram and some just suggest ideas to me.  I was looking at an illustrator who made images where one character came outside of the frame of the picture and as I was looking for ideas for wall work for my foster show this suggested a different way to present work still using plasmacuts. I was very happy with the range of ideas I had and how they worked within this format.

 I look at images on Instagram and some just suggest ideas to me.  I was looking at an illustrator who made images where one character came outside of the frame of the picture and as I was looking for ideas for wall work for my foster show this suggested a different way to present work still using plasmacuts. I was very happy with the range of ideas I had and how they worked within this format.

I had this horn in the pile for a bit and it called out to have something done with it. I had made my diver for another piece and he was lying in the muddle on my bench. It seemed fated that the two combine. Hence getting inti the new sound system. Slightly surreal but sort of fun too.

I am still experimenting with drawing with the plasma cutter, The girl came out well and I actually printed from her, I have also been trying overlapping forms so hence putting her in the garden with flowers. I think she is happy here .

I have been playing around with combining wood turning with the metalwork processes. I did a redgum dancer previously on a similar model but this one I made the dress more complex and added the hoop which is from an old seat spring. Needless to say I have no capacity to actually use a hula hoop but I do appreciate those who can. Just more playing around really.

My grandson is into dinosaurs and my granddaughter is into … well girly stuff including barbies. I made a casual remark about Barbie being a dinosaur and it amused me considerably. When I next went to the opp shop I bought three sad Barbies and proceeded to dismember them. This is the third idea I had and it was a fun use of all the extra legs I had around. I quite like this one and I will stop for a bit to do some other type of work.

I had some circles made for a sculpture but the originals were too distorted ( see sides) so I decided to recycle them into a new sculpture. I had seen a simple form on Instagram ( Benoitaverlysculptor) .and although his was carved wood I wanted a reason to use lots of the small off cuts under the plasma cutting bench. It all came together and it had the sort of positive qualities of a glass half full view.  

I do hearts from time to time and I did this mid sizedpiece just using plasma cut offcuts. In the pile I had collected this wonderful shape which is from some bulldozer type thing. Added to the heart in a very unusual combination, they suggested to me a sort of gothic form and hence the title.

I saw a picture in the morning of a butterfly design in a box form and immediately thought of the pitted I beam I had in the pile, The idea of cutting out butterfly shapes with the plasma cutter and then setting them flying above it seemed just right. The piece came together over a day and with the exception of needing a bit of extra painting it seemed to be a really nice contrast.

I often pick up a piece from the pile and see what it suggests. In this case I picked up a piece of tube and cut it in three to make cows bodies. I quite like cows and feel we do underestimate them. My herd has variety with a friesan and a heifer as well as an older cow.Most of the fun was getting different poses and actually doing cows as I don’t often do them.

I often pick up a piece from the pile and see what it suggests. In this case I picked up a piece of tube and cut it in three to make cows bodies. I quite like cows and feel we do underestimate them. My herd has variety with a friesan and a heifer as well as an older cow.Most of the fun was getting different poses and actually doing cows as I don’t often do them.

I collected these two wonderful gears from the metal recycler. They sat on the bench for a bit but I knew they were going to be part of the one piece and overlap. His and hers treadmills..everybody so busy that they don’t connect. That was the idea and the small plasmacuts just added to it nicely.

One of my friends went to the Shetland Islands and there was a craftsman there making model boats out of I-beams. It got me thinking as to what sort of thing I would make from an I-beam and the rhino was the result.  He looked a bit brutal so the flower softened his appearance slightly.  I do worry that we won’t have rhinos to pass to our children’s children.

I hadn’t done a book piece for a bit and this phrase seemed to suggest itself, I guess in this age of transition from books to reading on devices it will be heard quite often and I myself read on/in both mediums .Just fun but marking a change.

 I am interested in overlapping images made with the plasmacutter. This is almost a tableau/diorama and maybe even a bit of a cartoon but it is interesting how each of the forms work together. I expect to follow this idea further over the next while.

I can’t believe the amount of plastic we use with no clear end point for it. Surely we would be stopping by now or at least making all plastic have to break down in a short time.  I read about Gyres in the ocean and how every bit of sea life is now eating plastic and I am appalled.  If plastic had the value of steel we would be mining it, harvesting it or at least recycling it.  Hence the boat and the ocean full of steel.

I was looking at a piece of Jewellery on Instagram which had this basic form. It was from a girl called Salvij-art and I thought I would take the form and add my own interpretation to it. I could see a character in the hole in the heart and so it eventuated. We all have someone we care for deeply and the heart is as good a place to focus on as anything… certainly not as crowded as the brain!

 I did a juggler years ago with ball bearings as the actual balls. Because I have been exploring using woodturning as part of my work again I had the idea of combining a plasma cut girl and turned balls. The red goes throughout and I do like the combination of materials. I can’t juggle but I do admire people who can… even if its juggling different parts of their life!

I did the girl as a plasma cut before I knew how I would use her. I often use bits that have made it to my workbench and assemble to try to create something. The wheel ring was there and I made the leaves and plants to suit the form of the girl. The expression and angle of the pose is what first attracted me .She looks at home wandering through the foliage.

A similar image in that it has perspective with the kittens paws being big. I modified this image too and I always delight in kittens bravely attacking anything that moves even if it is 10 times their size. Maybe we all need the bravery of a kitten!

I have been playing with paper feathers and obviously the best place to have feathers is on a bird. My character is sort of holding him via a leash ( you actually can get bird leashes!)  and I thought that to a degree it is like trying to gain Knowledge and wisdom. It is out there but hard to hang onto.. and it will take you places you might not have anticipated

I nearly always pick up stray feathers. They are such magical things and the fact that they can lift a creature into the air is fantasticI also saw a lovely Image on Instagram by Akira Kusaka of a man rowing on a feather towards the moon. It inspired me to do my version. Again scale is the key and a feather this big would raise serious questions about the bird it came from!

I have some friends who bought a piece a while ago which was suspended on a wire like this piece. I was asked by friends of theirs to make a companion piece , a dancer to accompany the bike rider. I did two versions for them and they chose one. This is the other. They both had charm and grace and my dancer certainly appears “light as air”.

We have so much new housing development in the Warragul Drouin area that it got me thinking about one of my loves which is archeology. The houses( my forms come from pictures of Waterford Rise), are the latest layer of habitation and beneath their feet are the remains of past farmsteads, and no doubt further back to aboriginal remains.I have used an old feed support as the semicircle and many of the bits within are old farm tools and rail spikes. The title is a reference to Jethro Tulls song “living in the past” but more on than in! Progress I guess. 

Well I heard the title of a piece of music on the radio driving to Warragul and of course this came to mind . What the actual thing is The Magnificat (Latin for "[My soul] magnifies [the Lord]") is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (Greek: Ἡ ᾨδὴ τῆς Θεοτόκου). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical services of the Catholic Church (at vespers) and of the Eastern Orthodox churches (at the morning services).^[1] It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn.^[2][3] Its name comes from the incipit of the Latin version of the canticle's text.

Sort of cool that it is a Marian Hymn( my wife )

 I look at images on Instagram and some just suggest ideas to me.  I was looking at an illustrator who made images where one character came outside of the frame of the picture and as I was looking for ideas for wall work for my foster show this suggested a different way to present work still using plasmacuts. I was very happy with the range of ideas I had and how they worked within this format.

 I look at images on Instagram and some just suggest ideas to me.  I was looking at an illustrator who made images where one character came outside of the frame of the picture and as I was looking for ideas for wall work for my foster show this suggested a different way to present work still using plasmacuts. I was very happy with the range of ideas I had and how they worked within this format.

I had done a series of signs last year and mostly what was required was negatives of each letter for the signs. This meant that the positive forms all fell out and I collected them not fully knowing what I was going to do with them. I had sort of decided to do a face out of small offcuts of wire when I saw these on the bench. My brain immediately said … why not them! And I did use them though I had to add a few bits of wire for definition. I had done a man of letters before as a small mixed media with a man wearing a coat of envelopes ( letters) so this is a sort of recycled idea but done in a totally different way!

I really liked the cartoons of Gary Larson and he often has an unusual take on things. I’m not sure if he had a were rabbit or a were cow but something not a were wolf. Anyway I was playing with knives and forks and I thought that the knives would be great rabbit ears (and they are) and then the idea of fork claws came and almost instantly I had a were rabbit. In looking up the picture for this I came across a Wallace and Grommit cartoon titled were rabbit so perhaps that was lurking in my subconscious too.Silly but fun… possibly a bit of monty python  Holy grail in there too…

I did not know it was a musical until I did a google search. I came across a very flowing form and I was looking to make a sculpture recycling junk forms and this seemed to be appropriate. I modified  it to show little to big and it is unclear which way my character is rolling. It seems we are just blissfully doing nothing about a number of fairly major problems like the mountains of plastic we make and consume ( I can’t weld plastic),and other problems like population automation and the focus on mobile devices when there is a real world about us. The title refers to all that and my character has a sort of reference to Leonardo’s perfect man.

I have lots of inspiration in my shed and sometimes I try to tidy up. I had one rolled ring left from 4 that I had done earlier in the year and it seemed the time to use it. I had done a two sided landscape piece using one of the other rings so that might have been lurking in my brain but I thought to make this a day night combination. Lots of bits and odd animals too.!

 I have been experimenting with flat sheet and using the plasma-cutter.  Again the idea came from some illustration and I was interested in bending the characters slightly. It is wonderful when you do find the partner that fits you perfectly and I have been lucky and blessed.

I was trying to make a more detailed bird form by cutting out all the feathers . I also had some lovely oak in the pile of wood and the two came together quite nicely I think.

I seem to like girls.. and birds. I think I have contrasted the two worlds ( human and natural quite nicely). I was exploring using tube to create a profile face and also use mesh to make shading, sort of like cross hatching. I had a trial circle in the pile and the face form fitted neatly. I wanted something to contrast to the openness of the face and birds almost always come to mind so I did them in Corten so the would go brown. We all long to fly, and maybe be part of a flock, but size and biology is mostly against us.That does not stop us longing and admiring.

Another piece that started from trying to recycle a circle made for me. I had the idea of the face and it fitted in nicely although it needed some solidity in the form of the mesh. It then looked like the man in the moon and good but still unfinished. Birds it was.. and they are corten birds so they will be brown silhouettes compared wit the silver of the rest. It sort of titled itself…. And apparently there actually are things called moonbirds.

I started with the intersecting faces to make the support for a ball.Just faces, some female and some male..holding a ball..” my world” above them.It needed a base and a base of off cuts and junk seemed appropriate and about this time I was starting to see what it could mean..from a chaotic but strong foundation adults parents, grandparents ,work to create a new world and the child emerging from the world really seemed appropriate… hence raising children… a round a bout way but a good result.

This piece sort of came out of nowhere. I was playing with an idea of a girl with a set of stars around her and I thought of birds instead.She is obviously confident to be surrounded by this collection of birds so she is sort of in control. I don’t know if they are actually raven silhouettes but the title just seemed so appropriate.

I have been working with some old books and seeing someone on Instagram cut them into feathers gave me this idea. I have done this using parts of the Decameron and I love the idea that reading will transport you to new lands and experiences. Mind you I also love the idea of flying too but I suspect the closest I will get now is via books .

 I look at images on Instagram and some just suggest ideas to me, This girl was from a painting of a red haired girl with freckles. I seem to have lost most of the freckles and the red hair but I added the flower and the lips. I did like the angle of the head and trying to do details with the plasma cutter.

 I have been playing around with combining wood turning with the metalwork processes. I did a sketch where a bird had forks for his chest and it sort of grew from there. Like most of my work it is a one off although I might explore the idea further but in different variations. He came out reasonable and I do like his tail and wings which developed as I worked on him.

I was looking through an old sketchbook and found this idea. I haven’t done much woodturning for years yet it is fun , simple to achieve interesting shapes( but dusty!)I turned two pieces and this is the first. The legs are long as nearly all dancers just look amazing probably due to clever emphasis of the legs… mind you I have long legs but I cant dance !

I had a series of circles made at the local metal supplier and this was the last of the big ones . I decided to create a bush scene by overlapping plasmacuts.It had a theme of being beside a river and it definitely has two sides to it.I find the circle acts as a focus and it is gently calming. It went off for a whie to be displayed at Lardner park but now its back. A simple but attractive composition.

This piece is inspired by the tree roots and texture of some of the Australian trees. These are very similar to what I have seen back in the Phillipines.  I have interpreted these forms through the found materials at the gallery.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

This repurposed old spade has direct links with cultivating the land and the x again suggests strength and purpose. The holes in the edges suggest decay and suggest a history and remind that this is an old material .

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

This old branding iron suggests ownership of animals. The form is also suggestive of young saplings and trees that these animals might have grazed on.The welded lump at the top has links to the texture of roots.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

This old gate hinge also suggests a tree form with broken roots. The gate hinge would have come from a farm where many trees were cleared to make grazing easier.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

This old engine muffler again suggests tree shapes and the small ragged end is reminiscent of bark hanging down. Probably an engine was used in some form to clear the land and there is an echo of the form of the removed with this piece which now also is derelict.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

This heavy old checkerplate suggests the skin of the trees, bark and texture.Tthe lumps I added to the ends are like the remnants of the branches .The x again suggests strength that is shown that even with such odd segments they still have integrity.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

This is like a post used in house construction but I have added texture to the top to remind where the post came from, either roots( timber) or stones.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

The block suggests a seedling tray full of seedlings. I have used permanent materials to suggest the continuance of new natural life.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

The tower form tapers in sections as the tree roots and the trees do with each part becoming thinner as it creates new life.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

The form of this piece  is similar to the cross-section through the tree and the small shape in the middle is an accent to act as the centre of the tree.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

This piece is more about the texture of the tree even though I have used steel as the construction material.  I want to connect to nature through images of its variety and in this case the gnarled rugged form is like a branch  (sanga- maharlikan for branch)

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

This piece still has the same rugged texture but I have left the base to suggest it is a part of a bigger construction.. as though it fits into a hole in the trees nature.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

This piece suggested a house construction with the roof and the keyhole and the triangle suggests also a strong foundation and I have attached root type texture at the base of the form to echo the roots of the trees and the foundations of the house.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

This piece is inspired by an Australian stone I saw at the entrance to the work shop. The hole is an accent in the stone and the X relates to human action on the material as part of building with natural materials.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

This block form suggested the foundation of a building and the textured section is like the roots of the trees interacting with the foundation form. We are all connected to nature as our foundation.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

This heavy curved form suggests the natural form of the trees and the lumps I added to the ends are like the roots and growths on the trees in this country.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

This wall hanging has textural elements of dots along each side which not only adds to the appearance but is a construction element. So this is a construction suggesting how materials are used to build the foundations of a house. The x is suggestive of strong like a warrior, have no fear.

Found materials and welded construction made in Australia 2017

I have used natural materials and textured metal on the canvas to extend my depiction of the natural world and how it creates patterns and interactions and how as humans we find delight and pleasure in their forms.

Found materials and canvas made in Australia 2017

I have used natural materials and textured metal on the canvas to extend my depiction of the natural world and how it creates patterns and interactions and how as humans we find delight and pleasure in their forms.

Found materials and canvas made in Australia 2017

I wasn’t planning to do this piece but I moved the piece of mesh from where it was in the pile and stood it up against the old filing cabinet. It took up this beautiful curve and called to me to be made into a sculpture using this form (I was going to cut it up for dragonfly wings). As it developed it need two sides added to create a pyramid form. I decided to use scrap on one side and plasma cut offcuts on the other to suggest the randomness of the weather and the life of a sailor.

“Sail “ was made in 2018 from new and recycled steel

Our neighbour gave me several pieces of heavy metal that were tractor fitting and ploughs, This was one and I cut off the biggest part and a couple of other odd bits to make it liftable, The shapes look quite harmonious as they are so I mounted them and this is the result. It sort of suggests( to me) a sort of loch ness creature

I often pick up a piece from the pile and see what it suggests. In this case pick up was the appropriate phrase for an old pick. I had cut off the points for bird beaks sometime previous and this piece called out to be made into a submarine. My character is searching.. for what I don’t know but a cool mini sub to help him find it is always a good start ! 

Trees and the sky are natural partners.It seemed that a tree was a good storage place for the stars etc during the day and that at night it was someones job to releasee the stars so they could take their place again. Sort of a fairy tale I guess if someone writes it but it seemed an interesting idea to make in this form.

I have used axe heads in some of my work before but when my pile was rearranged two more came to light. This one called to be a dress and the incongruity of an axe becoming a dress really appealed.The name says it all although she might have some cutting remarks also!

I have all sorts of pieces in my pile and the red semi circle was part of an old agricultural feed bin I think. The shape appealed for quite a while ( as did the colour) and I decided to do a simple line drawing of a dancer and have her encompassed by the curve.

I saw a lovely design by Alberto Bustos ceramicist and he had made 4 sinuous shapes in clay about shoebox size, I ad not really done a form like that and it came together to make a bigger form , not in the same proportions as Alberto’s but again using the plasma cutter offcuts to cover it on both sides. The ball on the top just seems to give it some end point and really it is just a lovely form rather than deeply meaningful.

I did a sketch at a market of a small girl skipping along looking at stuff. The sketch became a small watercolour and then this piece. I think I have captured a degree of the joy of having new boots and my girl seems fairly happy with my portrayal.This is the second one and there are subtle changes in size and detail

I have done lots of plasma cuts of cats and they have been quite popular. I also have dogs and I do sketch them from time to time. This was a sketch of Ralph a Labrador golden retriever cross and he is a pretty dog.I just thought the dogs should get equal billing.( why do you need to let sleeping dogs lie?)

I saw a lovely illustration on Instagram of a small character sitting on a big characters nose. I had previously made a giant face that came out of the ground and this seemed a sort of coda to it. My character isn’t aware that the face she is sitting on is a drawing of a face( maybe it is hard to see it anyway) but I did like the idea.

One of my friends dropped off some “junk” and amongst it was a really solid clutch plate. A lovely shape in itself I had thought to make it the centre of an abstract piece but the idea came to me one night of it cut in half and joined back together. When I was a student at college we had a guy from Canada out who di this with wood turning so here it is all these years later coming out again in this form .I was going to have oars too but the idea of slaves below decks did not seem at one with the idea of sailing away so its just a whimsical yacht.

I Always take my sketchbook when I go to see a show at the NGV , usually to sketch ideas that the show provokes. The other delight I have is sketching schoolgirls ( usually) who are doing assignments on some of the works. They sit in all manner of poses and their intensity is just lovely. My Grandaughter is 5 and she draws in the most awkward of poses… many small kids do but they have the flexibility and the intensity. This is similar to one of her recent poses.

I have done quite a few cat pieces with the plasma cutter and I thought I needed to do a few dogs. This one was from a photo on Instagram but he has been modified slightly. I liked the idea of holes for his spots  and his upright pose also was appealing. We have had dogs all our lives and the friendship intelligence and loyalty are just something to be treasured.!.

I have done a number of dancers in the past and always enjoyed making their dress shapes. This time I saw a man on Instagram doing dress forms out of all sorts of materials and as I was working with cut up book feathers I thought it would be ideal to make her dress in this way. It is pages from the Decameron but I think she is too busy to read it.

I saw a brooch on Instagram with two parts of an oval form joined by chain, I did like the form but thought I might make it as a big sculpture but at 90 degrees. I also wanted to cover each part with corten and leave the junk only visible from one side. I felt this suggested we all had a cover and there were complex and possibly strange workings within. As the parts are separate but joined I thought it suggested a relationship where you commit to each other.

I saw a brooch on Instagram with two parts of an oval form joined by chain, I did like the form but thought I might make it as a big sculpture but at 90 degrees. I also wanted to cover each part with corten and leave the junk only visible from one side. I felt this suggested we all had a cover and there were complex and possibly strange workings within. As the parts are separate but joined I thought it suggested a relationship where you commit to each other.

This was really more in response to a pallet of part balustrades. They all were lovely curving shapes and I played with them to see what the different arrangements might produce. One solution was this tree form and I echoed the tree by making a corten shadow to go behind it.

“The Celtic tree of Life is often drawn showing the branches reaching skyward and the roots spreading out into the earth below symbolizing the Druid belief in the link between heaven and earth. Trees were an important aspect of Celtic Culture. They provided shelter and food, and warmth through fire wood.”

People often add to my pile of metal by getting rid of broken implements. This was one where one of the middle tines had broken off. It called to me and with a few minor adjustments here is a trophy head for the wall. I have never shot anything in my life so this will be the closest I get to having a trophy head( not that I am all that sure why you would put somethings head on your wall anyway!.

I don’t know where some ideas come rom but this one just turned up and it was persistent in being made. I do like the heart shaped harp and my character is obviously involved in making the music that is appropriate. ( ac/dc I don’t think so) The strings are from an old coat-hanger and my character is from a range of bits and pieces

I saw this lovely image by Akirakusaka on Instagram and I thought something similar could be done with a book. I was fairly happy with the result and I do like the sort of pun of upright piano.

I have done a variety of girl sculptures and this one was in response to most of them being absent from the sculpture garden. I also wanted to explore how the use of mesh and small offcuts could add to the piece.It is not my best piece but she has a certain charm.

I did a series of cat drawings from a book I got at the NGV called the Book of the Cat. This is close to the original painting by Midori Yamada Rissun but it has a few variations. This is the first cat I have done in this format and I quite like the sinuousness of it.

I do love words with varied meanings and this idea just came to me as a possible project. I used to walk to school, about 2 km through a range of suburban streets and back lanes and I would often try to find alternate routes. I rarely walked with others but this character seems right at home.