Ann Brooks trained as an art teacher in Dunedin with Gordon Tovey, an influential director of art education in the 1950's. She became an art and craft advisor for schools and returned to art teaching after raising her family.

She has always had a love of fabric and collage and an article in an American magazine showing an exhibition of soft sculpture sparked her imagination.

She has evolved ways of working with soft and stuffed sculpture with children over her teaching career. She always works within themes: the brides and grooms shown here are part of a theme about life milestones, the wizard is derived from a book illustration theme, and the footballers were part of a year long sports theme.

The children work from sketches and drawings, first building up the shape and features of the face, and then the components are all hand-stitched and stuffed. It is an organic process: the techniques enable the children to make humorous and individual characters with a life of their own.

Works illustrated here were made at Birkdale Intermediate and Kings School in Auckland.