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David Brozinski can look at a motorcycle fuel tank and a pile of old spoons and see an owl.
By day, he's the principal solicitor for the Emma House legal program, but in his spare time he transforms discarded metal into intricate sculptures.
It's an unlikely shift for someone who had never considered himself as being particularly artistic.
David first took up woodworking as an adult, before an uncle gave him a stick welder during the COVID-19 pandemic and sparked his interest in metalworking.
He has since transformed his shed into a smithy, complete with a forge, an anvil and other metalworking tools.
While many blacksmiths make functional items such as knives, David has increasingly gravitated towards artistic sculptures made from recycled materials.
He said that the appeal is a combination of working with his hands and expressing his creativity with something tangible to show for his efforts.
“I kept doing it because it’s really nice to have something to show at the end. A sense of accomplishment, which you don’t always get from paid employment,” he said.
“It’s very different from being a lawyer.
“It’s good for your mental health.”
Of all the sculptures he has created, David said he was particularly proud of his owl, the first large piece he made.
The sculpture is impressive at first glance, but like much of David’s work, reveals more of its character the longer you look at it.
It’s body is an old motorcycle fuel tank, its eyes are ladles and its feathers are made from spoons.
David said the project required numerous visits to op-shops to collect enough cutlery.
“A lot of trips to op-shops to find more and more spoons, and I was very excited when I found the gold ones,” he said.
The motorcycle fuel tank that forms the owl's body had been picked up by his father at a clearance sale.
“I go to clearance sales with my dad and he bought the fuel tank. And when he did, I said ‘what are you buying that for? It’s just a piece of scrap. You don’t need that’ and then 12 months later I was like ‘you know that fuel thing? Can I have that?’”
David said that there is a strong online community of metalworkers to draw inspiration from, while sometimes, just seeing an item can be enough to start forming an idea of what it could become.
“The moose started because the green bits were off an old mower that was just on the side of the road,” he said.
“It’s just about finding the right bits of scrap to put it together.”
David will be among more than a dozen artisan makers at the WreckFest Rare Trades Festival at Flagstaff Hill on Sunday November 1.
Last year's WreckFest was one of his first opportunities to demonstrate his skills and sell his work to a large audience.
He said the experience had been incredibly rewarding, particularly the opportunity to share his passion with people who had never tried metalworking.
One interaction with a young girl who stopped to watch him making metal flowers has stayed with him almost a year later.
“A little girl came up and she was really interested and was asking lots of questions,” he said.
“That was really nice to maybe spark an interest in somebody else.”
WreckFest will feature demonstrations by blacksmiths, coopers, cane fishing rod makers, leadlighters, leatherworkers, potters, brewers, woodworkers, lace makers, knitters, silversmiths, glass etchers, hand shearers, quilters, embroiderers, felters and herbalists.
There will also be demonstrations of traditional food preserving and even a town crier.
The Warrnambool Garrison will fire the 80-pound cannon and there will also be live music and food vendors on-site.
Regular admission fees apply, with free entry for Warrnambool City Council residents via the Local Ambassador Program.
For more information visit www.flagstaffhill.com