Meet Mark Kelly - the self-proclaimed nerd, who has many tricks of many trades under his sleeve, with his most recently acquired being metal art.
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The Mittagong resident began to dabble in the craft during last year's lockdown, and has had many requests from loved ones to create bespoke masterpieces.
"It has kept the brain ticking over," he said.
"If thought if I could draw it, I could cut it out."
Commissions have included screens, firepits, and memorial plaques for greyhounds at Greyhound Rescue.
His experimental mailbox covered in hand-cut Waratahs has also been admired by many.
"I wanted to learn to weld aluminum and stainless steel, so I found a welder with a plasma cutter in it," he said.
"I was not sure how to weld so I used YouTube which was a good starting point."
Mr Kelly's background in mining engineering and software development, coupled with his passion for photography made him curious about crafting work from metal.
He has just finished his first sculpture which showcased the life-cycle of a gum leaf.
"I had a sheet of steel and wondered what I could do to it," he said.
Three individual leaves were hand-cut in varying sizes which Mr Kelly admitted was "refreshing."
"I could not see the design on the screen for that scale, so I decided to do it freehand," he said.
The three leaves were made using stainless steel and rusty steel to demonstrate the gradual decay of a leaf, with the tallest leaf measuring 2.4 metres.
"I have loved working with metal, and love the combination of metals," he said.
The middle leaf was a "hybrid" the two metals which Mr Kelly said he enjoyed experimenting with.
"I got a bit ambitious - my mailbox had a lot of elements, but this leaf was another step up," he laughed.
"The leaves had curves, curls, and bends."
Photos of nature had always been an inspiration for the handyman, but he admitted they did have their limits.
"Photography was always two-dimensional," Mr Kelly said.
"When I have created three-dimensional work, there were different angles."
The sculpture was created to be a centrepiece for an exhibition property in the Everglades, Katoomba in September.
"Sometimes you ended up with something you did not imagine," he said.
"It was a matter of experimenting and I have liked the creativeness."
Mr Kelly was also a member of Artists of the Round Yard - a group of printmakers, photographers, sculptors, painters and jewellery makers based at Retford Park.
He said he was hopeful to exhibit at their next showcase in October.
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