Ted & the no.17 bus

Meet Ted, he is the driver of the no. 17 bus. He's a quiet yet friendly chap. He dreams of retiring and working on his allotment all day. He reads seed catalogues in his break and makes plans for entering his peas into the regional vegetable competition.

Size - 20cm height, width 15cm, depth 11cm

Ted is a papier mâché bird character. His clothes and accessories are made from found materials such as vintage silk handkerchiefs, scraps of tweed, leather, old buttons & even an abandoned sock. Can you work out what his beak and claws are made from?* 

Ted's leather bag contains miniature vintage style seed packets

The surface of his head and hands is decorated with extracts of a letter sent to me by my grandad that I have then printed onto tissue paper. I chose to do this as ‘Ted’ is loosely based on my grandad in terms of his dress sense and keen gardening interests. I have mentioned in a previous post that he has written to me every week since I went to university and I have decided to begin to capture our personal history in my art work. 

Grandad tends to his garden almost every day

*If you haven’t guessed yet, Ted’s beak and claws are made from acrylic nails that I have cut and shaped!

Ted's cap is made from scraps of tweed and linen. I loved making it!

Washi tape came in very handy when making the paper pattern for his shirt 

 

Here's 'Ted' in his posh greenhouse Unit Twelve. He's being very well looked after in the Contemporary Craft Open. If you'd like to meet Ted, the exhibition runs from 5th Dec 2013 to 1st March 2014. It is well worth a visit as it showcases the best in contemporary craft, both amateur and professional. Work has been selected by Little Northern Contemporary Craft Fairs, Yellowstone Art Boutique and Print Garage.