Aberdeenshire pupils have hopped into action to bring this summer’s public art trail to life with bright colours and a pinch of creativity.
Elspeth Birnie and Josephine Crowe, both eight, got the chance to get their hands dirty and let their imagination loose on the blank canvas for The Big Hop trail.
The pupils from New Deer Primary School joined award-winning artist MrASingh as he began to transform his hare sculpture ImagineHare for Clan Cancer Support.
It’s one of 40 6ft hares that will spring up across Grampian, Moray, Orkney and Shetland in July to mark the charity’s 40th anniversary.
While a bit nervous at the start, Elspeth and Josephine were “really excited” to grab a brush and immerse themselves in painting the hare in sky-blue colours.
They will later have the opportunity to submit their own designs for a mini sculpture, which they will work on with their peers as part of the Wee Hop trail.
This is the second time MrASingh has used his artistic talent to support Clan after taking part in the charity’s hugely popular Light the North trail in 2021.
With its vibrant colours, ImagineHare celebrates the magic of creativity and encourages people of all ages to embrace their inner child-like wonder.
MrASingh said: “I wanted to create a design that hopefully inspires not just children but also adults to trust their own imagination and creativity a little bit more.
“It’s a fun and playful design with clouds, planets and stars to create a dreamland.
“One of the best parts of doing a public art trail like this is getting all the selfies from families – you can see how much joy it brings them, especially children.
“And as an artist, being able to give this gift to kids and get them involved at this stage of the trail is amazing.
“I know for a fact, they will be so proud of it when they see the sculpture they painted themselves out there.”
Big Hop Trail to raise both funds and awareness
Orgnaised by Clan Cancer Support and public art organisation Wild in Art, the Big Hop Trail will take place from July 2.
The colourful hare sculptures, designed and painted by some of the country’s most talented artists, will then go to auction in September, with funds going to Clan.
Scott Birnie, director of The Good Sleep Company which sponsored the ImagineHare sculpture, said they were thrilled to get involved in the project again.
He added: “It was such a good thing to be involved in last time around, so we jumped at the opportunity straight away again to help bring this to local areas.
“It’s wonderful to see the pictures of all the families standing beside them, knowing that this is something you’re part of.
“With this one running over the summer, we hope the art trail will have a greater reach to raise more awareness and, of course, fund to support Clan’s amazing work.”
Conversation