Fun Sculpture

The Bloke and Bucket depicts a poor fellow who seems to be a bit under the weather having had a little too much to drink.  Harmless fun, maybe, but the bucket happened to be a charity collection bin.  It seems that the charity gained more from the fund raising than they bargained for.  The oversized chair was a particular favourite of the unfortunate individual and some would say, part of his personality.  Created from reclaimed metal pieces.  MIG welded, cleaned and finished in several coats of clear plastic lacquer.

The Reaper was created as a leaving gift.  Made from scrap water pipe, a basket and broken car suspension components.  Finished in pewter paint.

The Office Cricketer sculpture is a whimsical pen holder created from recycled scrap metal.  It depicts a cricketer, keen to practice during office hours, he also apparently had a new addition to to the family whom he wanted to teach his favourite sport.

The Bloke on a Boat was made as leaving gift for a keen 'yachty'.  Made from mild steel taken from an old gate, a car door, nuts and nails.  Hand crafted, welded, cleaned and tempered finished in plastic clear lacquer.

The Bloke Over Handle Bars was created as a leaving gift for an unfortunate individual who had a tendency to be accident prone.  This particular sculpture depicts the individual clinging on for dear life, surrounded by a plethora of watches, apparently time was a factor in his misfortune. 

Assembled in mild steel reclaimed from car parts, springs, an old gate and a fence post.  Finished in pewter paint.

The Bloke Skiing was created as a leaving present.  Apparently someone was a little wobbly on their skis at a certain championship.  Made from nuts, bolts, a ball bearing. parts from an old gate and bits from a shopping trolley.  Cleaned, cut, welded, cleaned again, tempered and finished with a clear plastic lacquer.

Created from water pipe, a gate railing, thin bar and an old bucket, this candlestick was formed using traditional techniques.  All shaping was done using a forge, anvil and a hammer.  Finished in natural bees wax - straight from the hive (no bees were hurt in the making of this sculpture).

The Luftwaffe Wings were made for a Battle of Britain theme night.  Measuring 1.2 m wingspan and finished in gloss black paint.  Two chain hooks on the back allowed it to be hung on the wall.  Made from 5mm thick plate steel recovered from a broken tractor bucket.

The search and rescue helicopter was made as a leaving gift.  The scenario depicts a horse and rider being rescued from the side of a mountain.  I'm not sure that horse and rider were actually rescued in this way but who knows?  5% truth is the definition of a 'trumer'.  Made from recycled tractor hardware and a few bits from under the bench.

Standing approximately 900mm high the black butterfly proudly adorns a decked patio.  Made entirely from a scrap acid bath.  All parts were flame cut by hand, cleaned and MIG welded.  The finish is in satin black paint.  After the paint had cured the butterfly was hit several times with a chain to chip the paint.  It was the intention of the owner to let the butterfly gracefully rust as nature intended.  Over time, rust lines gradually form to create interesting patterns especially when intermingled with the existing paint. 

The RAF Regt crest in steel was created as a leaving gift for an exchange Army officer working with the Air Force.  This was made entirely from an old digger bucket.  Flame cut by hand, cleaned welded, polished and tempered to simulate camouflage, finished in a clear plastic lacquer.

The Joint Combat Aircraft was made from a Landrover skid plate along with bright drawn mild steel square bar off-cuts.  The shape was polished before being tempered to a bright blue.  The silver edging was added after temper.  Mounted on a round bar and bolted to a black marble off-cut.  Finished in clear plastic lacquer.

This sculpture was created from the same materials as the aircraft above although some extra box section off cuts were used to make the base.

The Horse Shoe Crab was built from old horse shoes, a couple of old M12 nuts and a solar panel with LEDs from some discarded garden lights.  Several of these were made to line a garden path.  You only knew they were there when their eyes lit up at night, illuminating the pathway.  This one was finished in red paint, one of a pair, the other being white, apparently they guard the entrance to owners house.  Red and white being the colours of his favourite football team.

The Phasor was made for a Star Trek enthusiast.  Made from an old gate post and car parts.  It was eventually mounted on a marble off cut.  Polished before being tempered and finished in plastic lacquer.

The Mini and Marshall was designed and built for a rally enthusiast.  Recycled nuts, bolts, railings, water pipe and and nails were incorporated to bring this sculpture to life.  The mini is on two wheels as if turning a corner before crossing the finish line.  Finish is polished steel with clear plastic lacquer coating.

The Bloke on a Runner was created from repurposed everything, a gate, a waterpipe, railings, nuts, bolts and shopping trolley.  The sculpture was welded, cleaned and clear lacquered before being presented as a personalised leaving present.  The sculpture depicts a fitness fanatic who enjoys 'one armed bandits'.

The Rearing Horse (1) was a prototype for a larger sculpture to get the idea of movement.  Made entirely from a digger bucket.  Components were flame cut by hand, cleaned and MIG welded before being sprayed with clear lacquer.

The American Wings were created as a retirement gift for a United States Air Force Officer.

Made from mild steel, polished and tempered to a bright blue.  The star and silver outlines were reclaimed from parts of an an old shopping trolly.  The bulk of the sculpture was made from an old water tank.  The piece was finished in clear lacquer to seal in the colour and protect from damp.

The tattoo started life as a photograph of a real tattoo.  The original brief specified that it was to be a piece of wall art so had to be light and stylish.  Total wingspan is 900 mm, hand flame cut from recycled from an old water tank and finished in satin black.  

The Blue Z with silver trim.  Cut from an old steel acid bath and trimmed with bright drawn solid square off-cuts from an industrial water filter.  Polished and tempered to a bright blue before finishing in clear plastic lacquer.  The base was taken from an outdated shooting trophy.

The Rock Dove is again recycled from the same water tank as some of the above.  The basic shapes were flame cut by hand, cleaned using a grinder and linished to remove scale, the embossing was surface MIG welded. The lightening flash was welded to the back of the Dove, along with the stand. The surface was cleaned until shiny using an electric wire brush then tempered.  It was finished using a plastic lacquer.  The base was recycled from a re-purposed trophy and a bit of skirting board.

The Bloke on a Mini was created as a leaving gift for someone who is very much an 'out doorsey' type.  He had refurbished and restored an early mini but still had time to compete in Kayaking events.  It seems appropriate to tie the two interests together, therefore, the Mini Kayaking event was created.  Made entirely from recycled components from a gate, a car door a shopping trolley and a tractor exhaust silencer. 

The Dancer was commissioned as a birthday present for a professional dancer.  Mounted on a white marble base to contrast the tempered colours of the dancer.  Made from a Landrover leaf spring and part of a wheel bearing and an offcut from a stone mason. The Dancer was forged, hot cut and hammered before being MIG welded polished and tempered.  Finished in clear plastic lacquer.

These Fire Steels are traditional 17th century strikers, created from a recycled car spring, forged and tempered.  Used in conjunction with flint, chirt and tinder cloth.  Not as efficient as modern pyrotechnic metals, however, quite satisfying when you get a shower of sparks. 

The Armadillo was made from used horse shoes as a bit of an experiment.  Cut, welded and finished in satin black paint.

Another way to recycle used horse shoes - the hoof pick; practical and useful.  One horse shoe makes two picks.  Forged and cleaned, tempered for the colour and lacquered for some water resistance.

The Spitfire was made from part of an old water tank, flame cut by hand, MIG welded surface, polished and heated to get the different blues and browns.  The aircraft was finished in a plastic lacquer.  The while marble base was another stone masons off cut.

Measuring approximately 400mm wingspan, this butterfly was made from an old car door, a bolt from a Landrover and an old whip antenna.  All components werehand cut, cleaned with all paint removed and welded. The finish, after polishing, was tempered to achieve the colouring and sprayed in a clear plastic lacquer.  This is for inddor display.

The Biker, made from bits of old gate, some scrap water pipe and a disused shopping trolley.  A leaving present for a person who was apparently a biking, thespian academic.  The item in his hand is a skull - alas poor Yorrick, I knew him.....

This sculpture was created for a leaving gift.  Made from parts of a shopping trolley, wire nails, nuts and a gate post.  MIG welded and polished, finished in plastic lacquer.  Apparently the individual used to go everywhere with his iPod.