The name of this 42x27cm sculpture created on a mirror is All Heart. The mirror can be hung on the wall, or the top ‘handle’ is moveable, enabling the mirror to stand on a shelf.
I created it from an Ikea mirror and a 4-part clay heart ‘puzzle’ that I made with Creativity Cluster artist Mardie Whitla. To these basics I added numerous plastic, metal and sea glass hearts, including larger ones from gold wire, diamantes and sparkly paper. I found all of these bits and bobs of hearts – and the mirror – on the streets of Melbourne during my daily walks.
In November 2022, this work was in the Creativity Cluster exhibition, Melbourne: Our Creative Heart, at the Docklands Library. The City of Melbourne provided an Arts Grant to support the exhibition. In 2023, the work appeared in the Technicolour exhibition at Geelong Illustrators to celebrate their fifth anniversary.
I work as a found object assemblage artist and jewellery designer, creating wall sculptures, 3D sculptures and brooches. I limit my ‘raw materials’ to the metal, wood, tiles and plastic that I gather from streets and skips.
The Melbourne skyline, especially at sunrise and sunset, inspires many of my works. Often I try to incorporate ‘natural features’. A bent nail may suggest a meandering river. Rusted sheet metal can transform into a cloud. A broken tile becomes a mountain.
My more abstract works are stimulated by the found objects themselves, which I often place in juxtaposition. At other times, I emphasise their rusted, scratched or variegated surfaces.
My art is inspired by a strong interest in sustainability through repurposing and upcycling. My hope is that this artwork makes you smile. At the same time, reminds you of the 5Rs to help our planet: refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle.
