The Arreton Hare
One local landmark in Arreton is the Arreton “Moon-Gazing Hare”.
This wood sculpture was commission by Ian Boyd, of Island 2000 and Natural
Enterprise and the wood carver chosen to do the sculpture was Isle of Wight’s renowned
carver Mr Paul Sivell.
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| The Arreton Moon-Gazing Hare |
“The first part was the tree stump. The tree was a Leyland
Cypress, which I had always thought was a very inappropriate tree to plant at a
rural crossroads. When it blew over, I immediately thought it would make a
wonderful sculpture, but that thought was soon cut short, like the tree itself,
when it was cut back to very short stump.
However, it was in such a prominent location, each time I
passed I thought something could be salvaged from it. It was Ian’s idea to
sculpt a hare but when I carve, I always have to take into account the shape of the
wood and the direction of the grain, so I decided it would have to be a “moon-gazing
hare”. As soon as started marking out, I realised there would be spare wood and
decided to add two Magpies.”
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| Arreton Hare and Magpies |
The interesting feature of the Arreton Hare is: Who dresses up
the Hare? The hare is clothed in different items to match the time of year or
any event that is on. But no one has owned up to doing it. As you can see from
photograph, the red and white scarf is around its neck. So if passing though
Arreton on Isle of Wight, make sure you check out what the “Moon-Gazing Hare”
is wearing.
Check more of Paul Sivell's sculptures on his web site: www.thecarvedtree.co.uk
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