A lifelong love of birds is reflected in my latest works, with a bird’s lightweight skeletal structure and feathered outer form well suited to my medium of wire, recycled textiles and discarded fishing gear.

Birds, and my representations of them, embody fragility and strength combined.

The techniques I use in my sculptures are informed by my life at sea – ropework, knotting, splicing, whipping and wire.

Extended periods at sea with limited resources needs creative solutions to the problems that inevitably arise in such a harsh environment. Making do with the materials at hand becomes a survival skill.

I enjoy the problem solving involved in creating a three dimensional representation of a bird using diverse materials, while always striving to capture the essential character of each particular bird.

Art has always been a constant during my often diverse life and career paths. An early start of an arts degree at Prahran College in Melbourne was derailed by the urge to travel, but art stayed with me in one form or another over the years.

It was a counterpoint to the physical demands of fishing, the mental demands of finishing a marine science degree years after leaving school early, and while working with subsistence fishers in the Pacific islands and then back to the Australian fishing industry.

After a lifetime in the tropics I am now settled away from the sea, south west of Ballarat, and my work has evolved to reflect the materials at hand, while still maintaining conversations around sustainability, the environment and art.