Pete Rush, an Australian Sculptor, creates a sculpture of a horse using driftwood, which he collected on the beach, some palm tree seed pods, and flax that took him almost two hours to construct.
The day before he scoured the beach for driftwood and when he found two pieces that resembled a horse's head, it inspired him.
Once the wood was collected he laid it out on the ground in the shape of the horse.
He collected the palm seed pods to use as the tail and mane of the horse.
He used flax to hold the pieces together.
When asked how he does it without referring to drawings, he says he has the drawing in his head which he can rotate in his mind and that the sticks are like bits of the drawing which he puts into place.
He doesn't use any screws, glue, or cable ties.
He uses gravity, natural joins in the wood, and flax to hold the sculpture together.
Pete first started making his driftwood creations at the start of the year when COVID hit.
His first creation was also a horse and it was inspired by a palm seed pod that reminded him of a horse's tail.
As he completed making the first sculpture, many people came up to him and told him how good it made them feel, and how much joy it brought to their day, then he started building them regularly.
He has made several amazing sculptures on the Central Coast of NSW including a giant whale with legs, kangaroo, emu, mythical creatures battling, penguin, a huge Dromornis, giraffe, black swan and many more.
They are hugely popular with the locals and tourists alike and is extremely photogenic.
Some of his creations take three days and nights to build.
Others he completes over a single night, and they are revealed in the daylight at the delight of the beach walkers.
Unfortunately, at times, drunken youths smash the sculptures using big sticks.
When asked how he felt about that, Pete said, "it didn't hurt too much if he'd only spent a few hours on them, but the ones which he spent a few days on, it hurt!" He recalls seeing a youth hitting his giant Dromornis (ancient bird) and chuckled when he saw how the bird was so resilient the stick bounced back and almost hit the youth.
Pete has many interviews with the media as his sculptures are true art and inspired by world events.
He recently made a giant elephant in the baked mud in memory of the elephants dying in Botswana, and also a kangaroo to remind us to bounce back from COVID.
Pete is an inspiration to many and is bringing real joy in a time of despair.