METAL Art Creations are what Dongara based artist Peter James forges from scrap metal and fittingly it is the name of his business.
Sculpting art from old farm machinery and scrap metal is a different process for Mr James than it is for many other artists who make metal art sculptures.
"Other artists create the form by using many small pieces to create the shape," Mr James said
"I use existing pieces that are already the shape of what I want to create.
"I find the shapes in the pieces of machinery and scrap that I want to use, not the other way around.
"I like to call what I do, representational realism."
Mr James said this involved not being photographically perfect, but rather letting the base form be the guide.
"For example I am making a bird bath at the moment, that is a tree branch, holding the bowl, with little blue wrens sitting on it," he said.
"You have to have things that are relatable and not too abstract, the form should be able to be interpreted easily.
"One of my favourite mottos is KISS - keep it simple stupid - as this helps me find the best pieces to work with and creates the art in a way that people are able to connect with."
Art has always been an integral part of his life and Mr James originally painted as his main artform.
Having completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Curtin University he entered the course originally for painting, but instead discovered a passion for sculpting.
"When you go into a fine arts degree, you are expected to know everything already and are just really there to refine your skills," Mr James said.
"I did a summer course while there and made sculptures out of limestone.
"I just really fell in love with sculpting then and there"
So how does sculpting limestone and painting turn into metal art sculptures?
Growing up on farms, Mr James said he was always exposed to the repurposing of materials and the fabrication of items required.
"As most farmers will know, you learn to improvise and innovate," he said.
"This is because the three-hour or more round trip to town to get the parts required is often not possible, especially if the job needs to be completed as quickly as possible."
This early-life experience helped to visualise pieces for new purposes.
It also exposed him to another very useful skill, in welding, which he was able to hone through other pathways.
"I lived on a farm in Narrogin until I was 12," Mr James said.
"My dad was racing speedcars at Narrogin Speedway, so I would help out with the repairs on the cars.
"I was pretty much self-taught with welding and went on to race in demo derbies with my own cars.
"The welds had to be good to protect you."
Mr James' enthusiasm for speedway was not only his masterclass in welding, it saw him win a demo derby against 74 other cars at Claremont Speedway in its last two years of operation.
But I digress, the skills he garnered in welding have been imperative to the success of his sculpting and making of his artwork.
Mr James said there was an old saying in art that it was 40 per cent in the making and 60pc selling.
"But with what I do with scrap art, I find it is more 30pc finding, 30pc making and 30pc selling, which I know doesn't quite add up - but it is what works for me," he said.
Mr James said he used to look in the Farm Weekly to find clearing sales to attend and buy the items he needed.
He has since found merit in working with a scrap metal dealer in Mingenew, Jeremy, who owns Scrap n Crap.
"It works out easier and less time consuming to buy from someone like Jeremy," Mr James said.
"Whereas I would go to a clearing sale and buy a 24 disc plough for $100, then spend two days breaking it down to get the discs I wanted.
"I can buy the discs direct from Jeremy and cut out the extra work."
Everyday farm implements are like gold for this creator who utilises scarifier points, harvester fingers, cogs and gears and has a particular soft spot for old Sunshine Harvesters.
"I really like the old sign and the cogs and gears from the Sunshine Harvesters," he said.
"But there is one particular piece on the front of the Sunshine Harvesters that is a perfect base for other projects."
Some of his biggest sellers are grass trees, horses, dragons and blue wrens.
These are popular and have evolved over time, with the blue wrens stemming from three years of development during his university degree.
"Other things like my grass trees have changed after finding better pieces to use," Mr James said.
"I found some old galvanised water pipe from my dad's farm in Kalbarri worked perfectly for the trunks of the grass trees, with the pitting already in place instead of me trying to create that look."
The creative process has helped Mr James cope through times when depression could have taken hold in his life.
"I was a bit down after the breakdown of a long-term relationship," he said.
"I was also frustrated with my work, I was making a lot of the same pieces for orders.
"I think if you are making the same thing all the time it gets repetitive and you lose focus and purpose and it becomes a chore, where making art is no longer fun.
"I decided to build something I had found some pieces for earlier.
"So I made a one third scale German Tiger tank.
"I have always liked World War II tanks.
"It was all scaled up from four wheel drive disc brake rotors, which worked perfectly as the wheels in the tracks."
Mr James sourced some old drag chain from Cockburn Cement at Dongara, previously used in the lime conveyors, which was perfect for his tank tracks.
"I changed every single link to face the other direction, it took 35 hours to make the links for the articulated tank tracks that drive.
"The whole process helped me and gave me a real sense of achievement, I am really proud of it and it always gets a lot of attention."
Mr James said it was important to know the personal signs when it came to mental health and have an outlet, and for him it was being able to lose himself in the moment of creating art.
"I think you get your most enjoyment out of people appreciating your work and seeing something no one else has created before," he said.
"It is like creating your own world of sculptures."
The major platforms to showcase Mr James' art included the Perth Garden Show and the Balingup Garden Show.
He said there was nothing more he liked than seeing children really enjoy his pieces, like the scale tank and climbing on it and moving and opening the turret and barrel around.
This has inspired some future pieces.
"I am working on a tractor at the moment," Mr James said.
"I remember the old tractors that they used to have in the school yards and parks for us to play on as kids, until they got too old and dangerous.
"It inspired me to make some small tractors that parents and grandparents could buy to put in their gardens for kids to sit on and play on.
"I am also currently building a fence for a dragon I have made that could potentially go in the Castaway competition held on the Rockingham foreshore.
"I need a fence for this one as some of the pieces, in particular the spines on the back would not be safe for kids to climb on."
While COVID-19 may have stopped the garden and flower shows this year and created a lull, there has been a serious uptick in business.
"All my major shows were cancelled and it went really quiet," Mr James said.
"But since the restrictions have been lifted I have received heaps of interest."
A love for art is something he wanted to pass on and train others in.
"I have a young guy, Zac, working with me, from TAFE in Geraldton," Mr James said.
"He comes out with things I would never have thought of and it is great to have that."
At present Mr James has a few items in selected places around WA, but mostly his art is available direct from him and there are plans for a showroom in the future.
