Gordon MacLellan

Storytelling, Puppeteering, Celebrations and Wandering Tree People

Better known as Creeping Toad, I am an artist and a storyteller who works with environmental and historical themes. With more than 30 years of freelance experience, I run events, workshops and training courses with groups from activity days with schools and on holiday playschemes to training courses at some of Britain’s leading environmental centres. After training as a zoologist, I combined my love of ecology and delight in people to create Creeping Toad which sets out to “help groups find ways of celebrating the relationships between people, places and wildlife”. With this in mind, my work is often outdoors, with celebrations in community woodlands, storytelling in gardens, animating grumpy toadstools and giant trees across country parks…

I am also the author of a number of art and poetry books. I work closely and optimistically with the environment movement believing that when we add creativity and personal spirituality to the mix we get a very dynamic force for personal and community change.

As an artist, I work with words – telling stories, writing stories and creating stories with groups; with paper: card sculptures, pop-ups, printing with natural materials, book-building all feature; and with puppets and celebrations from the small and personal to the large, spectacular and troublesome!