Saturday 5th May 2018 sees the launch of
Let's Go Quackers, a fun family-orientated art trail for Summer 2018. Ten giant Ducks will be displayed on the high street of
Ironbridge, Shropshire (5th May - 8th July) and then move to Southwater,
Telford (from 15th July) to coincide with Telford's
Carnival of Giants event, bringing smiles to visitors young and old alike, and raising valuable funds for local charities (
Severn Hospice and the
Jayne Sargent Foundation). The trail is the idea of local resident
Julie Ward, who has worked tirelessly to bring her dream to life, successfully securing an impressive bid from Telford & Wrekin Council's
Pride in Your High Street fund to ensure that the trail goes ahead.
Each of the Ducks has been hand-painted by an artist, either working to their own design, or in collaboration with local school children or students and others who have submitted a design for one of the Ducks. The trail organisers received an overwhelming 750+ design submissions for the 10 Ducks. It was an extremely difficult decision to choose just 10 designs to appeal to every age group and to reflect the local history and heritage of Telford and Ironbridge. The full list of artists includes:
Nicky Meecham,
Jenny Leonard,
Donna Newman,
Alicia Hollis,
Traci Moss,
Jackie Coyle,
Shropshire Fine Art,
Lois Cordelia,
Lizzie Moretti and
Megan Evans.
Once Upon a Fairytale Ipswich artist
Lois Cordelia travelled to Telford in April to paint a steampunk-fairytale inspired design onto one of the Ducks:
Once Upon a Fairytale. The steampunk theme of her design was partly inspired by the history of Ironbridge and Telford and their links with the Industrial Revolution, and partly by the distinctive steampunk-style goggles of the Duck statues themselves. Combining a quirky mix of imagery in her characteristic black silhouette style on a rich antique gold background, Lois hopes her design will appeal to trail visitors of every age-group, allowing them to spot lots of fun and unexpected details.