Background

From farming to sculpting

I live in North East Victoria, on a rural property running a beef cattle farm with my husband. For many years I have learnt to utilise many skills to ensure that many jobs on farm can be completed, such as building fences and gates, dams, excavation and earthmoving work, stock management and many other skills that when in a rural area one must learn as it can be difficult to get someone to assist. It was mostly a lot of hard work, but a great way to gain confidence and skills, mostly a lot of labour and hard work.

But one day, I decided to make my workplace also my hobby by turning work into pleasure.  So as an artistic outlet, I decided to use these skills and make the most of my time and tools.

Metal sculpture has been an amazing media for me, and soon left other art mediums to concentrate solely on metal.  I find metal work a good outlet for recreation and also for my own wellbeing.

My artworks are made from recycled and re-claimed metal machinery and implements on farm, some pieces of metal are well over 100 years old and are part of the Sonnemann history. Things like hand-made large square nails.

The sculptures I create

I specialise in Fauna (animals), both Australian and overseas species. Most of the animals I create are either Endangered or on the IUCN list of Threatened species. I am particularly passionate with reptile species as myself and my husband are both Herpetologists, and this has given us an outlet from farming, one that we strive and excel in. I try to capture the image and essence of these animals before they become extinct. It is also a way to help people become aware of these animals and perhaps enlighten them of the plight of these species and ways they can help.

I am a novice in terms of experience and exhibitions, I am self-taught in welding and blacksmithing methods. I utilise the nature of steel and love how it has a liquidity that allows my animals to flow. It has been a challenge to turn hard, cold and usually angular metal into soft animal forms without melting steel. My metal sculpture creations have given me an outlet for my positive wellbeing as I seldom venture off farm. I feel that my sculptures capture the nature of the animal I am creating.