Felled tree will be carved into story chair

A £4,500 piece of artwork made from a felled tree will be created in the Black Country.

The tree, on land opposite Lye bypass and Christ Church park, will be sculpted into a chair surrounding by toadstool-shaped seats. The piece, designed by artist Robot Cossey in partnership with members of a Lye-based fathers' group, will then be used as a story chair with children invited to gather around it to hear fairytales.

The chair has been commissioned as part of the Government-led Forest Schools programme aimed at encouraging young people to make the most of the natural environment.

It will be maintained by the Butterfly Children's Centre, on the Lye-bypass, whose staff will use it for telling stories to the young children who use the centre.

Dudley Council hopes it will be funded by a combination of Arts Council grants, money from the Stourbridge Area Committee, the Lye and Wollescote Partnership and local businesses, coupled with funds raised by members of the Butterfly Children's Centre.

Already the centre has raised £500 for the art work when members took part in a six mile sponsored walk.

The wooden story telling chair, made from a stump of an old tree felled on the ground, will incorporate designs made by the children and their families from the fathers' group who use the Butterfly Centre. The group meets every Saturday morning to take part in fun activities.

Dudley Council spokesman Julie Sheldon said the group had worked closely with Mr Cossey on the design which is still being finalised. She said: "The story chair will feature little toadstools for the children to sit on and all of it will be made from the felled tree. It fits in with the Forest Schools idea as this promotes recycling and reuse and also makes use of the natural produce around them."