Pebbles!

We've been working like crazy on the pebble mosaic at Perton Library, South Staffs this month. Fuelled by tea and biscuits provided by the wonderful library staff we have almost finished our largest mosaic to date.

Measuring 3.6m by 2.4m, and containing some 8,000 hand-placed pebbles (we estimate), the mosaic is inspired by the people of Perton.

We are awaiting delivery of some tiles to finish the final lake section, but in the meantime here are some pictures of the work in progress:

Because You're St. Georgeous

"We need your help with some art projects," said the Art Coordinator of St. George's Primary School in Littleover. "And one of them has to be done before Easter!"
I'm not one to shy from a challenge, and I did have one free day before Easter, so I took a trip to the school.

They wanted the children to produce a piece to present to the local St. George's Church, as a token of their thanks and appreciation for everything that the church has done for them over the years. Something relevant, permanent, and classy. We tossed some ideas around before deciding on a stained glass window-style relief piece, based on the myth of St. George, and involving children from Reception to Y6.

So I returned home, sat down, had a cuppa and a ponder, and came up with this design:

Everyone happy with the design, I headed to the school on the last day of term. The children were excitable, but all lovely and interested in what I was doing there, what materials I was using, and who would get to have a go.

I worked with just two children from each class, and 24 in total. They built up the many layers, from the basic background to the detailed face, by applying small balls of art mache, shaping it, and smoothing it out.

The bell rang for the end of the day, the children rushed home to their Easter eggs and XBoxes, and I spent a couple of minutes smoothing the edges and refining the details.

I'm returning after Easter to help the kids paint it. Can't wait.