This magazine article just about says it all! ~ Scroll down to read the text

Article written by Natalie Bruckner ~ Dorset Society Magazine January 2008

In a garage behind a cemetary in Holdenhurst Village, Kim Leachman is hunched over candlelight creating a monster.
On the wall hang the heads of David and Victoria Beckham, Alan Titchmarsh, Angelina Jolie and Bradd Pitt.

Spiders scurry into the corners. A mouse scuttles past. The sky is dark, the rain thunders down onto the roof of a building described as a pet cemetary - animals have been buried under its foundations.

"I can't stick Robbie Williams; that's why I had to do it," says Kim, carefully reworking Robbies mangled face.
Kim Leachman is an artist; he makes a living selling cement caricature gargoyles and gnomes to people accross the world.

His work has appeared on ITV's Paul O'Grady show, where his freakish Paul gnome sat proudly in the studio for three weeks. He was commissioned by BBC to make a gnome of Alan Titchmarsh and Diarmuid Gavin for the Chelsea Flower Show.

Kim says: "Gnomes aren't allowed into Chelsea, so they smuggled them in and made an animation with them walking around the show. It's the first time that gnomes have got in."

Kim has also produced a life-sized copy of an Oxfordshire gargoyle for a television advert.

He produced the Spice Goyles for a press promotion and a Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Germany's Michael Ballack and Sven Goran Erickson gargoyles who all featured in national newspapers during the 2006 World Cup.

" Some peoples facial expressions just lend themselves to be Gargoyle-ised," says Kim, staring at my nose.
"It all starts with the nose," says Kim, " then you find other distinguishing features."

Kim has been drawing cartoons, caricatures, illustrations and sculptures for almost 30 years. Fifteen years ago, after being made redundant, Kim came up with the idea to create personalised gargoyles.

" Jen, my partner, is into gardening. We'd go to garden centres and I'd try and look for unusual statues, but could never find anything. So one day I came home, took a look in the mirror and decided to create a gargoyle based on myself."

The outcome was horrendous, and perfect.

Gargoyles were never meant to to look attractive. Superstition held that gargoyles frightened away evil spirits while serving a practical function as a water-spout or a drain . I based mine on ex - girlfriends!"

The response to his first "babies" as he likes to call them was great.

Kim created three variations and took 50 to a garden show. Within minutes he was sold out.

He decided it was time to take the gargoyle and gnome by the horns, and personalise them.

The garage where Kim works (and which he tells me is the place where previous owners used to bury their dead pets) - is crammed with latex masks, plasticine casts and and photographs of various faces he is currently working on, and the cement finished products.

"Everyone can be made into a gargoyle. Babies are more dificult because the haven't yet developed enough character. I prefer to work on gargoyles than gnomes, althou gnomes are still very popular. And each one has a name.

Kim admits that when he looks at people, he starts to see there feature as a caricature. He looks at me and begins to pinpoint my slightly pointy ears, my whiplash smile and says my nose is perfect - in the gargoyle world that is a compliment.

Kim admits it's probably the British ability to make fun of themselves that has made his creation popular as a quirky gift. Then there are the gargoyle droppings.

Kim Laughs: "A friend told me that you can sell any old rubbish on ebay, so I thought I'd give it a try. I made gargoyle droppings and they sell like hot cakes to the American market."

Kim's daughter Kara who's nine, has been the inspiration for his latest creation, a Picasso gargoyle, after she created a gargoyle of her own, and his son Karl, 19, has helped his father build a website.

Life for Kim and his family is a bit like a Brothers Grimm fairytail.

The house and garden are full of spooky heads, cherubs, gnomes and toadstools. Kim is busy giving "birth" to his new babies, while Jen is having to deal with Ginger Spice's head falling on her toes.

And should you avert your eyes for a second, you will catch Kim looking at you, sussing out your gargoyle features and getting ready to transform you into something weird and wonderful. dorsetgargoyles.plus.com