By Catherine Watson
EVERY time I pass Pat Wishart’s place I slow down, scanning for something new, a life-sized dinosaur, perhaps, or some other surprise.
The other day I stopped for a chat and a closer look. Stepping into Pat's garden is a fantastical, slightly mind-bending experience. Giant crabs munch on seashells. An echidna stands guard over a spiky banksia cone. An oversized fist crumples the letterbox.
EVERY time I pass Pat Wishart’s place I slow down, scanning for something new, a life-sized dinosaur, perhaps, or some other surprise.
The other day I stopped for a chat and a closer look. Stepping into Pat's garden is a fantastical, slightly mind-bending experience. Giant crabs munch on seashells. An echidna stands guard over a spiky banksia cone. An oversized fist crumples the letterbox.
Often it takes a second or third look to grasp what he’s done. That giant chain link out the front? Carved from a single piece of wood. It’s the kind of thing that makes your head hurt just thinking about it.
Even the apparently ordinary has a secret life. That axe embedded in the chopping block? It too is carved from wood.
Pat trained as a stonemason, building houses (including his own family home) and beautiful drystone walls. When the physical toll became too much, he retrained as a masseur. But all along he’s nurtured his creative spark, learning by doing, forging his own path.
We wandered around the garden while Pat told me a bit more.
"I've been wood sculpting for 10 years now. I get a project in my head and off I go. I'm kind of retired from massage now, so I've got a bit more free time. If I've got a few days spare, I'll make something."
"Sometimes the shape of the wood suggests a piece but other times I've got a project in my head and then I'll look out for something that size. I'm lucky that my son-in-law owns a sawmill at Fish Creek. I'm not allowed in his good pile but I'm allowed to look through the scrap pile."
"I use a lot of cypress which is a bit harder than pine but softer than hardwood. Some of it I treat with a stain, some of it I just leave it to weather. After a few years it rots, and that’s fine too. "
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“I used to be a stonemason. I did stone houses and stuff like that. And when I stopped, I missed the building and creating. The art grew out of that. The pottery and sculptures are a bit of an extension from building houses.”
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"I’ve sold a few of the big wood works in the past, but not on purpose. I do it for my own enjoyment. If I set out to sell my work I probably wouldn’t enjoy it as much."
“The talking fish are one of my favorites. That drystone wall's made from Kitty Miller Bay bluestone.”
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“I’ve just finished this kiln. It’s got two chambers. I’ll probably fire it up in the next month or so. I can fit 40 to 50 pieces in there. I'll fire it for two days. It's quite technical to get the temperature right. You've got to stay with it. You have to stoke it with small bits of wood. and wait 10 minutes and then stoke it again and keep these peaks coming.”
”I've been making lots of wombats and they sell at the hand maker's store at Fish Creek. I've sold hundreds and hundreds of them.
“These are made out of clay from some of the new estates in North Wonthaggi. Our local clay is quite iron-rich so it’s good to work with."
“These are made out of clay from some of the new estates in North Wonthaggi. Our local clay is quite iron-rich so it’s good to work with."
“This is my pottery shed. I love playing with clay and wood. When I'm sick of working with clay, I'll do the wood.”
“I made Archie Roach for the Bald Archies exhibition at the Archies Creek hall a few years ago.”
“I sculpted this from a big slab of coal I found at Harmer’s. There are always bits of coal getting washed up. It's very toxic to work with. I had to wear a mask the whole time. After you shape it you use wet and dry sandpaper to shine it up.”
Pat will lead a tour around his sculpture garden on Sunday, April 19 at 10am. Email [email protected] if you'd like to be part of it.