HANGING three sheep and dunking them in a bath of hydrochloric acid sounds like something from a horror film.
But when you learn that the animals in question are made from steel and were in Hull for a spot of galvanizing before taking pride of place in a show garden, it brings an altogether more pleasant picture to mind.
Emma Stothard, who hails from Welwick, is a professional sculptor and returned to her roots with a life-size Swaledale ram and two ewes in tow.
Emma, who now lives and works in Whitby, was commissioned by Welcome to Yorkshire – the official destination management organisation for Yorkshire – to create the steel sheep as part of its garden entry into this month's prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Emma said: "The garden this year for Welcome to Yorkshire is Tour de France-themed and celebrates the Grand Départ moment, as the race leaves from the Dales, in 2014.
"The garden has been designed as a snapshot of the Dales, which is why I've made the Swaledales.
"It's wonderful to be part of this great showcase for Yorkshire and to support the county's Grand Départ moment."
The garden will mark the dual centenaries of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and the 100th running of the Tour de France, while helping to raise the profile of all of Yorkshire's famous gardens.
Helping to make sure the sheep are displayed in all their glory next week is Humber Galvanizing Ltd, of Citadel Trading Park, in Hull.
More used to dealing with steel beams and trailer chassis work, the company took its latest commission in its stride.
Andrew Harrison, customer services manager at Humber Galvanizing Ltd, said: "It's a bit unusual for us and gives the lads something different to work on, but we have had a range of sculptures and suchlike in, in the past.
"We have done some work for Emma before – we've done a horse and some 10ft hares. Galvanizing the metal means getting a minimum 30 years' lifespan out of something."
The company, part of the UK's largest independent hot dip galvanizing organisation, processed Emma's sheep by first degreasing the metal, "pickling" the sculptures in hydrochloric acid and rinsing them before they went into a heavy flux, the galvanizing bath and were finally "quenched", a process that took place over a number of hours.
Emma, who works in real silver for her smallest pieces and willow and mild steel for the largest sculptures, started with drawings of the sheep and progressed to an armature before wiring the typical Swaledale features in place.
"They have taken about a month to complete, I mostly use my hands – gloved when I'm working the steel – and sometimes employ a big hammer and pliers," said Emma.
Growing up in Holderness, Emma spent time drawing the North Sea, Spurn Point and the agricultural landscape around Welwick.
After completing a BA Hons in Fine Art at Southampton, Emma went on to pursue her passion for willow sculpting by moving to Somerset – where the Somerset Levels are famous for willow – to learn traditional willow weaving and basket making, and the whole process of growing it, coppicing it and bundling it.
Emma returned to Yorkshire inspired, and began making geese and other small animals such as the British hare and had the opportunity to exhibit her sculptures at the Harrogate Flower Show.
After a spell teaching in West Yorkshire, Emma felt the call of the North Sea again and took a teaching post at Whitby Community College, North Yorkshire, which supported her development as a sculptor.
In 2001 Emma embarked on her career as a sculptor, and in the same year met her husband-to-be, Rob Green. Their personal partnership became a very successful business partnership, too, when the couple opened their successful restaurant, Green's, in Whitby.
There has been a continual stream of commissions since Emma's first willow sculptures in 1996. Now exhibiting nationally and internationally, Emma, who is mum to Alfie, eight, finds her sculptures, mostly animals and birds, gracing the grounds of stately homes, galleries and private homes and gardens around the country.
A large commission was a (human) family group, dressed in Victorian style, for Saltburn by the Sea.
In particular, Emma was honoured to have had the opportunity to make and personally present to Prince Charles a large-scale sculpture of his beloved Jack Russell, Tigga.
Made from willow grown on the Highgrove Estate, Tigga is sited in the gardens at Highgrove, and was a thank you gift from Emma for her loan from the Prince's Trust, which enabled her to start her career.
She is currently exhibiting at Highgrove, by invitation of the Prince of Wales, and has also had her hallmarked miniature silver sculptures on sale in Highgrove's shop.
"I was invited by Prince Charles to exhibit some of my willow sculptures on the theme of rare breeds," said Emma.
"I made an Irish moiled cow, two Gloucester Old Spot pigs, some Cotswold sheep and lambs, a maran cockerel and hens and a pheasant, the latter of which I introduced some bronze wire into – another interesting direction I'm going in."
