Rusted iron and the generosity of fellow artists

One thing about my form of art is that the materials often don’t cost a lot – not many people are marketing rusted iron, cast off copper and brass objects or preloved and rotten timbers. But then again these objects are often hard to come by as they can just be sent to rubbish tips or to commercial metal recyclers. So it is always good to have friends and family on the lookout for bits and pieces.

Over the last couple of weeks I have had a bit of a windfall in the rusted iron department. I had to say no to Susan (print and handmade book artist) and Edith-Ann’s (ceramicist and assemblage sculptural artist) separate offers of rusted corrugated iron – I’m not quite up to working with pieces that can accommodate the scale of corrugated iron yet.

Kim (who combines rusted metal with ceramics) delivered these great metal plugs from the rubbish tip of a metal fabrication workshop.






James (who is into marble sculpture but is also a builder) rescued and delivered this huge (2m high) 3mm thick plate rusted fire place and rusted 2mm floor out of a 6X4 box trailer.







And Edith-Ann provided the rusted out top of a 44 gallon drum.





And of course the rust itself is a beautiful gift of nature.





I just love the fact that the network of fellow artists supports what you are doing artistically and are so generously willing to share.