Art has become the livelihood of Northmead resident Christopher Smith.
The 28-year-old’s father, Colin, died nine months ago and he left his workshop to his son.
Previously being a tattoo artist, Smith describes himself as a creative, drawing his inspiration from steampunk.
“It’s elegance that you don’t find in modern-day artwork,” he said.
Drawing inspiration from myths and legends, he built a dragon turtle called Chelonius Machanica.
That was his first ornamental piece which his wife Kara decided to create a Facebook page for.
This page is used to document his art pieces.
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According to Smith, after about 24 hours, he was contacted by Will Ferriera who invited him to the Parys Arts Festival happening from March 29 to April 15.
“I couldn’t believe that he was interested in my work,” said Smith.
According to Smith, each artist taking part in the exhibition can bring five to 10 pieces to exhibit.
To date he has completed three items and aims to have enough for the festival.
“The purpose of the festival is for local artists to showcase their artwork,” he said.
“It’s so exciting to think that I will be showing off my work.”
Smith uses wood, copper, brass, steel and glass to create his ornamental pieces.
“All the material I use is re-purposed and recycled.”
Apart from creating art pieces, Smith has opened his own company called Mad Cult Forge, where he creates metal works from blades and knives for decorative purposes.
Smith said artists should take their time when it comes to their pieces and they should let the piece speak to them.
“Believe in yourself and take a chance, you never know what might happen,” he said.
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