This small 3x4x5cm sculpture is a ‘portrait’ called Put on a Happy Face 4. It can sit happily on a bookshelf or desk, or even in your bathroom, where it can make you smile every morning.
I created it on a piece of triangular faux wood that I found on a footpath in Canberra. The square-shaped raised arms are made from thick bent wire. Washers form the ‘eyes’, a tiny screw is the ‘nose’, and a U-shaped wire adds the ‘mouth’. All of these bits and bobs I found on the streets of Melbourne during my daily walks.
Working as NancyDee Sculptures, I am a found object assemblage artist and jewellery designer, creating wall sculptures, 3D sculptures, art magnets and brooches. I limit my raw materials’to the metal, wood, tiles and plastic that I gather from streets and skips.
Many of my works are inspired by the Melbourne skyline, especially at sunrise and sunset. Often I try to incorporate ‘natural features’ – a bent nail that suggests a meandering river, rusted sheet metal that transforms into a cloud, or a broken tile that 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.
This is my first ‘happy face’ sculpture. I have created a few other faces on different types of backgrounds, but they are all brooches.
My art is inspired by a strong interest in sustainability through repurposing and upcycling. My hope is that this artwork makes you smile and, at the same time, reminds you of the 5Rs to help our planet: refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle.
