This project, working with Year 9 at Tolworth School for Girls, was based on the work of African artist ‘El Anatsui’ (whose work can be seen in the British Museum). El Anatsui uses hundreds of metal screw tops from liquor bottles and with his team of workers, flattens them out and links them together with copper wire to form huge, draping ‘cloths’.

Working jointly with artist Jane Entwistle, www.maxwellandmyrtle.co.uk we created with the girls a cloth approximately 1 x 3 metres in size. Each girl, or pair of girls made a square of 25 one inch ‘tiles’ cut of out used packaging like juice cartons. These were mixed with ‘tiles’ made from plain silver or gold card decorated with scratched marks or squares of translucent milk carton, again scratched into. The girls then made holes on each square and linked them together using cut bits of florists wire. These were all carefully joined to make one large artwork.

SCHOOL MOSAIC UNVEILING BY SIR PETER BLAKE

Strand on the Green Infant & Nursery School’s head teacher Mark Newton invited artist & local resident Peter Blake to unveil Sue’s latest school mosaic and open the newly painted and planted Nursery entrance area.  The council leader, councillors, Head of Governors and Peter Blake’s artist wife Chrissie also attended the celebratory event.  For more on the project click here

GLOBAL ARTS : Inter-faith Art Project

Earlier this year Sue managed an art project for an organisation in Kingston upon Thames called Global Arts. The aim of the project, which was funded by the Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund, was to celebrate local cultural diversity and encourage an interest and understanding of other people’s religions.  Sue worked with four different faith groups, (Christian, Muslim, Hindu & Jewish) together with a textile artist Louise Baldwin, who produced four beautiful, hand stitched banners representing the four faiths and a sound recording artist Keya Ashraf, who produced the accompanying CD.

It is intended that the artwork and CD with be used as an inspirational learning resource to tour schools in the borough of Kingston.

FELTHAM ARTS : Carnival Costumes Family Workshop Programme

During the summer Sue organized and led a series of Saturday morning workshops where children, together with their parents, made brightly coloured, decorative carnival attire and banners for the annual summer parade. The aim of these free workshops is to encourage parents and children to have fun learning and being creative together, especially targeting low income families, parents who do not speak English very well (and therefore benefit by having their children to translate) and parents with very young children who would otherwise have to stay at home.

Our group won second prize in the Feltham Carnival on 9th June 07.

MOSAIC WORK 

In February this year Sue did a one day workshop at Oliver Budd’s Studio in East Sussex. www.buddmosaics.co.uk. Her aim was to do a mosaic portrait using the traditional mosaic tesserae called ‘Smalti’ which has a resemblance to hand cut pieces of coloured marble or stone, used by early mosaic craftsmen. Here is a photo of the finished piece, which is a portrait of the actor James McAvoy.

COMMUNITY PROJECTS

In the summer Sue worked with a group at Age Concern, Hounslow, making mosaic paving slabs for their garden area.  This was part of a borough-wide art project called ‘Wild@Art’ organised by CIP at Chiswick Town Hall.  The different community groups produced a diverse range of work (on a bio-diversity theme) which was on display at Redlees Studios, Worton Road, Isleworth on19th-21st May. The mosaic paving slabs were then on exhibition at the Age Concern centre in Brentford throughout the month of June as part of the 'Older Persons Festival' and are now on permanent display in the garden there.

SCULPTURE

Sue is in the process of making new mosaic dog sculptures to go in the garden.  She has been developing sculptural techniques whilst on a sculpture course at Morley College, Lambeth.

CERAMICS

Sue has been making a range of small decorative tiles in both stoneware and earthenware clay.  She has been experimenting with new glazes and techniques.  Clay is also a good medium for making animal sculpture maquettes.

Hampshire 24th February – 19th March 2005

I had two life size mosaic dogs on show at the Art House Gallery in Westbourne, Hampshire.
This exhibition was named ‘Art and Crufts!’ was all about dogs. They had a wonderful selection of work in different media, including modern painting & prints, ceramic sculptures and even two poodles made from recycled paper.
The Art House is a modern craft gallery housed in an interesting old building, formerly an outfitters and haberdashery store, with the original wooden shelving. It is in the centre of Westbourne, an attractive village near Emsworth (1.5 hours from London). It was a great exhibition in a lovely location.