Sculptor passes on 'trade secrets'

05 December 2007

A sculptor famous her work creating fantastic pieces of art out of scrap metal has passed on some of her trade secrets to Norfolk schoolchildren.

Rachael Long, 39, from Wreningham, inspired by ornate angel decorations in Wymondham Abbey, has held a series of workshops at Hethersett Junior School and Little Melton Primary School and in All Saint's Church, Little Melton, making angels out of ribbon, tinfoil and shiny paper, tissue and other scraps of material.

Mrs Long, who only started welding six years ago and this summer was invited to take up a residency at Wymondham Abbey to mark its 900th anniversary celebration, is famous for her skills which have lead her to create some of the county's finest sculptures.

The pieces she designs are made from discarded ironmongery, broken spades and cogs and old farmyard machinery.

She was invited to take part in the workshops and create pieces for Little Melton church after the church warden saw her work at Wymondham Abbey.

Mrs Long said: “I was quite surprised to get the invitation to do the workshops, but being able to show others some of the skills and work with children seeing what they create.”

Mrs Long's creativity developed at sixth form and with a history of modern art and film course at Newcastle Polytechnic.

But her three dimensional sculptures were born when she designed a shop window display using wire and paper.

For a time she was a stone carving apprentice in York, but it was when she moved back to Norfolk twelve years ago, her brother taught her how to weld.

She said: “A lot of people are very surprised when they realise I am a welder, they do not believe I do the welding myself, they think I must have help from my husband, but I assure them it is all done by me, and is something which I have developed a great passion for.”

She works with steel reinforcement rods and white hot heat to bend and shape her work, some of which can take to 400 hours to complete. Local examples are seen at and Banham Zoo, where she has created a sculpture of a Suffolk Punch horse.