Artist crafts cutlery into stunning sculptures

By Freddie Noble

A clever artist is turning ordinary household cutlery into stunning sculptures of animals.

Darrell Olsen creates sculptures such as iridescent parrots, stag's heads, garden birds like Robins, as well as animals such as hedgehogs and Highland cattle.

Darrell’s latest design features antlers fabricated from intricately cut and welded tent tubes.

Coffee and soup spoons, specifically chosen for their varying shapes and sizes, create the eyes, ears, cheeks and nostrils, and beautifully patterned knife, spoon, and fork handles shape the neck and chest.

Mounted on a beautifully shaped piece of wood, crafted by his woodworking pals, Darrell’s latest artwork is competition-ready at the independent art gallery in Bridport, Dorset.

He has made nine models since he began his business back in 2015, and usually makes around two a year.

Darrell, a former metal welder from Leeds, West Yorkshire, said: “I put a lot of time and effort into the tiny details. It takes about 10 hours to make a robin."

"They are like a 3D jigsaw, but you have to put them together in the right order."

More of Darrell’s designs come to life in the living room. The elegant angel candle holder, her wings, re-shaped and re-purposed from catering trays, are outstretched from her pepper pot body.

Darrell uses Dessert spoons, tea strainers, flasks and sugar bowls are just some of the cutlery consignment contained in the stacker boxes neatly arranged around Darrell’s workshop, where he brings the animal images and inspiration he sees to life.

Darrell said: “My main aim is to upcycle as many metal items as I can by creating bespoke, unusual and quirky artworks to last a lifetime.”