Sanglier

A recent life-size wild boar sculpture created from a wide variety of old agricultural implements and filled with the largest pinecones that I could find.

Heron and Nest

This is really two sculptures placed together; The last time I made a set like this, someone bought just the nest and I sold the heron to another customer some time later. This set has been created for a local exhibition and may well stay together when it is sold. Ironically, the nest was about twice as much work to make as the heron. in this example, the eggs are boules, but I have used white pebbles in the past, and blown goose eggs would be suitable too.

Foal

A photo of a Foal; just for once I have tried to show how it evolved in the next four posts, using whatever I had lying around.

The start of my Foal sculpture

People keep giving me old agricultural implements so that I can use the parts for my sculptures, and these horsedrawn ploughs were no exception. For an experiment, I decided to make something with them, taking photos as I worked, so here goes...

Foal under construction

Four plough handles have been used to form the legs of a foal; it's useful here to have a variety of ploughs to work with so that the legs don't all look the same, although one of them had to be extended using a hammerhead, as it wasn't long enough!

Foal, two thirds done

In this photo you can see that I have used one of the ploughshears and a couple of rakes in the body of the foal; Not so visible is a shovel as the animal's buttocks.

Foal complete

The finished foal sculpture stands 1m70cm high; since I started taking photos of the construction, I decided to complete it with it's head turned to the left, i.e. away from the camera, but you get the idea! February 2011.

Christmas Deer

Created for Christmas presents, these deer now live a few miles apart, although they look good as a pair. Maybe one day I will make a herd which can live together at the top of my garden. They'd probably survive longer than their real counterparts if spotted by the local hunters!

Damsel Fly

Similar to an earlier dragonfly sculpture, the Damsel Fly uses a leaf spring for the abdomen,while the front wings are much lighter and feature chicken wire veins.
Built 2010

Soaring Buzzard

This sculpture fixes to a wall via a single metal spike on it's tail.
The buzzard's body is made from the end part of grass cutting machine, while the flight feathers are blades from a rotorvator. Two large rakes are used in the wings, plus a tiny rake makes the tallons.

The Orbitron

Similar to the 'Globe', this sculpture stands 1metre 30cm high and uses parts from cart wheels and wine barrels; the ball at the top is a 'boule'.
created 2010.

Patio Prawn

This is only the second prawn that I have made; it departs from the usual
gardening implements that I use by being based on a moped silencer. There again, it
would be unusual to find a prawn in the garden, but it looks quite at home by the pool!

The Globe

Created for a French businessman who travels the world, this is a rare departure from my usual animal subjects.
The hoops were salvaged from old wine barrels of different sizes, while the topknot is the handle assembly from a cutlass. Height 1m 30cm.

Armiliary Sundial

This sundial uses three metal 'tyres' from cart wheels and includes a fountain at the base.
It was built to celebrate a 50th birthday, marking the passage of time, and including one of my Rusty Roosters to signify the early morning wake-up call. It also features a fountain at the base and measures over 3metres high. July 2010

Armiliary Sundial detail

This view shows roman numerals and fountain rose. Note that it was taken a few minutes after 3PM.

Dragonfly

Some leaf springs from an old cart were the inspiration for this dragonfly; the thorax was a small axehead, and the eyes are a pair of rusty boules. Wingspan 1.4m
June 2010

Mo's dog

This life size Retriever was commissioned for a birthday present as a constant reminder of a faithful friend who had recently passed on.
Amongst the usual collection of agricultural parts is a waggy tail made from old saw blades.
June 2010

Poochie

A sturdy little dog which uses the front forks of a bike as well as the saddle.
May 2010

Two Opposing Roosters

A pair of rusty roosters created to sit on two stone pillars in the hallway of a big house.
They have been made from similar parts, but still retain their own identities. May 2010.

Farmyard Goose

Geese are everywhere here in the Perigord, so it's surprising that it's taken me this long to make one. The neck is from a car exhaust, while the breastbone is a framesaw and a pair of hoes make the feet.

Two Geese

These geese were a commission for a garden in Holland.
Designed as a pair they are each based around a garden frame saw, but from then on use very different parts. For example, one head is a moped silencer, the other a boule and candle snuffer joined together.

Dog with Ball

This playfull little dog has the remains of a bicycle saddle for his head, while his body includes an old animal trap amonst other things. He stands astride a small cannon ball in anticipation of a game.

Hungry Hound

The backbone of this dog is the main frame from an early ox-drawn plough, and the largest two prong fork form his front legs. His ribs first saw service as a set of shire-horse shoes. He would be the ideal fireside pet if he could only fetch sticks...

My own Rooster

I thought it was about time I had a rooster of my own, so I made a base from a large wheel which had been salvaged from a sluice gate, added a hollow log and then created a 'boss' rooster to preside over the rest of the animals in the yard. He stands two metres tall and was finished in June 2009.

Porky Pig

Similar to my wild boar sculptures, the body of this life-size pig has been constructed from a collection of barrel hoops and stuffed with large pinecones.
The front legs and ears are gussets from a harvesting machine, and the buttocks are two shovels. A variety of other farm related tools make up the rest. September 2009