Three by Three: Guest Artists in Focus

Kirsty Elson
Artist/Maker

MEDIUM:  driftwood & reclaimed materials (anything that's free!)

BIO:     I’m a driftwood artist living in Cornwall, UK. I studied illustration at Cambridge School of Art three decades ago but, whilst I enjoyed it immensely, realised that a career in illustration wasn’t for me. It was after a move back to the south west with a young baby years later that I started creating as a way to earn a bit of money in my spare time: making cards and flat pieces from scraps of driftwood. As time passed, my work developed into more 3-dimensional pieces. For a long time, I made cottages and lighthouses, inspired by my coastal surroundings. Now I prefer to make animals and birds, which funnily enough was always my favourite subject matter in my student days. It feels like I’ve come full circle in that respect, especially because I consider my pieces as 3D illustrations rather than sculptures (only I’m working to my own brief, not someone else’s!). I think my customers like the simplicity and the humour in my work, and I honestly have so much fun making it. I consider myself incredibly lucky.

WEBSITE:     KirstyElson.co.uk

QUESTION 3.   You incorporate found objects in delightfully unexpected ways. How do you recognize when a discarded item is the “right” detail for a piece you’re building?

• ANSWER 3.    That’s an interesting one! Quite often, I will find a piece and know immediately what it could become. Other pieces I might take home because I find them interesting, but they could sit in my stash for a year or more until inspiration strikes!

QUESTION 2.   Your sculptures balance raw natural texture with gentle, playful charm. What guides your decision on how much of the wood’s original surface to preserve versus refine?

• ANSWER 2.   I try not to change the materials I find too much, preferring to keep the original finds as authentic as possible. Some of those bits of wood or rusty metal are works of art in their own right, and I really don’t want to spoil that. Sometimes finds will need a good clean or light sanding if the paint is flaking off too much, for example. But any rivet holes or rusty stains I try to incorporate into the design.

Bear, 2024

Deer, 2025

Banana Dog, 2025

All copyright and reproduction rights are reserved by Kirsty Olson.
Artwork may not be reproduced in any form without the artist's express written permission.

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QUESTION 1.   Sourcing materials from discarded items seems central to your practice—do you have a favorite “hunting ground” like skips or markets, and how has that shaped the evolution of your sculptural style over time.

• ANSWER 1.    I tend to head for the same beaches when hunting for wood. Luckily they’re pretty close by and debris collects there because of the direction they face. The only problem is the climb down (worse on the way up with a rucksack full of wood!) but I suppose that’s another reason it’s plentiful there, as no-one else is mad enough to carry it away! I still get a real buzz finding good bits now. Occasionally I’ll go to a car boot sale or junk shop to see if I can find anything suitable. The other thing is, customers send me stuff they think I might use, or friends might leave bits on my doorstep. Quite often, they’ll be materials I wouldn’t normally look twice at, but that’s good! It forces me to think outside the box.