“If it has a past life, that is what I want.” Nothing he uses is new. That is the point. Metal that has already lived a life somewhere else. Most people throw it away. One man from Shildon picks it up, cleans it off, and turns it into something worth keeping.
Eight months ago, 28-year-old Thomas MacPherson had never picked up a welder. Today the Shildon-based sculptor has work showing at the Pineapple Art Gallery in Bishop Auckland, with a second gallery already lined up to display his pieces. For a self-taught artist who only started in September last year, it is a remarkable place to find himself.
The Pineapple Gallery is small, and Tom, its owner, has to be selective. More people ask to exhibit than he can ever accommodate. MacPherson walked in unannounced one afternoon as Tom was midway through changing the window display. He showed him a lizard, a spider, a fly and a large motorbike — each one built from old tools and reclaimed parts. The pieces went straight into the window. “For me,” Tom says, “it is a lucky find.”
For Thomas, it started with a gift. A friend handed MacPherson a welder — something he had wanted to get into for a long time — and a long-held curiosity quickly became a daily reality. In September last year he set up in his small back yard with that welder, a grinder, and whatever scrap he could find. There were no classes, no formal training, no one showing him how. Just him, a machine he was still figuring out, and a yard full of salvaged metal. “Over the past few months I’ve been teaching myself, and I’m learning more every day.”
The work begins with materials most people would walk straight past. All of his sculptures are made from salvaged metal, collected from sheds, gardens, allotments, scrap yards, and garages — anywhere he can find something with character and a history worth preserving. The making process does not involve a lot of planning. It usually starts with a drawing, sometimes a few from different angles — after that, his instincts take over. He cuts, welds and shapes it by hand. “Every mark stays. Every piece is different.”
MacPherson’s weeks follow no fixed pattern. Some days he loses himself entirely in the work, completely immersed in it. Other days he gets a couple of hours if he is lucky. Since his back yard does not have much room for anything other than metal, his allotment has become his garden instead. Up there he grows flowers and vegetables and takes his time away from the welder.
An ammonite sculpture. An aeroplane. A car. And pieces made from horseshoes. All of them made in a backyard in Shildon, all of them already sold. Thomas has been finding buyers through Facebook since he started, and No. Three Fine Art in Bishop Auckland is already holding further pieces ahead of a future display. For a man who some days still questions whether his work is good enough, the evidence is stacking up on one side. Though when you ask him what selling actually feels like, the answer cuts straight to the point. “It’s not really about the money for me — it’s more about seeing someone connect with something I’ve made. That’s the real reward.”
Thomas started with a gifted welder in his back yard, with no training whatsoever. He still questions himself some days. Other days he feels genuinely proud of what he has created. Both things can be true at once — and both are driving him forward. With his work now displaying in the Pineapple Art Gallery and further pieces held at No. Three Fine Art, two venues have already decided his work is worth showing. The scrap he builds from has had many past lives. Something tells you Thomas MacPherson is only just beginning his.
Henri Birkholz
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
Bishop Auckland's local community newspaper.
