 |
|
|
|
 For me one of the many pleasures of
collecting David Winter Cottages is to discover the whereabouts of the mouse or
owl that David sculpts onto his work.
The
first time that the mouse appeared was on "Brookside Hamlet". The story goes
that in 1982 David was sculpting away, adding the finishing touches to this
piece while another artist, who was working for John Hine Limited at the time,
had just completed a model of a mouse sitting on a piece of cheese. David
Winter commented that he thought it looked more like a rat and sculpted a small
mouse on the side of "Brookside Hamlet" to make his point. He then proceeded to
add the mouse onto many of his sculptures thereafter and so the mouse was born.
Very little else has been revealed about the
reasons for this little rodent and the mouse has never been talked about
officially even to the point that it even exists! During the period when John
Hine Studios produced David's work their stock reply to questioning was "Mouse!
What Mouse?". Collectors have therefore been left to discover the secret for
themselves. The only acknowledgement of its possible existence was "Squeak!!!"
a supplement to the Guild Magazine "Cottage Country" which ran for 12 issues
from 1991 to 1993. There was also The Great Mouse Hunt competition in "Cottage
Country" which was held in 1991 where the prize was an 18 carat mouse
sculptured by David's sister Alice Winter. There has also been a number of
miniature Christmas ornaments depicting various mice including "What Cottage" -
a mouse holding a small cottage.
Then at the end of 1991 it was suddenly realised
that the mouse had disappeared (it was last seen on "Castle in the Air") and
that an owl had taken its place. The owl is even trickier to find than its
predecessor as it is mainly hiding in bushes and ivy. Because of this it is
more prone to being painted over and so can become lost amongst the foliage.
However, when collectors discovered what had happened to the mouse they were
appalled at the loss of their old friend and petitioned John Hine Studios for
its return. Realising the mouse's popularity the mouse returned two years later
and he can be seen again on the 1993 Collectors Guild plaque "On the Riverbank"
with the owl flying away.
David
is not the first artist to use a mouse as a secret trademark. It is well known
that artist Terence Cuneo signs his world famous railway paintings with a tiny
mouse.
If this is all news to you and you have an
overwhelming urge to go hunting with a magnifying glass I can recommend
"Brookside Hamlet" as the piece to start with as the first mouse is the biggest
and easiest to spot.
The
listings contained within these pages will, I hope, assist you in identifying
the location of the mice, or owls, on your own pieces. It is not intended to
spoil your fun so if you still want the joy of the hunt then do not look
any further. However, you may find this list useful as it might save you long
and frustrating hours looking for a non-existent mouse especially on one of the
larger cottages. Also you may find it useful to know if you are meant to be
looking for a mouse or an owl.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
