Metal Artist Amanda Fillmore turns Trash into Treasure

Karen Graham

Amanda Fillmore is a metal artist whose work is sold at local retail outlet Anchor and Company.  She was first introduced to metal work in high school at Adam Scott Collegiate when her father suggested she consider welding for her Co-op semester.  Her creative side was already well developed, as in grade 8 an oil painting she submitted to the Buckhorn Art Show won an award.  She spent the semester at Canadian Welding Skills in Bridgenorth, and became intrigued with the flexibility of metal and the variety of components at her disposal. On one winter day with few students in the classroom, students were given the freedom to experiment with the trade.  She began to play around with some scrap material and began to make metal art.  Since then she continues to collect scrap metal components for her expanding variety of projects.

Her most popular items are garden décor items made from used cutlery.  She uses the bowls of spoons to form petals or wings, and the handles create leaves or bodies for flowers and butterflies.  Items are mounted them on garden stakes or forks for use in the garden or flower pots.  Other outdoor décor projects include metal people, dragon flies and even custom railings.  Amanda prefers to leave the metal in its natural colour instead of painting it, and by relying on recycled raw material, she keeps her costs down, reduces product headed for the landfill and challenges her creativity at the same time.

With a full time job and Cycle Salvage (a convenient source of scrap material) and a two-year-old at home, Amanda does not have a lot of time to devote to her craft, but she finds it a welcome outlet for her creativity besides generating a bit of cash.  Besides her sales at Anchor & Co., she offers her work for sale at small craft shows, which is where she first connected with the local retailer. To see more examples of Amanda`s work, visit her Facebook page entitled“ Amanda`s Metal Creations“.