Art in Steel sculptures

From metal fish to giant ants, the impressive sculptures of Alan Ross are extremely striking, to say the least. How would he describe them to someone who hadn't encountered them before? 'The formal description would be direct metal sculpture,' he says. 'I'm using the metal to make things without hiding what they're made of. I'm not trying to make things real - if it's a metal fish, it looks like a metal fish.'

Art in Steel began nine years ago, when he enrolled on a night class in basic welding at Hereford Technical College. 'It was a little hobby to get me out of the way one evening a week,' he says.'It took off from that, which was a bit of a surprise.'

Previously he'd spent 25 years in the care sector, but had always wanted to do something more creative. 'I'd worked my way up the career structure but all the stress was getting me down,' he says.'Two and a half years ago I packed my job in to see if I could make something out of this instead, and it's going pretty well. My livelihood comes from a mixture of big commissions and orders from private customers who tend to come back several times over.I do things from a few inches upwards, although I don't do very much of the small stuff anymore to be honest - the big stuff seems to be what's happening.'

In terms of the big stuff, it doesn't get much bigger than his recent commission to create a series of giant metal ants for Longleat House and Safari Park. 'That was very exciting,' he says.'I met the estate manager at an exhibition we did there last year with a local group of artists. When he invited me back and told me what he wanted me to do it was a bit of a shock - I was expecting a few small things to go in the children's garden!'

The work took several months, and was filmed by the BBC, while upcoming projects include one for the Butterfly World Trust to be housed in a 100m glass dome. So what are his inspirations? 'It's all naturally inspired - nature and people,' he says. 'I take inspiration from the things around me.'

Commissions come from both private individuals and organisations and he also designs and sells furniture like CD and DVD racks.'The CD racks and DVD racks are completely separate to the sculpture, but a combination of the two seems to keep me going quite well,' he says. 'Most of the business comes from the website, but there's also a lot of word of mouth - I often get contacted by the friends of people who've bought things off me.'

Based in Ross, but with a recently acquired studio in the nearby village of Fownhope, his website now has an ongoing projects page with updates on work in progress. 'People are quite interested that side of it - all the stories of blood and injuries,' he says. So it's a hazardous business then? 'There are lots of minor injuries, yes. Constant puncture wounds and small burns, that kind of thing.'

And is this a good spot to be a direct metal sculptor? 'Within 15 miles of Ross I can think of several people doing similar sorts of things. There are lots of artists around the area - it's quietly becoming quite a creative hub, but without blowing its trumpet too hard.'

Anyone who would like to visit Alan at his studio can contact him through his website at www.artinsteel.co.uk