.

ARRIVE at Michael Kusz’s workshop and you will be greeted by a charming little rook perched on a fence post. Step inside and, behind Graculus Limited’s modest showroom at the Dales Centre in Reeth, is a workshop filled from floor to ceiling with all manner of things: sheet upon sheet of metal, yards of copper wire, books on dinosaurs and even a stuffed parrot.

This is where the magic happens.

Here in his workshop, Michael hand-crafts a myriad of metal creatures, real and mythical. The collection includes bats, wyverns, spiders and bees, but the most spectacular pieces in the Graculus workshop are the rooks: with their beady eyes and cheeky expressions, you’d be forgiven for thinking they might come to life once your back is turned.

Each numbered piece is constructed from recycled metals sourced from up and down the country.

Copper hot water cylinders are particularly valuable. Different concentrations of nitrates and sulphates in water from different regions give each sheet of metal its own unique patina, featuring a beautiful spectrum of colours ranging from muted gold to vibrant turquoise. “Copper is such a fantastic material,” says Michael. “The more I work with it, the more I’m inspired.”

The 51-year-old studied a degree in sculpture at Sheffield University in the late Seventies, but it took some time for him to find his feet. Following graduation, he had projects in the pipeline but he kept questioning whether his work could be considered art. “It took me many years to come to the conclusion: who cares?”

he laughs.

Originally from Bridgend in South Wales, Michael moved to Grinton, North Yorkshire in 1983 when his wife, Kath, took a job at a school in Bedale. He started working in the crash repairs department of a local garage but found creativity slowly creeping back into his work. “I got my confidence back with working with various metals, taught myself how to weld and picked up mechanical and engineering skills,” he says.

Michael calls this 14-year stint “a long apprenticeship”.

Named after a dragon from the Sixties children’s programme Noggin the Nog, Graculus Limited came about in 1997 when a spate of home improvement shows started focusing on the garden as an extra room. “I thought: ‘These are very lovely, well set-out gardens but they’re missing a focal point’,” he recalls. “I thought, ‘If I was going into my own private space, what is it that I’d like to see there?’”. Michael felt that the only garden sculptures on the market were too intellectual.

Instead, he wanted to create something that would lift his mood. “That’s how the rooks came into being; they’re something that you can interact with.”

Now he most definitely prefers creatures to cars. “I tend to work straight into 3D, using flexible zinc sheets; I call it drawing in 3D.” He then plays around with the form and if it’s successful, he translates it into copper.

“I do try to get life into the pieces,”

he says. “If they don’t come alive then I can’t let them go. I keep working on them until I find out why they’re not living. I have a strong inner critic and if I can satisfy that, then the pieces can go into the showroom.”

Graculus sculptures are sold in 14 galleries across the UK; others have made their way across the world. “I have rooks in Australia and New Zealand, a bat in Russia, and a sheep in Texas,” Michael laughs, as he recalls how an American couple holidaying in the area carried the 35kg life-size sheep onto their flight home as excess baggage.

So far, Michael has produced 1,226 bats, more than 300 rooks and a whole host of other beasts. He also accepts commissions and has produced a number of larger-scale sculptures, including an 8.5ft dragon and a Tree of Life for Wakefield Hospice.

Prices start at £25 and can reach upwards of £25,000, depending on the scale of the piece.

Michael’s next personal aim is to exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show following a successful entrance at Hampton Court Flower Show this summer, where he was presented with a certificate of commendation for his display. Michael feels that when a sculpture is well-sited it comes into its own and should be enjoyed for years to come.

“That buyers love it not only the first time they see it, but every time they see it – that’s what’s important to me.

■ Graculus Limited, Studio 6, Dales Centre, Silver Street, Reeth, North Yorkshire; graculus.co.uk; 01748-884628 ■ Until January, Michael Kusz will be exhibiting with painter Brian Pike in Smoke and Mirrors, the inaugural exhibition of the new Smokehouse Gallery, at Mackenzie’s Yorkshire Smokehouse, Blubberhouses.