Oily Rag Studio: (Art) life begins at 60

After a dedicated, decorated, 39-year career as a Brookvale mechanic, Jim Cowden didn’t feel the appeal of swanning off into retirement to play golf and seek eternal youth in arthritic soothing creams. No, at age 60, the man who’d spent his entire working life in Brooky decided to commit to a new path, setting out to forge a career as an artist, converting the Cowden Automotive workshop at 4/26 Wattle Rd Brookvale into the Oily Rag Studio. 

“My 60th birthday was fast approaching, and a friend asked me what my plans were,” says Jim. “I told him about my interest in the arts, the lights and sculptures I’d been creating, but it was best to put all that off till I was 65, work another five years in the automotive business, be more financially comfortable, less stressed about money, then commit to the arts from there.” 

Jim’s friend waited patiently for the play-it-safe, life-long mechanic to complete his very reasoned spiel about the inescapable considerations mere mortals must weigh up in the fiscally focused game of life before countering, “I think your biggest mistake is waiting, Jim. Look at our friends. Some of them have already gone, others are getting illnesses. You need only get a health issue that slows you down and you won’t be able to do what you want to do. Your artwork’s great, you won’t have any issues selling it. Go for it, mate.”

This conversation simmered in Jim’s mind for a couple of weeks before he decided his friend was right. At 65 he might not have the same enthusiasm or may succumb to a health issue which changes everything. No time like the present. The Oily Rag Studio was open for business full-time. 

There’s no easy way to explain the crazed genius wonder of what Jim is creating with lights, aluminium, glass, high heels, lamps, race cars, you’ll simply have to visit the studio for yourself. Having spent his life working with his hands, fascinated with design, besotted with sheet metal, aluminium, engineering, obsessed with ensuring the functionality of his creations, it is Jim’s bespoke lamps that so far set his work apart. 

“90% of commercial lamps are boring, white and chrome,” says Jim. “But with a passion for sculpture and lighting, I can create some very unique, innovative and captivating designs.” 

His engineering skills have been incredibly valuable in this whole process. Each lamp is engineered from scratch, with minimal electrical servicing complications while still being able to achieve whatever look a client is chasing. 

Ever the tradie, Jim’s artistic approach has a refreshing absence of grandiosity. “I’m not going for big profound statements here. I like the work to almost be simplistic, easy for people to just appreciate it for what it is. There doesn’t have to be something deep and meaningful attached to it.”

Jim is however a details man, “I like people to look at the work and study it. You could get a slab of concrete and call it a sculpture, but it’s just a slab. But, if you’ve got all these little bits of detail, you’re inviting people to look at it closely, to study it, and what they end up seeing might be different for each person. I put lots of little details into my work, and it’s up to the individual to work out what they think of it.”