The Adlington Post

This face is on a small canvas [2inx3in] & was put together in a few seconds. The pieces are not fixed down so I can play with the image infinitely. This is the beauty of digital photography with this sort of art...the assemblage is ephemeral...the photograph is the artwork. See more of my recycled, upcycled and environmental works at www.martinadlington.webs.com

I now have two golliwogs in my collection - the chappie on the left was my Mother’s...he lived at the top of the stairs for many years & looks like he was made from recycled wool. The cheerful fellow on the right is new - I bought him at my local charity shop. They are having a great time together & I am looking everywhere for more! Maybe I will have to make some?

This fish-hook is about 2 ft high & is cut out a piece of copper sheet from a hot-water cylinder I found in the kerbside collection. I have painted it black & am thinking of bronzing or gilding it??? In Maori mythology the super-human trickster Maui fished up the North Island from the sea. The traditional names for this island group commemmorate this feat: The North Island is Te Ikaroa-a-Maui (“The Long Fish of Maui”). The South Island is Te Waka-a-Maui (“The Canoe of Maui”). Stewart Island in the far south is the legendary anchor of our hero’s canoe: Te Punga-a-Maui, while the Mahia Peninsula in the east is identified as Maui’s fish-hook: Te Matau-a-Maui. SOLD See more of my recycled, upcycled and environmental works at www.martinadlington.webs.com

When I was in Napier last summer I spent time out at Haumoana beach, just south of Napier. (“hau” = wind/breath, “moana” = sea/ocean...so “breath/breathing of the ocean” I guess) There is no sand here on this rugged west coast shore - but zillions of small black pebbles instead. The waves roll them up & down the steep beach......& the sound is amazing, just like the sea breathing in & out. I took a short video too, & love to listen to it with the sound up LOUD! One day I drove the van onto the beach & when I jumped out - this incredible piece of art was right at my feet. People had lit a bonfire & thrown pieces of thin alloy metal from a car into the flames - which melted & later solidified into this fabulous amorphous shape. On the back of the piece are stuck hundreds of stones from the beach....a great memento of my happy beach combing days at Haumoana.

I I made this motorcycle from beer bottle pull-tabs found in the trash a short while ago. Yesterday, Blake, the 9 year-old boy from next door, came to visit - he loves to help me unload the van & see what I have found in my wanderings....after we unloaded my haul, he asked if he could make something from my pull-tab collection; & in 5 minutes he had sellotaped this figure together! - I think it’s fantastic..he really has a gift for assemblage - another budding bricoleur!! See more of my recycled, upcycled and environmental works at www.martinadlington.webs.com

Last week I found a video on Alexander Calder in the library. What most intrigued me was the graceful way his gigantic mobiles danced in space - the static images in books give no hint of this beauty. Another aspect I found interesting was the fact that the connecting wires are not all straight, as one sees in most commercial versions of this art form, in contrast Calder’s wires curve aerodynamically. Yesterday I bought some suitable wire & got to work.....& it’s not that easy!! As a jeweller, small constructions appeal to me, so I tried my hand on a miniature scale using discs cut from plastic bottle tops, & then some plastic tiki from the souvenir shop.....I was quite pleased with the results, & am at present working on a larger version for submission to an art competition. A slight breath sets the pieces into action - spinning & bobbing. and under a directed light they cast the most fantastic shadows on the wall. I look forward to making videos of this poet

I found these bicycle parts in a dumpster recently. The wires are the brake cables - I am not sure whether to leave them on or cut them off? I kind of like them. A possible title for this piece is “No Bull” - references to Picasso’s original sculpture & Magritte’s “This is not a pipe” being intentional. Otherwise it could be a “Recyclabull”? See more of my recycled, upcycled and environmental works at www.martinadlington.webs.com