Good driftwood – bleached, rounded, but not rotten – is hard to find and must be dried carefully. The best pebbles are sea-rounded limestone, lava and brick, which can be drilled and slotted. As a connoisseur of rusty wire, Steve believes that the best is from old springs and concrete reinforcement. He adds fantastic tails and crests of copper or brass, metals that soon take on “worn” colours and blend in with the other natural materials he uses.

“… the fun is to find things that most people wouldn’t look at twice, and to turn them into something with character and, I hope, a little humour.”

Buy with an interest-free 'Collectorplan' loan from the Arts Council of Wales. Click here for details.