A SCULPTOR is encouraging budding artists to experiment with cast iron.

David Bradbury, 37, of Shepley, has been an artist for 14 years and has created commercially- commissioned sculptures for the past eight.

But cast iron has now allowed him to create his first non-commissioned sculpture.

Big Beautiful Woman is the result of David expressing his own ideas and, for the first time, working without a commercial design brief.

He created the original sculpture of the half-naked voluptuous woman from polystyrene.

He then had it cast from iron by Downs Foundry at Leeds Road in Huddersfield.

The sculpture is for sale and on show in the entrance hall of the White Room gallery at Meltham.

David said: "It is quite different from my other work and depicts the female form.

"It is an exciting thing for me, as it is the first time I have been able to just sculpt what I like."

David said cast iron and the flexibility of Downs Foundry had made the project possible.

He said: "Metals like bronze are inaccessible to many artists because of the cost.

"But cast iron is easy and cheaper and looks beautiful when finished. Also, Nigel Downs, of Downs Foundry, is committed to helping artists and really makes it easy to use his facilities.

"I hope it encourages other people to use cast iron in art, because it is a great material."

David is planning to use cast iron in a sculpture for Shepley First School.

He offered to create the sculpture because his daughter, Jaye, five, goes to the school and son Tommy, four, will start next year.

He said: "We have not decided on the actual content, but we will involve children's designs. They will visit the foundry to see what will be done."