And He’s Off – Glyn the Cyclist

Since I started making my Sketches in Tyres I always planned to make a cyclist from bicycle tyres. I was thrilled when Glyn Philips, the lead Bicycle engineer at Community Recycle Cycles in Crewe, agreed to collaborate with me to make ‘And He’s Off – Glyn the Cyclist’ which was commissioned by Spareparts Festival. Glyn created a racing bike from cannibalised bikes and a sturdy stand and kindly acted as my model.

It is with some poignancy that Glyn the Cyclist was to become my last Sketch in Tyres. I realised after a 3 month break from working with the tyres before I started this piece that I had become allergic to the rubber. So with the aid of antihistamine and special gloves he was finished in time to be shown at the Spareparts festival in Crewe and Wirksworth festival.