Archie Calder (11), of Becks, admires one of his father
Robbie's garden spheres made out of barbed wire. Photo by
Lynda van Kempen.
It is not often that ''tidying up an old fence''
translates into a work of art.
However, that was the case for Becks farmer Robbie Calder,
who struggled to keep up with the demand for his garden art -
barbed wire spheres - at yesterday's St Bathans Village Fete.
''They've sold like hot cakes, and I've taken orders for more
- I'm a bit surprised,'' he said. The largest were about a
metre in diameter and smaller ones were designed to be
suspended from trees. He also made some with long bolts in
them representing knitting needles, so the sculptures looked
like giant balls of wool.
Mr Calder makes no claims about being an artist and said they
were ''something to do on a rainy day ... which also gives me
some beer money''. He used gloves to make the spheres, which
were made from old fence wire, and there was about three
hours' work in the largest pieces, he said.
''I saw the idea in a magazine and thought ... I'd have a go
at making them. They seem to be quite popular.''
He was one of about 40 stallholders at the fete, which is run
by Cambrian St Bathans Rural Women. President Gill Naylor
said there was a steady stream of visitors all day.
Several groups took the chance to raise funds at the event
and proceeds from the day would also benefit the wider
community, through projects being carried out by Rural Women,
she said.
A ''ghost hunt'' was one of the activities, with children
getting a map and finding ghosts and giant gold nuggets
hidden around the village. In early March, St Bathans, Becks
and Cambrian celebrate the 150th anniversary of gold being
discovered in the area.
-lynda.van.kempen@odt.co.nz
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