Five illustration students from the University of South Wales (USW) will see their designs adorn oversized Snoopy sculptures as part of a spectacular Dogs Trust public art tour today (8 April).
A Dog’s Trail is a series of lavishly decorated Snoopy sculptures that will meander through Cardiff, Caerphilly and Porthcawl over the next eight weeks, with each sculpture designed by local, regional and national artists.
Designs by sophomores Alison Howard, Amy Bainbridge, Hannah Morgan, Elis Mutlu and Megan Hill were all chosen to be part of the trail, which also features work by illustration graduate Joe Davies. The six artists were selected from a shortlist of 13 USW illustrators.
Alison, 22, who is originally from Sutton Coldfield, designed the Snoopy themed Self Care which was installed in Roath Park’s rose garden. She said: “I chose to incorporate ways for people to relax, such as B. Spending time with animals or enjoying the great outdoors and decided to add some fun by adding a dog enjoying a bath in the bathtub! It’s great to be part of this great event and to know that children and families will enjoy my work.”
Amy, 22, from Wenvoe, Vale of Glamorgan, created a design called Quit Dragon Your Feet, inspired by the historical importance of castles and dragons in Welsh history. She said: “I wanted to create something that reminded me of Wales and I remember being really struck by the big blue dragon sitting on one of Cardiff Castle’s towers a couple of years ago. So I designed a red dragon Snoopy wearing pants that looks like a castle wall. It’s installed directly opposite Caerphilly Castle and I can’t wait to see the public’s reaction to it.”
Hannah, 22, is originally from Carmarthen and now lives in Cardiff. Her design, Celestial Day and Night, takes pride of place in St John’s Gardens near the Old Library in Cardiff. She said: “I love celestial patterns and stars so I combined these with a center piece and used stencils and poster paint to create the repeating pattern which is half blue and half yellow. This is my first assignment so it’s a little nerve wracking to think the general public will be checking it out!”
Matt Morgan, Associate Professor of Illustration at USW, said: “We aim to train ‘real illustrators for the real world’ by engaging our students with live briefings from real clients and it has been a pleasure working with Dogs Trust and Wild in Kind of collaborating, especially with such an iconic illustrated character as Snoopy as a canvas! I am so proud that five students and one graduate were selected for A Dog’s Trail. They competed with professional artists who have been creating work like this across the country for many years, so they did a fantastic job of getting recognition.”
The event is being held in partnership with Peanuts – creator of the world famous Snoopy cartoon – and Wild in Art, a leading creative producer of public arts events. The trail will last until mid-June when the sculptures will be auctioned off to benefit the Dogs Trust.
Rebecca Staden, Project Manager of A Dog’s Trail, said: “It was a delight to see the students’ designs come to life on a Snoopy sculpture. That means hundreds of people from across South Wales appreciate her amazing creative talent. Illustration students at USW submitted some incredible, one-of-a-kind designs to decorate a Snoopy sculpture on the main walkway, which was a great opportunity for them to show their first commissioned artwork to the public while raising valuable funds to help more dogs across South Wales to help .”