Details

Size: height 40cm; base 20cm x 20cm.
Materials: scrap hardwood, electric heater base, reproduction blender, lampshade, chandelier parts, door lock, salvaged wood, Christmas lights.
Date: 2023.
Note: requires mains 240V power.

Art From Trash

Aurora was made for the annual “Art From Trash” art show in 2023 at the Long Gallery, Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart. Organised by South Hobart Tip Shop, perhaps the premier tip shop in the state, though Mornington is pretty good as well.

Here’s the artist’s description I wrote:

Aurora is a party girl from the 1920’s, a “flapper” as they were called with bobbed hair and 
short (showing her knees!) dress. She never goes out without her string of pearls. Now along 
a bit in years but still up for a good time. She only dances when people are near, a bit of a 
showoff!

The head was suggested to me from an offcut of red pine from an old bed frame I was given, 
at least 50 years old. I just thought “1920’s hairdo”. There the matter rested till I found 
an old door lock at the tip shop. Then she had a face. Her frock, arms and hands are from old 
light fittings, and make her a very graceful dancer. The base mechanism is from a heater 
with the body of a blender attached, top made from a monitor screen, and old Christmas lights 
inside. People sensor from a broken smart heat pump.

All materials were discarded rubbish, even the nuts and bolts. Many of them are from Margate 
Tip Shop and from donations to Hobart Hackerspace. 

Description

She is another flapper, a sister to Celeste, but of course she differs in the details. Here’s a group shot:

Her arms came off a hideous 1970’s gilt chandelier, but look much better made into arms. I also managed to find two pieces that make excellent hands, these held the glass shade of a light in place. Oh how I love light fittings!

The door lock for her face actually came from the tip shop, a nice touch. They gave it to me as it was missing the bit that goes on the door, but I never found a use for those bits, besides I’d sooner leave a working lock for someone who needs one.
Her eyes are rubber paper feeding bits from a computer printer, that give her my trademark staring eyes look. The green pupils are from a broken plastic chopping mat, a nice colour & texture.
Her hair is a piece of some old growth softwood, very close grained, it might by celerytop pine; it came from an old bed frame I was given. Now such timber would be reserved for boatbuilding. This time I gave her pearl earrings: more bead chain from a roller blind with a bead from a broken neclklace on the end.

Her legs are plastic tubing from a bathroom shower, they look pretty special. Her feet are the bits I cut off the light fitting to make her hands. Waste not want not!

Her podium is identical to that I made for Celeste: a retro blender case with a sheet of plastic from a LCD monitor on top.
But the lightshow is rather different, rather than using the LEDs that change colour on their own I had to use the programmable coloured LED strip. THis was because the flashing LEDs had somehow corroded in storage to the point where I ouldn’t reliably solder the leads. So I took them out and used a strip of addressable RGB LEDs and a controller like I Made It Myself. I made the lights fade a bit faster and added a bit of flashing, but not too much.

As a final nice touch I fitted a movement sensor to her, same sort that are used in burglar alarms. This turns on the lightshow when it triggers, than a few seconds later she does a few twirls. This had the intended effect, as people would pause to look at her, then she would start dancing, I heard a few “ooohs”. Nice to give a bit of happiness.