A NEW Anzac sculpture has been installed at Cumnock, marking the latest addition to an ambitious project bringing the town’s history to life through public art.
The sculpture was created by local business Eden Design and Decor, owned and operated by Tania and Justin Lampe, in collaboration with the Cumnock Progress Association and its passionate member Rhonda Watt.
The Anzac figure is the latest in a growing collection of metal sculptures around Cumnock, including a fairy, children, animals and other figures installed around Cumnock’s oval.
Ms Lampe said the project had been a particularly meaningful collaboration between the business and the Cumnock community.
“Rhonda and I are both very passionate community people,” she said.
“She rang us and said, ‘I’d love to have a sort of haunting, beautiful Anzac that’s a tribute to all our Cumnock fallen’.”
The design process began with a series of ideas and sketches before the team settled on the final concept.
Ms Lampe said creating the sculpture involved a lot of brainstorming to make sure it was just right.
“Even with the Anzac, we had the cross flat and then we’re like, well, you don’t stand next to a cross, you’re looking at a cross,” she said.
“So, then we kind of played with the cross to make it look like he was facing it.”
While the physical fabrication of the sculptures can take only a few days once the design is finalised, Ms Lampe said the creative process could take weeks.
The sculptures are designed digitally before being cut from steel using the business’s plasma cutter, with Justin then responsible for welding braces and supports to make the pieces safe and secure.
“It’s the design process that takes the time,” Ms Lampe said.
The couple’s work within the Cumnock community began after the Cumnock Progress Association secured a grant for improvements to the town’s oval.
Eden Design and Décor created the picket fence and entrance, before the project grew to include a series of custom-made sculptures.
Ms Lampe said the sculptures had become a draw card for families, with people stopping to visit the park and share photographs of the artworks online.
“We often see photos on people’s Facebook with the sculptures,” she said.
The Anzac sculpture is just one part of the Cumnock Progress Association’s broader vision for the town.
Ms Lampe said further sculptures were already in the works.
For Ms Lampe and Justin, the project is a way to give something back to their community.
“We do like doing things for the community,” Ms Lampe said.
“Fencing, doing all the ovals and stuff, you’re doing something better for the community.”
Eden Design and Décor began after Justin, a boilermaker by trade, purchased a plasma cutter initially for fencing brackets.
His creativity soon led to the creation of decorative metalwork, including sculptures for the couple’s own garden.
“People just started seeing stuff in our garden and said, ‘Can you make me one?’” Ms Lampe said.
The couple eventually turned the growing demand into a business, opening a shopfront before the floods forced them to step back.
Today, Eden Design and Décor continue to create wholesale metalwork and custom commissions, with the Cumnock sculptures providing a rewarding creative outlet for a community the pair feel deeply about.
Ms Lampe said the couple loved seeing people discover their work in unexpected places.
“We had cousins in Melbourne that messaged me a photo from her friend that had driven through Cumnock and seen our stuff for the community,” she said.
The couple said they were always open to hearing ideas from community groups and individuals and helping turn those ideas into something tangible.
“We always respect everyone’s ideas,” Mr Lampe said.
“If they’ve got an idea, they bring it to us, we can tell them if it’s achievable or not, or we might put our spin on it as well and then create something new for them.”
For the Cumnock Progress Association, the sculptures are helping create a town that celebrates its history while giving visitors another reason to stop and explore.
And for the people who made them, seeing children and families enjoy the artworks is perhaps the greatest reward.
“It’s a win-win,” Ms Lampe said.