AN ART installation celebrating the leap year will open at the National Trust’s Nunnington Hall, Helmsley, this weekend.

Emma Stothard, one of Yorkshire’s leading wildlife sculptors, has created an exhibition especially for Nunnington Hall, celebrating each of the 366 days this year. The individual hares include sculptures, illustrations and paintings, all displayed within the Smoking Room and set among its historic collection.

Emma’s work explores the array of materials that embody the ever-changing architecture and fabric of a historic building, while experimenting with contemporary methods. Each piece will be individually hand-finished and dated by Emma, including a special Leap Day Hare marking leap day, tomorrow, Saturday, February 29.

She was born in Hull and grew up in Kilnsea, a village at the northern end of Spurn Point. An artistic child, Emma enjoyed drawing the Holderness landscapes around her home, and went on to attend Southampton Solent University, where she studied for a BA Hons in Fine Art.

After graduating, she briefly moved to the Somerset Levels to learn the process of growing, coppicing, bundling and weaving willow. She returned to Yorkshire to study for a PGCE at Bretton Hall, Wakefield, and began making geese and small animals from woven willow.

After teaching in West Yorkshire, Emma moved to Whitby and took a teaching post at Whitby Community College. Emma now exhibits nationally and internationally, and her sculptures grace the gardens of stately homes, galleries and private homes around the country.

Emma has spent the last year creating each of the 366 works which includes clay, wire and willow sculptures, textiles hangs and cushions, drawings and ceramic tiles. The work ranges from four-foot willow sculptures to four-inch miniature wire and clay collectables. They’ll be placed by Emma through the room in full view and some of the hidden spaces, nooks and crannies from drawers and under furniture.

Emma said: “Nunnington Hall such a rich sense of history – generations have lived here, and you can feel their presence in the furniture, the wallpaper and the textiles. Each hare that I have handmade represents a day of the year 2020, and each of those days is going to be special for someone – a birthday, an anniversary, maybe even a proposal of marriage on the Leap Day itself!”

Laura Kennedy, Visitor Experience Manager, said: “It’s great to welcome Emma back and we’re so pleased that Emma felt inspired by Nunnington Hall and its history to create a special installation, one that will only be available to see at Nunnington. We’re looking forward to seeing her work within the Smoking Room where the work will sit alongside the historic collection.”

The installation 366 Leaping Hares will be available until November 1.

Nunnington Hall is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm. For more information, call 01439 748283 or visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/nunnington-hall.