News

‘Repurpose and reclaim’: creating artistic treasures

By Abby Green

Feb 17, 2026

As the saying goes, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure — and for Cobram’s Fiona Hackett, it’s a philosophy she lives by.

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Finding value in items others may dismiss as ‘junk’, she transforms discarded materials into distinctive, one-of-a-kind works of art.

A versatile artist, Fiona boasts an impressive range of skills, from painting and pottery to mosaics and sculpture, she embraces it all, guided by her motto: “repurpose and reclaim”.

“I have a tendency to look at things, perhaps a little bit differently than what most people do,” she said.

“I go to op shops and I will often stand there with my eyes closed and feel the texture of something and say, ‘well, can I press my clay into that to end up with that shape?’”

A birdbath Fiona Hackett has mosaicked. Photo by Abby Green

In creating her works, Fiona said she had a “feel for it”, looking at something and seeing what it could become.

“When I look at a spring, I don't see a spring, I see a dog with golf club ears ... I don't necessarily think of it as it is today, it’s what it might be tomorrow,” she said.

“Repurpose and reclaim — I repurpose so it’s not totally wasted.”

Fiona creates birdbaths, bee baths and garden pots alongside her sculptures and paintings, selling her work at the Cobram markets and through commissions.

Fiona lives on a sprawling 10-acre property filled with an array of collected and handcrafted pieces, reflecting a creative mind that sees potential in everything.

She describes herself as “eclectic”, a quality evident in the diverse pieces she creates — including a magnificent lyrebird sculpture displayed proudly in her yard.

A lyrebird sculpture made by Fiona Hackett displayed proudly in her yard. Photo by Abby Green

“The lyrebird I've welded ... the tail is welded from the Haynes harnesses that the older style horses used to have and then the middle drift and the bottom section are part of the ploughs,” she said.

“The scarifiers that dig and are ‘V’ shaped have been formed into the body component.

“Then the legs are actually chains from an excavator, but instead of the chains being loose and moving, I’ve welded each chain link so that it’s solid and that’s created the legs.”

Fiona’s artsy inclinations stem from when she used to play outside in the mud as a child.

“I used to take Mum’s cake pans out and make little Egyptian urn shapes and paint them, and if they were good enough, they’d go into the hallway cabinet for display,” she said.

A sculpture of a dog, named Hunter, made of repurposed materials by Fiona Hackett. Photo by Abby Green

Fiona has been shaping clay since she was six and now, with 64 years of experience, teaches painting, pottery, mosaicking and more, sharing a lifetime of artistic skill.

“I’ve got a full program where I'll run one or two each month with different things, and it depends on what people are asking for,” she said.

Fiona said she loved to see the joy on people’s faces when they saw the finished product of their creation in her workshops.

“The genuine, heartfelt joy that somebody has when they've created something, well, I get to do that all the time,” she said.