Alice Day: artist’s ox & exhibition

Round & About

Posted on

Sobell House

Abingdon artist Caroline Ritson tells us about her amazing Wonderland-inspired ox, part of the Sobell House OxTrail, and exhibition at St Ethelwold’s this weekend

Amooong the beautiful OxTrail creations is an Alice In Wonderland-inspired masterpiece by Abingdon artist Caroline Ritson.

She tells us: “I was inspired to create my design for my Ox for the OxTrail by the illustrated book of Alice in Wonderland that my mum had had as child and read to me. I also wanted to create images related to Oxford.

“I hope children and adults will spend time looking for all of the creatures and different Alice images and maybe go back to read the books again, or for the first time. I was thrilled that my design was chosen and to help raise money for Sobell House Hospice. It was a great experience and I have made many connections with other artists.”

OxTrail features a herd of 138 large and mini oxen on display to form a fun and family-friendly trail. Each sculpture is unique and has been painted by artists, schools, community groups, or local media (including Round & About). OxTrail is raising money for Sobell House Hospice, who provide expert and compassionate care to people at the end of life, and support to their family and friends.

Alice’s Day, Oxford’s city-wide celebration of all things Alice in Wonderland, is back on Saturday, 6th July. This year’s theme is Fabulous Monsters and Curious Creatures, celebrating anniversary of the birth of wonderland. As well as the giant Alice puppet, a 3ft Jabberwock will roam the city, crafted by the acclaimed theatre-makers and specialists in large-scale puppetry and magic, Rag and Bone. For more info please visit Alice’s Day | About Us | The Story Museum

You are also all welcome to an art exhibition featuring work by Caroline, Marion Owen & Bruce Bignold at St Ethelwold’s garden in east St Helen’s Street, from 5th to 7th July. Tea and cake will be on sale on Saturday 6th, 2.30-4.30pm.

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Drive against cancer for Sobell House

Round & About

Posted on

Sobell House

Jay, Paul and Reg are travelling from Oxford to Barcelona in a ‘spacious diesel with a a large boot for beers’ all to raise funds for Sobell House Hospice

Driving a £400 Ford Mondeo more than 1,400 miles may sound like madness but for friends Jay, Paul and Reg there’s method to their madness.

The trio are fulfilling a bucket list dream to compete in a TwoBall Rally and have decided to take on the challenge from July 18th to 22nd to raise funds for Sobell House Hospice.

The Beach Rally will take them from Saint Quentin in France through the French Alps to Annecy, on to the Italian coast, the glitz of Monaco, onwards to the French Riviera to Nice, Cannes and Saint Tropez topping up the tan before heading off towards Spain and the final destination of Barcelona.

The Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCI was purchased for £400 without MOT and has spent the last few weeks being repaired, welded and having a new MOT – with a lot of thanks to team mechanic Reg from Oxford.

Jay, who, along with fellow rallier Paul lives in Abingdon, says: “We will be taking a small tool box as we do expect some issues but myself and Reg both have mechanical knowledge so if we do break down we hope it’s somewhere nice along the way, like the French Alps or the Italian coast.”

Their trusty steed has now been lovingly given a new lease of life and decked out to look like a US police car for their epic adventure and with the three friends ready to go in their costumes, it’s almost time to saddle up and set off. All they need now is your help in their fundraising.

“This charity sits close to my heart as I’ve personally had friends spend their remaining few months at Sobell House and after visiting a good friend’s little brother there it blew me away emotionally,” said Jay. “I saw first hand how amazing the staff took care of the kids and adults, how they worked so hard to make the place look amazing and how kind they were even under the extreme pressures of caring for such very ill people.

“I can’t imagine how it must feel working closely with end of life patients so I feel very passionate about trying to achieve as much money as possible to support them.”

Businesses are invited to get involved and sponsor the car with their logo on a sticker.

The Just Giving page will be updated with pictures and stories of their exploits along their 1,443-mile journey and look out for Jay’s footage of the expedition on TikTok – JayDogUK. You can follow and donate at tinyurl.com/ys5djkkp

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

kOrky Paul R-ox Oxford

Ellie Cox

Posted on

Sobell House

Renowned artist kOrky Paul, based in Oxford, is set to bring his much-anticipated artistic flair to the city’s upcoming summer OxTrail at the Westgate Shopping Centre next month.

Widely known as the illustrator of the beloved Winnie and Wilbur children’s books, Paul will showcase his talent by painting an ox during a special ‘first-look’ event scheduled for Saturday, March 2nd, and Sunday, March 3rd.

Local shoppers and families will have the unique opportunity to witness the acclaimed illustrator at work on the upper level of the Westgate Shopping Centre, near John Lewis and Next, from 10 am to 4 pm.

OxTrail, Oxford’s inaugural art sculpture trail in support of Sobell House Hospice, is slated to transform the city from July 6th, 2024, for an eight-week duration. Earlier this month, a herd of 135 oxen, varying in size, was delivered to Oxford Brookes University Harcourt Hill Campus with assistance from RAF Brize Norton. The RAF team facilitated the unloading and preparation of the oxen for further transportation, while logistics partner Darcica ensured their safe delivery to participating artists for decoration.

As part of this year’s OxTrail learning program, Oxford Brookes University will host a special event this week for participants to collect their oxen.

In December, artist David Melling unveiled the first painted ox, named ‘Orox,’ at the Westgate Shopping Centre. Orox is currently on display at Sobell House Hospice until the official trail launch in July.

Amelia Foster, CEO of Sobell House Hospice Charity, expressed excitement about OxTrail’s aim to foster creativity across Oxfordshire. The viewing gallery at Westgate offers the public a glimpse behind the scenes of the remarkable artistry leading up to the main event in July.

In a significant display of support from local businesses, Westgate Shopping Centre generously provided space to showcase a sneak peek of the life-size ox sculptures that will feature in OxTrail. The exhibition space celebrates the exceptional talent involved in the project.

OxTrail is a collaboration with Wild in Art, known for bringing streets to life with installations in cities worldwide, including Manchester, Sydney, Cape Town, and São Paulo.

Following the trail’s conclusion, kOrky Paul’s life-sized ox, along with others, will be auctioned off to find their forever homes, with proceeds contributing to the vital care services offered by Sobell House Hospice.

For further details on OxTrail, please head here.

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter: