I’ve crafted this larger-than-life Pīwakawaka from reclaimed vehicle and machinery parts collected around our rural district.
Painted lawnmower blades form its bold black-and-white tail, while ball-bearing eyes give it an alert, cheeky expression. Perched on an old Tōtara fence post, it is my celebration of one of New Zealand’s most familiar little birds, full of character and proudly made from rural scrap.
King of the Scrap is resurrection through transformation: a creature from deep time built from the modern fossils of human industry.
Archaeology in reverse.
(Thanks Shona Blomquist for the original photo!)
Here's a collection of some of the birds I've been creating recently.
I've been really enjoying refining their individual characteristics and silhouettes, trying to capture the personality and spirit of each species.
I've also been exploring the application of paint, versus rustiness. Even a tiny amount of colour can really bring the piece to life.
Really excited to be making this big Velociraptor. After focusing so closely on the small technical details and characteristics of my recent bird sculptures, I felt compelled to make something large, ambitious and completely different.
This project brings a whole new set of challenges. Because the dinosaur literally stands on two feet, weight, balance and structural engineering are really important — the forces created by the head, body and long tail all have to be carried through those two supporting legs and feet.
It’s really starting to come together now. I’m loving the asymmetry of the pose as well, and he’s beginning to look dangerous, almost as though he could pounce at any moment!
Wow, so pleased.. I just won the 3D and Premier Awards last night at the Ruapehu Art Awards with my metal Kārearea sculpture. I can't believe it, there are so many cool artworks there!
Thank you to the Ruapehu Art Awards team and friends for creating this awesome event, and especially to all the sponsors for helping make it happen and bringing all this incredible art together.
The show will be on daily from 10 am to 3 pm until the 30th of September. Please go check it out!
So I thought it was time to create something a bit different, so I decided to make a marlin sculpture that looks like it's leaping up out of the water! It was a really fun project, though I had to build a pulley system in my shed to lift and maneuver it.
The size was awkward, but I slowly built it up piece by piece. Making a scale model beforehand was a huge help. Here's a picture of me installing it for my new 'Fossicked & Found' exhibition, where it will be displayed upright!
This project all started when I laid down a few exhaust pipes I’d just collected from the scrapyard. Playing around, I accidentally created a serpentine sort of flow, immediately realizing, "Dragon!" The next couple of hundred hours were spent putting it all together and filling it in—definitely easier said than done.
I loved working on the sheer scale of this piece. Being a mystical English dragon, there were no set rules for composition or proportion, which allowed for a lot of creative freedom during the build.
The wings came out really nicely, too. I was inspired by a recent Taumarunui quilters and weavers exhibition where their patchwork quilts were amazing. It just clicked with me to create Harold's wings in a similar patchwork style. The patterns of the different metal meshes complement each other, creating a lightweight, semi-transparent look that contrasts nicely with the strong, industrial flow of his body.
The golf ball eyes finished him off perfectly. There's a calm tranquility to Harold's character—he's definitely a friendly English dragon for sure.
I'm very pleased to announce that my new junk goat, Clarence, won the Supreme Art Award at this year's Waimarino Art Awards in Raetihi! On top of that, I also won the 3D division with my abstract piece titled 'Pioneering Dream'.
Great news, and a huge well done to Annie Stone for doing a marvellous job coordinating the whole event.
Thank you to the three judges, it was great hearing your kōrero—and a big thank you to Ngāti Rangi for their generous sponsorship towards the supreme prize. Thanks heaps!
This has been a really cool project to work on. I really like goats, so putting this one together was great fun. Lawn mower blades, old gate hinges, and long bent steel rods all come together to give Terence his own unique character.
Terence is big and heavy, just like a real goat, so making him structurally strong was an important part of the build.
One of the things I'm really enjoying about welding is how certain pieces of scrap seem to jump out at me, almost like magic. I don't have to overthink every detail; the right pieces just seem to reveal themselves as I go along.
The horns took quite a bit of precision. I made them from No. 8 wire, carefully forming a long spiral before creating a second one to mirror the first, which was pretty tricky.
I'm really pleased with how Terence turned out. It was another awesome project to work on. Thanks, Terence!
Best decision ever! Just bought a new MIG welder—huge thanks to Mitre 10 Taumarunui!
I just finished this piece titled 'Junk Cat', built from an assortment of discarded steel and whatever interesting scrap I could find. Unlike my usual carvings, this sculpture isn't about precision, it's all about character, humour, and spontaneous fun.
The freedom welding gives me is addictive. Instead of carving material away, I can collect forgotten objects and give them a completely new purpose. Every rusty piece suggests another idea, and every weld opens up new possibilities, layer upon layer.
Junk Cat might be a bit cheeky, but I think I've found another medium I truly love. Can't wait to make whatever's next!
After many years of carving timber, I'd been thinking about giving welding a go. So I borrowed a friend's MIG welder and decided to experiment with a simple idea: an NZ Pterodactyl drawn in mid-air using nothing more than No. 8 wire and a wooden base.
The realisation that I wasn't carving material away, but instead building it up, hit me straight away! I found myself drawing in three dimensions, bending and welding each line into place. I could even undo sections to get the size and proportions just right. It was completely different from carving, and I loved it immediately (apart from the smell, haha!). I was also able to use my familiar angle grinders, which made the transition feel surprisingly natural.
This little sculpture isn't about perfection. It's about discovering a new medium, and I can't wait to see where it takes me!
