When the much-awaited Sculptures in the Garden exhibition returns to Mudgee in October, it will feature two works by emerging Trangie steel artisan Sam Rush.

Delighted to be invited to exhibit his work at the prestigious event, which runs at Rosby Wines from October 11–26, the 53-year-old is looking forward to making the trek to Mudgee to display his works.

The career welder has developed his creative skills with steel over many years, and admits that last year was a pivotal time for his creative work.

“Twenty odd years doing onsite welding, farm repairs, building big sheds, stuff for semi-trailers, and employing people... I just wanted to have a bit of a change and slow down a bit,” Sam explained.

“I shut the gates one day towards the end of last year and thought I’d like to get a bit creative and make a few bits and pieces,” he added.

“I’m doing something I want to do rather than what I have to do.”

He has made pieces for family and friends and had interest from people in Sydney wanting to display his steel sculptures in their gardens.

Aiming to have some more time to make his sculptures is high on Sam’s agenda. He admits when the creative vision takes hold though, he sometimes finds it hard to down tools and go home.

“Sometimes you don’t want to leave it alone. You don’t want to go home when you’ve got a vision of a piece in your head,” he told Dubbo Photo News.

“It’s easy to draw it on paper, but trying to get the idea from out of different shaped steel pieces can be a bit of a challenge,” he said.

“A lot of the time I’ll be walking around my workshop and just looking at what’s there. A large piece of pipe or something that’s a bit of a curve, and I’ll start to think – how could I use that?”

Industrial equipment, parts, off-cuts and machinery also inspire Sam’s creative vision as he looks to repurpose pieces others might consider worthless.

“If you look at it side on and think, ‘oh, I could probably make that into something a bit more artistic,’ it’s about making it work,” he added.

Excited to be part of Sculptures in the Garden, his first official exhibition, Sam hopes it may lead to him participating in future exhibitions.

“I'm just keen to get over [to Mudgee] and see what the whole scene’s about and talk to people and see what else is around,” he said.

“It’s baby steps at this stage.”

Sam’s wife Skye and grown-up sons Jeremy and Max are very proud of Sam’s work. Jeremy, a contract cattle musterer in Western Australia, enjoys showing his colleagues photos of his father’s creative pieces, which they then share on social media, Sam said.

Sam will join another sculptor from Narromine Shire, Nicola McCutcheon, in the prestigious Mudgee exhibition.

Are you going to Sculptures in the Garden next month? Be sure to look out for Sam’s work while you’re there. Information about the event and tickets can be booked via the event website of the same name.