His apprenticeship in mechanical engineering and his self-taught blacksmithing skills were suddenly in demand when he started receiving orders from his mum’s friends.
“In my spare time, I made a life-size charging bull from horseshoes, and it sold for good money.
“I was still working, but it felt like the universe was pushing me in another direction.”
2022 was a busy year of change for Thomas.
He used the money from selling the bull to kit out his workshop with a decent welder, build a forge, and take a leap of faith.
Rock and a hard place
“Things were a bit of a struggle that first year,” Thomas said.
“To get a name for yourself, you need to prove yourself and show people what you can do.”
He developed a love of working with corten steel and went door to door seeking commissions.
A pub commissioned a corten steel cowboy sculpture, which led to a further commission for five stag heads fashioned from horseshoes.
This kick-started his business and, once again, he invested in more tools.
He spent six months building a corten steel sculpture titled Rock and a Hard Place.
This striking and moving piece won the People’s Choice Award at the 2023 NZ Sculpture Onshore, which raises money for Women’s Refuge, supporting women and children affected by domestic violence.
“Rock and a Hard Place” won the People’s Choice Award at 2023 NZ Sculpture Onshore.
“That sculpture was inspired by my sister’s experience with domestic violence while she was trapped overseas with a small child,” he said.
“She really was caught between a rock and a hard place, and I hoped it would encourage her to keep fighting.”
The sculpture depicts a woman made from corten steel, standing tall despite carrying a large, heavy rock.
With knowledge of the backstory, it is certainly a thought-provoking and powerful piece.
Thomas donated his prize money to Women’s Refuge.
“That sculpture sat on my mum’s lawn for a year before we decided to donate it to the auction at the 2024 Rural Industry Leaders Dinner, which runs alongside the National Fieldays to raise funds for the Rural Support Trust.
“At auction, Rock and a Hard Place raised $85,000 for the trust.
“We’re a farming family, so it meant a lot to us that the sculpture was going to help rural communities.”
The raw materials
Thomas is particularly drawn to the challenges and possibilities presented by steel sculpting, and he enjoys exploring techniques that create different effects.
He uses a wide range of materials, including corten steel, old horseshoes, farriers’ rasps and stone, to craft sculptures that are unique and connected to New Zealand.
“I have a number of farriers who supply me with their old horseshoes and rasps, and a large sculpture can use hundreds of shoes.”
Using an LPG forge and an anvil, Thomas heats, beats and bends the steel.
Jamie working on a metal skull commission in his workshop. Photo / Catherine Fry
Horseshoe sculptures are sandblasted to clean them, with some left to rust naturally over time, while others are galvanised by acid stripping and dipping in zinc.
This protects them for up to 200 years and gives a shiny, silvery finish.
He takes on projects that can take up to two years to complete, but he balances them with smaller works to maintain income.
Jamie with his corten steel cowboy sculpture.
While interest in his sculptures is strong in New Zealand, there is also growing demand from the American market.
Currently, his “big” project is a larger-than-life galloping horse, which has already been framed using steel rods.
“It will take many more months to build the outer layer from farriers’ rasps, which will flow over the contours of the horse’s body.”
For the 2026 Rural Industry Leaders Dinner, Thomas donated another sculpture: his 2023 2.6m-high, 300kg horseshoe creation of racehorse Phar Lap, ridden by Jim Pike.
Thomas admires Phar Lap’s New Zealand story and is pleased that another of his sculptures will help raise funds for the Rural Support Trust.