A new sculpture has truly been shaped by the community it was created for.
Artist Ryan Johnson James has had his dream come true by creating a permanent sculpture, named Spirit of Clayton West Sculpture, in Cliffe Woods in his home village.
The four metre high sculpture in the woods represents the heritage of the village and the people in it.
And many local people, including community groups and organisations, have had a hand in shaping it.
Among those who suggested ideas were Ryan’s granddad, who worked in the local mine at Park Mill, his grandmas who worked in the local mills, Kaye’s First and Nursery School who ran a poetry competition for a poem to be immortalised on the sculpture and the local bowling club.
Also dozens of passers-by added their views when they spotted him carving it over the last 15 months.
Ryan said: “My love of art was fuelled when Simon Todd, a Yorkshire artist and sculptor, came into Kaye’s School when I was in reception in 1995.
“Simon had recently carved a wooden sculpture in Cliffe Woods and he came in to talk to us about his creation and shared his passion for creating things. It definitely inspired me.”
Ryan, who has a degree in fine art and is a stone mason, added: “I’m thrilled that I have created a sculpture that can be enjoyed by future generations and that local people have helped to make happen.”
The stone sculpture stands in the place of the previous wooden sculpture which naturally eroded over time.
Ryan has included local landmarks and activities in his sculpture at the suggestion of walkers in the woods, such as the Pack Horse Bridge, All Saints’ Church (where Ryan’s parents got married), a local girl on a rope swing in the woods, local wildlife and even a fairy door.
Ryan even encouraged people to have go at carving into the stone as they walked past, making it a true community effort which culminated in the celebration event on Sunday.
The idea for the sculpture came about when Ryan was walking his dog Eiger in the woods back in 2016.
He started chatting to Claire Westwood who was out walking her dog. Claire is passionate about green spaces and the community and is a key player in the Cliffe Woods Conservation Group.
The sculpture took Ryan around seven months to create as he completed it in his own time, at evenings and weekends with Eiger close by. Sadly Eiger died just before Christmas last year, but he is now immortalised in the sculpture.
It adds to the transformation of the woods over the last few years, thanks to the Cliffe Woods Conservation Group, working with the Dearne Valley Navigators, Incredible Edible, Made in Clayton West, Clayton West 7th Huddersfield Scouts, the Denby Dale Countryside Project funded by Denby Dale Parish Council and Kirklees Parks and Open Spaces.
