What the farmers have left behind, thrown out , dumped or discarded, I seek out. I search the paddocks and farm tips for "rubbish" such as old machinery, rusted barbed wire, old drums and, of course the ubiquitous corrugated iron. I take the objects I wish to use and I leave the rest with a feeling of sadness-they have been trwon away; they have been used and abandoned.

 

Climbing down into rubbish tips with anticipation, with excitement as to what I may find and select, signals the start of the process: the beginning of my art. I feel that this collection of material, the delivery on the back of the ute, the sorting, the cutting and drilling are as integral to my work as the assemblage and installation. 

 

Finding a rusted 44-gallon drum, which has been buried for years, I take home. Excitedly, I cut the drum vertically in half with the angle grinder and then flatten this out by driiving over it in the ute. I clean it with a spray gun and apply rust protective spray. 

 

The 'Farmer's Quilt' series at the top shows the seasons of the land. Observing the changes of colour in the paddocks, has inspired these works. The Canola crop (Spring), Paterson's Curse and Burn Off (Autumn).

 

The second row are 44-gallons drums simply cut and flattened, a celebration of the amazing colors and graphics found on these discarded drums.

 

A rotting drum reminds me of bush fire. I have flattened the drum and stitched it to a rust-prepared canvas with bale twine. Bushfire.

 

Used wool bales with stencilling provided fabulous graphics that formed another series.