Wolves in Wolves - The Final Howlings...

One week on from the conclusion of Birmingham's Big Sleuth event, it is time to bring the curtain down on the other animal art trail which has graced the West Midlands this summer. Wolves in Wolves has certainly captured many an imagination - mine most definitely included - so by way of farewell I thought I'd put together a post featuring a few of my favourite wolf finds...

- Colour -

The best place to spot wolf sculptures has been Wolverhampton Art Gallery where one of the exhibition rooms became dedicated to the project. 'Colour' and 'Wild' were the two larger examples which made the gallery their habitat along with a whole pack of miniature wolves designed by local primary schools. 

- Bayliss -

One of my regular lunchtime haunts is West Park so I was particularly pleased to discover 'Bayliss' there, proudly positioned by the historic bandstand. Bayliss was sponsored by the Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) hence the design featured a stethoscope and promoted numerous healthy leisure activities.

- Sacred Grandfathers -

Various cultural and leisure buildings served as the base for a wolf, including the Grand Theatre ('Beanstalk'), the Arena Theatre (the rune-inspired 'Fenrir') and the Chubb Building. The latter of those played host to 'Sacred Grandfathers' whose Turtle Island theme was known to guard over the box office.

- Wolfy McWolf -

Transport locations were also treated to a wolf presence whereby 'Garden' could be found outside the bus station and 'Endless Opportunities' kept an eye on St George's Metro stop from its perch beside the police station. The railway station was not forgotten as 'Wolfy McWolf' was on duty there with a blue and yellow effect incorporating a wordsearch and animal puzzles.

- Kiyiya -

One of the most interesting aspects about completing the wolf trail has been visiting places I normally wouldn't go to. The Way Youth Zone on School Street is not somewhere I'd ever frequented until I called in to meet Kiyiya, a distinctive skeleton wolf where looking beyond the bones revealed the inner soul. I also hadn't been to the Central Baths (a.k.a. WV Active) for years before spying 'The Sitting' in the entrance foyer.

- Meditation -

A place I know very well is of course Wolverhampton Central Library where the wolf in residence was 'Meditation', looking not unlike a garden gnome. There were thirty wolf sculptures in total, the most elusive of which was Claude the Wandering Wolf who popped up in all kinds of places as part of his roving role (among them Wilkinsons, Scrivens' Opticians and even the Lych Gate Tavern). Wolverhampton won't quite seem the same now the pack are heading back to their lair ready to be auctioned off for the Mayor's charities, so I hope they raise a lot of money. Farewell wolves!