Jordan Tarlinton started sculpting when he was 15 after his father bought a welder.
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Two years later he exhibited his work at Sculpture Bermagui in 2016.
His work has now been accepted for eight consecutive Sculpture Bermagui exhibitions, as well as at Lake Light Sculpture in Jindabyne.
Some of his work is installed at Bega High School, Tathra Beachside Apartments and GJ Gardiner in Mirador.
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How it started
Born and bred in Bega, Mr Tarlinton has always enjoyed making things with his hands.
His sisters rode horses so his mother had a collection of horse shoes.
She had seen a sphere made from horse shoes and suggested he did something similar using the new welder.
The first one was more egg-shaped than spherical but he was hooked and soon friends and family were commissioning him to make horse shoe balls.
It was one of those he exhibited - and sold - at his first Sculpture Bermagui in 2016.
Recycling
From there he experimented with other bits of steel he collected.
Over the years friends and family asked him to clear up bits of steel from around their farms but now he predominantly sources his material from farm clearance sales and any steel advertised for sale that looks interesting.
"I find old bits of farm equipment and scrap steel, something already damaged, bring it home, pull it apart and try to make something," Mr Tarlinton said.
He prefers working with recycled metal because he enjoys the challenge of working out how to change it so that someone else will give it a new life.
"That is where I get the passion."
Each sculpture starts with a "vague vision" but no detailed plan how to get there.
There is considerable trial and error picking up pieces to see if it works.
"So you never know what the end result is going to look like."
The response
When Mr Tarlinton finishes a sculpture he gets satisfaction showing what he has created from something his friends and family had called a piece of metal junk.
He enjoys exhibiting his work because it is an opportunity to show it to more people.
"I get the joy of making the piece and hopefully bringing a smile to someone else's face and it brings joy to them."
Mr Tarlinton is pleased there is a professional judge at this year's Sculpture Bermagui.
"That brings in more professional artists which brings in a bigger crowd which is better for local artists like myself."
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