Made In England

Looking back at her childhood in Wakefield, sculptor Barbara Hepworth said: "All my early memories are of forms and shapes and textures. Moving through and over the West Riding landscape with my father in his car, the hills were sculptures, the roads defined the form."

Moore's 'reclining' figure enjoys the view (c) YSP

And if West Yorkshire's landscape, weather and light made such an impression on Hepworth, then that was also true of Castleford's Henry Moore, now regarded as Britain's most famous sculptor. Moore's iconic bronze figures can be found across the world but perhaps the best place to see them is at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield where, together with Hepworth's Family of Man, they have become part of the West Yorkshire landscape.

Of course, long before Moore and Hepworth had taken up their chisels, the Bronte sisters were painting pictures with their pens of a wild, landscape-dominated West Yorkshire. But perhaps the poet most celebrated for drawing inspiration from nature is Mytholmroyd's Ted Hughes. Long after he moved away, he was still writing about the wildlife, 'wild rock' and people he'd known back in the Calder Valley. Today Simon Armitage may write about 'punk clowns' and Huddersfield cafes, but it was Hughes who set him on his way to becoming a poet: "Hughes, for me, was the man from over the top of the hill, from the next Yorkshire valley, and his poems made me want to read" and, later, to write.

Taking a very close up at Hepworth's Family of Man

Long before David Hockney went off to Los Angeles to paint swimming pools his landscapes of Bradford and his ability to depict the "ordinary" were influencing other West Yorkshire artists. More recently Hockney has again seen his home town as a fitting subject for both paintings and collage.

Today, although they may not be household names (as yet!), artists across West Yorkshire - using tools undreamed of even when Hockney was a lad - are still finding their inspiration in West Yorkshire's diverse community and countryside.

Made in England

Made in England is a joint partnership between BBC English Regions and Arts Council England to bring audiences and artists together in unique collaborations to provide exciting new cultural experiences.

Hockney at work

It is a project dedicated to exploring how England – the place and the people - is expressed through creative and artistic forms.

Think about the Lake District - dramatic and elegant, the lush greens and icy blues depicting an unspoilt England. William Wordsworth was so inspired by the landscape he wrote poems, sonnets and ballads dedicated to it.

Non-traditional art is just as important to recognise - graffiti on the streets, estates built in the Sixties...Does this architecture, history and culture inspire you to think of all things English?

If you’re bursting with enthusiasm at the thought of creating something - why don’t you see how you can get involved? Visit the main Made in England site to find out how you can get your creative juices flowing.