I visited Skipton again recently and found it overrun by sheep. 'Flock to Skipton' is an art trail of 26 decorated Dales sheep, scattered throughout the town, with the aim of attracting visitors and celebrating this Dales town's long association with the woolly wonders. The sheep sculptures have been painted by local artists, schools and community groups. As you can see, there are some colourful and interesting designs, linking in to Skipton's heritage and landmarks in unique ways.
There has been a rash of such projects in various towns - I think it all started with 'Superlambananas' in Liverpool in 2008. It's a fun way of injecting some extra colour and interest into the town. I wonder if we'd do this in Saltaire? There is a story that the lions outside the Victoria Hall roam the village at night! - so perhaps we could have lions. The Skipton flock is in town until 19 December. I suppose then they'll be put out to grass!
Now that's fun. I love sheep.
ReplyDeleteWe had such a thing with cows in France, and I saw the same with bears in Berlin (Germany).After long expositions, the pieces are usually sold for a great cause.
ReplyDeleteThe sheep are lovely! We saw colourful donkeys at Weston super mare in the summer and hippos in Chester. Decorated lions would be interesting:)
ReplyDeleteWe were considering a weekend in Skipton to have a look at the sheep but the weather put paid to that. No unnecessary travel for people who commute five hours a day between them!
ReplyDeleteWe went to see the Newport Superdragons earlier in the year. They were fun. I wish I could have afforded one to put in my garden. (Not that I know how I'd have got it there... access is a little narrow.)
That's something different. It would be fun painting one.
ReplyDeletewow they are delightful - we were over-run with elephants recently in London..
ReplyDeleteI do my grocery shopping in a nearby town named Beavercreek and they have beaver statues like this! Crazy!
ReplyDeleteHow fun! I loved Skipton - the town, the market, the castle, the narrow boats and canal...but no artsy sheep were around at that time. Still, the Yorkshire/Scottish Blackface sheep are the most beautiful sheep I've ever seen. BTW, last night I was reading an article about 'the Plague City' Eyam, which I think can't be too far from Saltaire.
ReplyDeleteYour photo reminds me of the artsy cows in Chicago.
What a wonderful way to attract people to the town and I love the fact that so many community groups are involved.
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful and what a fun exhibit!
ReplyDeleteMilton Keynes has had cows for quite a while, on the roundabouts if I remember correctly. The sheep make a nice change.
ReplyDeleteIn Vancouver they've done grizzly bears, orcas and eagles. In other cities that I know of they have done the same thing with cows, moose and onions.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind since it's providing public exposure for artists but otherwise I think it's getting a bit silly.
We had a couple towns do that here too, only with fish and lobsters! Then they auction them off to the highest bidder to raise money for the town. I like the sheep. ~Lili
ReplyDeleteQuite fun to see how people use their imaginations! I've seen bears here in North Carolina and cows in Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteWest Hartford has done cows a few times, and is the home of the company that promotes these celebrations. I loved them at first but now I'm getting tired of them. Here is a link to a post about them: http://hartforddailyphoto.blogspot.com/2010/09/cow-parade.html
ReplyDeleteIn British Columbia there was such a project with salmon. I'll post about it sometime. I think they are wonderful! On so many levels...
ReplyDeleteSome US cities have painted cows but I don't think I have seen painted sheep before.
ReplyDeleteSo pretty!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing with us. :)
Great project!
B xx
I've seen cows in Lisbon and photos of camels, horses and elephants in other cities abroad, but never sheep and they look fantastic too.
ReplyDeleteQuite amusing!
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