A new design and artist has been unveiled for a major sculpture trail, which is set to take over Swindon’s streets and parks next summer.
Caroline Parrott is a contemporary aluminium artist, and she is going to be creating a colourful butterfly-themed Swindog for The Big Dog Art Trail.
The super-sized Swindogs will create the UK’s first-ever balloon dog art trail and raise vital funds for the local children’s hospice charity, Julia’s House.
Artist Caroline, from Dorset, said: “Following the pandemic I felt it was time to set myself a new challenge so I’m excited to be involved with The Big Dog Art Trail project in Swindon, with the added bonus of raising money for Julia’s House.”
Caroline and her family live within walking distance of a Julia’s House children’s hospice and have supported the charity for many years.
She first worked with Julia’s House in 2010, for her final project at university. Caroline approached Julia’s House to install a display of butterflies in the garden of their hospice. This was said to be very fitting, as the butterfly is a symbol of hope and change for many children’s hospices.
An experienced art trail designer, Caroline created her Leido the Lion sculpture for the Julia’s House and Wild in Art Pride of Lions art trail in Bournemouth in 2011. She chose a butterfly-inspired design, and the sculpture was named Leido, shortened from kaleidoscope which is the name for a group of butterflies.
Wild in Art partnered up with Jersey Zoo for the Go Wild Gorillas art trail in Jersey in 2019. Caroline also produced another sculpture for this trail - Zeus the Gorilla - which raised around £54,000 for charity.
Caroline added: “It was a fantastic experience working on these sculptures and I was delighted when I found out how much money they had raised for the charity when they were auctioned off.”
“When deciding on a design for my Swindog for The Big Dog Art Trail it seemed the perfect idea, ten years on, to return to the butterfly theme. The colourful metal I work with is perfect for adding a three dimensional element to the sculptures and I knew I could create something that I felt would have a big visual impact for the trail.”
Several local artists have already submitted a range of Swindog designs to The Big Dog Art Trail and the team say they hope to receive many more designs in the coming weeks.
There is just under a month left for individuals to get their designs in. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday 1 November 2022.
Local artists can visit The Big Dog Art Trail website to find the Artist Pack and information on how to submit their Swindog design. www.bigdogarttrail.co.uk/artists
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