No more white bread and roses

After participating in the Invasion Day rally of 2018,  I was ashamed to be an Australian, with our national reluctance to give indigenous people a proper voice (as enshrined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart which calls for a First Nation voice in the Constitution), to learn about relationship with and care for land, to improve the life expectancy of indigenous Australians, about our obsession with all things European.  

Bread for all and roses too is a refrain that has been historically used (in the Union and women’s suffrage movements) as a metaphor for people’s right to bread (home, shelter and security), roses (music, education and books) and a voice. My material, barbed wire is commonly used to create fences around land and claim ownership. It is my hope is that this piece will encourage people to consider the importance of supporting indigenous Australians to determine their own future.

Inspired by creative beautiful objects which have been fashioned or woven from natural fibres for centuries and often by women. It is part of the Useless Beauty series. Fashioned from mild steel and barbed wire. It is designed to be located outside.

450 (high) x 350 (wide)x 750 (long)

Useless Beauty # 2

Useless beauty pursues a fascination with utility, with the question of value. Inspired by bags, in particular beach bags, which are both useful and beautiful, this piece responds to the unbroken question: “What’s it for?”  Fashioned from mild steel plate, rolled, welded, forged and crushed in a hydraulic press. It has been finished with a clear finish to reduce corrosion.  This piece is designed to be located inside.

400 cms (high) x 200 (wide)  

Gently

"Gently" is chilling out at Bowen and Kenneth in Daylesford

Kinetic sculpture

A 2.1 metre kinetic sculpture installed in a garden in Albury NSW 

Keeping up with Ralph

Ralph went off to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.

Ralph and round base are created from rolled steel strap and rod. 
Dimensions: 1 metre high x 1100 long

Cosmo the dog

Cosmo is created from flat steel strap and rod. 

Dimensions: 650cm high x 1300 long

Cosmo at the beach before she goes to her new home in the leafy suburbs of Melbourne.

Cosi and her friend

2016 was my year of the dog.  After much experimentation, I discovered the capacity for rolled steel bar to create the movement and personality that I was seeking. Our dog, Cosi is keeping her friend company while they survey their new territory.

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Dimensions - 350cm high x 900 length

Emerging

The perfect lotus emerges from the muddy murky depths which are also surprisingly beautiful. As the natural flower also decays, this steel flower will eventually rust and change. The use of discarded old barrel hoops to hold the piece is part of my desire to reuse metal crafted objects with deep respect for the people who originally made them.
The flower was originally cut from steel plate and then shaped in a forge, finished with vitreous enamel. The pond is fabricated from thickened glass painted with vitreous enamel with LED lighting. The steel pot is fabricated from wine barrel hoops treated to reduce corrosion

680 wide x 350cm high. Ideally it should be located on a sheltered covered deck or inside.

Lotus pods

I first saw a lotus pod at the Melbourne Buddhist Centre and decided I would love to try making some. As I worked my first pods in a forge, I developed a deeper understanding as to why this plant is so revered. The original corny title “When I grow older, can I look like you?” is based on the sense of wonder I experienced. Since then I haven't really been able to find a title that really works.

It is also fitting that this plant which grows in mud is sitting in a pot constructed from railway spring washers which I dug out of the ground at a disused railway yard in the western suburbs of Melbourne.  As a I made this pot, I thought often of the people and the skills involved in fabricating the washers.

Dimensions – 800 mm high and 300 mm wide. Ideally it should be located on a sheltered covered deck or inside. 

Lotus pods

Lotus pods in pot – lotus pods - steel plate cut and shaped in a forge, finished with vitreous enamel. Steel pot - recycled railway spring washers welded and painted with vitreous enamel.. Treated to reduce corrosion. Dimensions – 800 mm high and 300 mm wide.

The acrobats inside

A 1 metre diameter sphere constructed of steel bands inside which hangs 4 or 5 small brightly coloured female steel acrobats. LED lighting lines the inside of 3 steel bands. The sphere can be hung as a chandelier or mounted on a plinth, as above.

Gift From A Boiler Maker

Fashioned from a recycled heavy steel pressure vessel and sitting on a steel base arranged to create a parabolic curve. The vase contains a display of red steel flowers shaped in a forge, painted and then baked to create a beautiful transparent red enamel finish. 

Bell Float Vase

Brazier

Brazier - This outdoor fireplace is constructed from heavy steel mesh which has been decorated with steel leaves, and includes a 16 ml round steel plate as the base to ensure the heat is stored in the fireplace.  Railway anchors have been recycled to form the legs.

Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves This is the first in a series of autumn leaf sculptures. This is a hanging wall sculpture made up of leaves cut from sheets of discarded steel which had been painted a beautiful bright orange.

Industrial Bird bath

Constructed from found objects including a heavy steel indian cooking vessel and an old car jack.
The bird bath has been treated to hold water.

Goanna

Goannas (Perente) constructed from steel rod with layers of welded steel. Inspired by camping holidays in desert country.

Sunflowers

Steel Sunflowers constructed from recycled pipe, discarded steel mesh and other found objects. The flowers have been painted yellow and then baked to reduce fading. The stems and leaves have been allowed to rust slightly and then treated to reduce further corrosion.  The piece is designed to sit outside in a solid concrete base. The piece stands 2 metres high and is 1.9 metres wide at the top.

Dragonfly

Steel Flower Basket

A steel pot constructed from stainless steel conveyor belt and a wine barrel hoop containing a display of red steel flowers which have been cut, forged, welded, painted and then baked to create a beautiful transparent red enamel finish. The pot is 0.5 metres in width and the flowers are 0.9 metres in height.