Original artwork description:

Gerrard LOVES his local Cheese Shop! He is a self-confessed cheese addict. He has a close and personal relationship with Mr Bishop, the Cheese Shop proprietor.
You might wonder why Gerrard is sitting in a wheelbarrow? His arthritis is hell lately and he struggles to stand for any length of time. So, on Friday mornings, when the Cheese Shop has it’s free cheese tasting, Gerrard’s neighbour, Mr Banks, pushes Gerrard to the shop in his designer wheelbarrow.
Gerrard is very fond of Brie. The brand he likes is quite costly so he tried Roquefort for a time but he found that it gave him a bit of a raspy feeling at the back of his tongue so he is not so keen. French goat cheese is of course high on the list but he struggles a little bit with how it sticks to his teeth. He likes to have a bit of decorum so he doesn’t like the idea of Mr Bishop catching him out with goat’s cheese in his teeth. Mr Bishop has tried in vain to get him on to Stinking Bishop but just the name of the cheese puts him off. He is baffled by why the cheese is called Stinking Bishop. Mr Bishop certainly does not smell but he is too prude to ask.
Last year the Cheese Shop won the prestigious 1st price in the Great Cheese Awards competition. Seeing that Gerrard is the most loyal customer of the Cheese Shop he got to hand out the award to Mr Bishop! What a special moment! Gerrard almost blushes with pleasure just thinking about it. And, this year he gets to cut the ribbon at the Cheese Festival! He must make sure he has a bath, gets his nails trimmed and possibly a bit of hair removal done around the rear area before the big day!
For now, Gerrard must concentrate on which cheese to buy before Mr Banks comes and collects him and they return to Mr Banks designer potting shed for their weekly cheese lunch together, with a very naughty glass of port.

The collage is made on a heavy off-white cotton fabric almost like canvas. I have used mainly machine embroidery to create all the details but also various cotton fabrics. Gerrard is made of a rich velvety brown cotton.
My signature and the name of the collage, The Cheese Shop, is embroidered on the front of the collage and Gerrard’s story comes with it printed on a piece of paper.

Materials used:

heavy cotton, mixed textiles, embroidery, gouache, lots of very silly imagination

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