Indiana James on KI: In the Kangaroo Island region of South Australia

For most of us beachcombing is one of the more relaxing holiday pursuits - a wonderful way to pass the time. So too for artisan Indiana James, but for him it is work.

“That is the head of a small pelican. You can see the pelican's eye and even some beautiful feathering around it.”

With part one of the jigsaw puzzle in hand it's up the hill from his local beach to his Kangaroo Island studio. It’s called The Piggery Studio because until the seventies it was a piggery.

Step inside and it becomes apparent that Indiana is into recycling. While the pigs have long gone, their old stalls are now work sites for a number of local artists, many of whom originally specialised in metal. In fact, when he first started here, Indiana learned how to work with molten metal. You could say he was as happy as a pig in bronze. And his mastery of the artform is revealed in many of his works. The day we visited there was a masterpiece in progress - a bronze Leafy Sea dragon. You may have come across a real one if you’ve dived off the coast of KI. It’s actually South Australia's marine emblem and to attempt to capture it's subtlety and intricacy in bronze is truly awe-inspiring.

“Before I put the copper fins on I made a mould of the wood carving, anticipating that I would eventually make a bronze. So from that mould I made this entire creature in wax.”

The delicate leaves of the Leafy Sea Dragon were then made separately.

“An artist in the hills named Tim Thompson showed me how I could weld all these leaves onto this body.”

Now he's into the final stages of a three-year project, which shows his amazing dexterity with so many materials. But his real forte is working with wood.

“I use materials like driftwood off the beaches and iron off the farms and attempt to bring Australian critters out of that work.”

Take a look around the shed and all is revealed - in one corner a brolga, a pelican made of driftwood and galvo. And his current fascination is definitely with the ubiquitous pelican. He’s studied its skeletal structure in detail including the primary feathers needed for flight.

“There are eleven of them, all hooked to that hand. Can you imagine being able to wiggle your fingers and change your direction in the air? Would that be a trip or what?”

If it flies in our skies or swims in our oceans then Indiana is determined to capture its spirit in discarded wood and whatever else he can find. It's been a long road for this descendant of Swiss farmers in the Midwest of America. He was trained as an exploration geologist and once worked for Santos before hitting a major crossroad in life. That’s when he decided to explore other options.

“I was burnt out in my job so I resigned. I gave myself a week to leave that position, sold my house, bought an old Landrover, moved everything I could into it including my carpentry gear and just took off.”

Now from the window of his studio he looks out on American River and Pelican Lagoon and maybe contemplates the source of driftwood pieces. Like the one he found at Flour Cask Bay and transformed into a Harlequin Fish.

“The fact that this might have sailed around on a Chinese Junk for a hundred years before it went into the waves really adds a fascination. Some of the early people I talked within the arts community gave me the concept that eyes have it. I learned that a really good portrait on a wall appears to follow you around the room. And that’s the real key to a fascinating piece of art. So I started bunging these plastic eyeballs in my work. Now you see that eyeball is very realistic. This fish lives out there it called a harlequin fish. The real fish is bright orange with blue spots. An absolutely stunning creature.”

A recycler to the very end. The eyes are from discarded Teddy Bears and are repainted to match nature's beauty. The Harlequin Fish, Brolga and Pelican are all part of the ever-changing array of pieces on show at the Piggery Studio. It's on the road from Penneshaw to Kingscote. Just look for the sign to Lincoln Green about three kilometres from Penneshaw. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards.sa.com.au