Storyteller's Chair

This project started when Dave Shires was asked by the local council to produce some large tree sculptures for one of the Borough Parks that was undergoing a multi million pound refurbishment.

Dave contacted Ian Wardle.  They had been carving partners on the Thorp Perrow Arboretum project, and they went to meet the “powers that be”. During the meeting it was mentioned that a large Beech (Fagus sylvatica) needed to be felled in the garden of a children’s nursery. The stump was ideal for a storyteller’s chair, and so a larger stump was left to be carved as a chair.

There was a protruding piece on the stump that was just begging to become the head of a friendly faced storyteller.     But then what?

It was decided that the theme should be animals and the ape was an obvious choice for Dave suggested that Ian would have a model in front of him all the time.—Guess who?

A giraffe for the other side seemed to come “out of the blue”. But somehow remained in thought, and because it refused to fade the thought became reality.

During the work the staff thought it would be good to build a garden around the area for storytelling and that it make a fitting memorial for a past Govenor of the school.