Our People
6 February, 2025
Ararat sculptor: blends whimsy with industrial for unique steampunk art
Ararat sculptor blends whimsy with industrial for steampunk art
Trash to one person is a treasure to another, and Ararat Sculptor Craig Shalders has combined the new and the old to create an art form partly inspired by what he finds and partly from his imagination.
While he was influenced by growing up in an artistic family, he has found his own unique style, blending the contradiction of whimsy, bohemian masquerade and industrial to create a steampunk art form.
"It's really about having fun, " he said. "And about making products to last.
"I want to make items that last decades and not become part of the throwaway trend.
"People have all sorts of interests and hobbies; my interest just happens to be creating items from old bikes and discarded metal items.
"I played squash for 35 years, but my knees let me know they'd had enough, so I had to find another interest."
Mr Shalders collects and repurposes as much as possible for his art, creating a balance between new and old in his creations.
"I buy some pieces, like metal rods, for example, and I bought the nuts for the Nutman," he said, referring to his most ambitious creation.
The Nutman is a lifesize statue of a person at least 185 centimetres (6 foot tall) weighing 75 kilos, complete with fingers and toes, a top hat and a cane.
The entire statue is made from 3/8" (10 ml) nuts, each with three spot welds connecting it to the next nut
"I'm not sure how many nuts I used, but it weighs 75 kilos," he said.
The Nutman is made from different coloured bolts, which creates an individual element, and he has done the same with the busts and masks he makes.
Mr Shalders began making small flowers, animals, and people from metal a few years ago before attempting to make the lifesize Nutman.
" I made the small items, and then I made the masks, and after that, I thought I could probably make a human."
The masks are an excellent decoration for inside the home and in the garden, but if they are to be worn, they must be custom-made because they have no flexibility.
"I don't want to end up at the emergency department to have one removed," he laughed.
Wife Kendra is not usually surprised by her husband's creations. However, after going to a conference for several days and returning to find a life-size human sculpture standing in the workshop, she was impressed, perhaps rather than surprised.
"When I left for the conference, he had a lifesize arm in the vice in the shed, and when I got back, there was the Nutman; he'd put it together," she said.
"So .......you made a human.
" Craig can do whatever he puts his mind to, he has the patience and the perseverance as well as the skill," she said
Along with the Nutman, he has made several metal female busts from various objects, including bike chains.
Craig said he had challenges creating a mould for the busts.
" Kendra wouldn't model the cast for me, .and I can hardly walk up to people in the street and ask them if I can use them for my models, can I," he laughed.
Bike chains provided the flexibility for him to create a large butterfly, so a collection of discarded bikes has now found a new lease of life in the hands of this sculptor.
He collects lawnmower blades from the local repairer and used bikes from hard rubbish. He feels it is better to repurpose these items than to go into landfill.
He made a tiny mouse and a spider for staff members at one of the schools where he works in maintenance and is currently working on another surprise gift but that's all we can say about that at this time!.
"It's just fun to do this," he said.
Throughout the Shalder's home and garden, there is evidence of his art, beginning with giant decorative balls made from numerous metal circles at the driveway entrance, a massive fire pit, the bespoke front door and the outdoor living room.
His repurposing extends to his wife's dog grooming business, which displays a desk made from a repurposed door and a variety of metal objects he has created.
For now, he is happily creating for fun; because he prefers the flexibility of making what he is inspired to do by whatever materials he finds and by his imagination, but an exhibition in the future is not out of the question.