"I worked in the steel industry from the age of 16 - now I use it to create works of art," Jason Heppenstall

“I have always done a mixture of big public sculptures and small private ones. This is the biggest private one and it is going in the client’s garden,” says Jason.

Working from a 2D image, Jason interpreted his own design in dragon form which was intricately created over three months through forging, to shape the metal parts, and welding, to secure it together in the workshop at his Huddersfield home.

“Looking at the image I scaled how big I wanted the head to be in comparison with the rest of the body. I always do the eyes first, get those in the right position with the nose, then I put the jaw in and once the face is finished everything flows from there.”

Keith is one of Jason’s favourite creations, coming close to Meg, another dragon, made from scissors and punchings from ice skates. The addition of chicken wire to her outstretched wings added an ethereal effect. Meg is one of many commissions Jason has made over the years – standing proudly in the grounds of a bar and restaurant. Other sculptures, some made for community art projects, are scattered around the country. The ReBar Godwit was one of his biggest works. Weighing two tonnes, the commission, for Hull Docks, was created from heavy chains relating to the dockyard.

The Steel Man, depicting a foundry worker in overalls, hard hat and pouring molten steel – an effect achieved through brass and copper - into a foundry mould, was a family memorial commissioned for the site of a former foundry in Derbyshire.

Allen, an 8ft tall Peregrine falcon, fashioned from 17,000 allen keys, was donated to Sheffield by IKEA and stands outside the city’s Diamond Building; the Salmon of Steel, outside Sheffield Train station, was a symbol designed to celebrate salmon are once again flourishing in the River Don.

These are just some of the sculptures Jason has made since setting up HeppoArt – ‘Heppo’ being his nickname – 12 years ago. The business grew out of a determined mind. Years spent in the steel industry stifled Jason’s imagination. It was a yearning to turn the ideas in his head into reality that led him into self-employment. Standing in his workshop, where every conceivable tool he needs is very much to hand, you can understand why Jason feels at home. Within this space he works with his head and his hands to produce awesome pieces not limited to public art.

Designing stainless steel gifts from recycled parts for family and friends kick-started Jason’s foray into sculptural art. Biggles, the hedgehog garden ornament crafted from bicycle cogs, was a gift for his wife, Tracy.

“I did a sheet metal fabrication apprenticeship in the mid-80s – I have been working with steel since I was 16 years old,” says Jason proudly.

Social media introduced his art to a wider audience. He was invited to participate in exhibitions and has participated in TV programmes – Channel Four’s ‘Four Rooms’ where dealers in art, antiques and collectibles are prepared to spend their own money for the right item – and the BBC’s ‘Home is Where the Art Is’ – opportunities he wouldn’t have had if he hadn’t followed his dream.

“For ‘Four Rooms’ I made a massive alien out of car parts and managed to sell it for the asking price,” says Jason.

In ‘Home is Where the Art Is’ Jason explains he successfully pitched his winning idea from a buyer’s brief. “I knew she was born in the year of the moon landing and wanted something abstract and geometric shapes or colours. It was quite a broad brief.” Jason also picked up on the buyer’s interest in retro and upcycling which he included in his design – a button moon inspired rocket on a revolving base. “They picked two artists to go forth and make it into reality then you had to present what you had done and they chose the one they wanted to buy,” explains Jason.

His involvement in creating an owl from a young artist’s sketch as part of a community art project led to his appearance on the Quest’s Scrap Kings.

Away from the small screen Jason is busy exhibiting his work.

Ziggy (Stardust) – so-called because of his eyes made from different coloured paper weights – is a sheep crafted from a shovel for his face; washes for his tail and other recycled scrap. He was originally made for an exhibition at Doddington Hall in Lincolnshire and has since returned to Jason’s garden.

“I was asked to take part in the exhibition, to make something for the inside or outside. I wanted to make a sheep because sat on the grass it looked nice.”

Jason is due to showcase a collection of pieces when me meet – named after song titles, including some inspired by his favourite band, Pink Floyd – for the ’10 Artists’ annual exhibition at Baslow Village Hall, near the Chatsworth Estate in Derbyshire, to support the Samaritans in Sheffield.

The impressive collection included a beautiful steel sculpted crow depicting Pink Floyd’s ‘Ticking Away the Moments That Make Up a Dull Day,’ and ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ is captured in a display of toffee hammers on a metal background formed like bricks. A Hummingbird perched on a flower and crafted from knives and spoons reflects the Canadian band Rush’s song title ‘Fly by Night.’

The sentimentality of Jason’s work continues into the comfortable living room of his home where a Buffalo’s head hangs above the fireplace – painstakingly crafted out of the tools his late father-in-law, Jon, used during his career as a mechanic.

Vincent is a photo memory of one of his favourite creations so far. The lion, made from bicycle chains, was originally made as a bust as Jason explains. “It was one of the first things I made and a lady bought the bust from an exhibition. She got in touch and asked if I could make him into a full-size lion.”

Jason has sent pieces to clients in America and France – Australia is the furthest destination his work has travelled when he created a bumblebee for his bee-keeping cousin.

“Everything is recycled steel,” says Jason, who is fortunate to receive donations of scrap metal. “People have been so generous – it is fantastic what people donate.”

Of course, re-purposing scrap into art form is a skill in itself. “You need a good knowledge of steel and welding, a creativeness and to be able to think freely,” says Jason. “I love being able to think and to be creative. I just feel like I am in heaven.”

www.jasonheppenstall.co.uk