It’s always a pleasure to do work for Northwood Fairy Trail, near York; their ideas and subject matter are always interesting and stretch me a little out of my comfort zone ~ this job was no different, a slightly-larger-than-life-size Pan, the Greek god of nature. I’d had it on my job list for about six months and had really been looking forward to tackling him, and once the time to start came round and the large trunk of sweet chestnut was delivered, I set to work on a quick scale maquette in lime to make my life easier.
I didn’t want to start shaping the horns until I was absolutely sure I’d got them in the right position, and this made the head look overly large whilst roughing out; it was a bit distracting when trying to get the proportions right, and patience was the key!
The transportation to the Fairy Trail caused a few heart-stopping moments, with Mr Pan proving difficult to strap down in the trailer ~ but my pal John Pople was equal to the task as always, and delivered him in one piece with great skill.
This is a temporary position for Pan, not far from the Trail’s entrance: later in the year he’ll be moved to his permanent home in the middle of a huge willow labyrinth. I was sorry to see him go!