Mosaic, Butternut Squash Soup and Diamond Jubilee Crowns!

I've had a FABULOUS day!


The sun is making me a little bit giddy, I think.  It's been great this week.  Yesterday I worked with a lovely group of people at Bridge's Day Unit in Manchester making Birthday cards and they did incredibly well.  Then I drove over to Ash Grove Primary School in Macclesfield. This school did work on the Macclesfield Town FC Community Mosaic Mural and  I remembered how lovely it was to work with the children on that project. After that I hot-wheeled it over to the studio to prepare for the new Figure Studies course which started last night.  A very tiring but productive day!


Today was SO busy - the bars in the studio have been measured out ready to go up, had to make the soup for lunch and do more prep for this afternoon, see to the water cooler sanitiser and say a quick good bye to Rachael and Jimi before going back to Ash Grove!


I LOVE Ash Grove - the staff and pupils are wonderful.  We worked together to research the 70s and 80s before making crowns outside in the sun.  Lovely, lovely, lovely.


The soup today was rather nice, though a bit tricky to make as someone had 'borrowed' my paring knife. It was exhausting peeling and chopping butternut squash with a butter knife!


Please note that I would put the slow cooker on medium if I was to leave for the morning then put it on high and add the pasta when I got in.

Butternut Squash, Chick Pea and Pasta Soup

1 x 1/2 butternush squash
2 x sticks celery
1 x carton organic chick peas
1 x red pepper
1 x handful cherry tomatoes
1 x litre hot vegetable stock
1 x cup tiny pasta shells
1 x teaspoon grated ginger (or powdered ginger)
1 x large pinch of Herbes de Provence
salt to taste


Peel squash, wash and chop with remaining vegetables, place in slow cooker. Add the carton of chick peas and the remaining ingredients apart from the pasta. Stir well.


Cook on high for 2 hours, stirring occasionally if possible.  With hand blender, blend half of the soup  to own preference (or not if you prefer). Taste - adjust seasoning if required and add pasta.  Cook for a further 1 hour on medium.  


We all really enjoyed this soup.  I felt it would have benefited from some fresh coriander leaves thrown in at the end so I may try that next time.

Macclesfield Town FC Community Mosaic is Complete!

After months of hard graft by myself and hundreds of local people, the Peaks & Plains and Macclesfield Town FC mosaic mural is up!  


Tom and Mark from B. Melling put the panels up whilst I directed (and got incredibly sunburned!) and Sean finished off the grouting.


Lads from The Adelphi Mill group are cutting out the silhouettes of the footballers as we speak and they will go up tomorrow.

The North End Wall at the Moss Rose, Macclesfield

Tom and Mark putting the first and largest panel up...

...three down 35 to go...

Sean Lloyd of Cavalry Tiling showing the panel produced by Cre8 Youth group and Melanie Lloyd of Tameside Social Services Re-enablement team.

the lads are really motoring now... 

 

Sean putting the finishing touches to the logos. 

The completed mosaic from the right:

 The completed mosaic from the left side: 

The footballer silhouettes being cut out by Kieran of Adelphi Mill Properties, Bollington.

All the silhouettes are of actual players. They will be painted and installed tomorrow at the ground.

Thank you...Alison Hepburn!

I would like to acknowledge my very clever and lovely friend, Alison Hepburn who, after reading her book 'A Beginner's Guide to Mosaics' and seeing her mosaics in her garden some years ago, gave me inspiration for creating creatures around the garden of the Loch Promenade. Thank you Alison for your amazing inspiration!

How cute are these?  The blue ladybird was made by Liz Courtie, a Manx artist living on the Isle of Man.  Liz volunteered during the delivery of the workshops and I must say that when I pulled a muscle in my back, I couldn't have done it without her! Thanks Liz!

Pam produced this lovely bee from Breakthrough Breast Cancer - thanks to you and Kim for coming to help install!

Now I know I've already said Jan made the Puss Moth butterfly caterpillar but was it that one, or this one?  Hm.. Thanks again to Jan and Tanya for helping.

Thanks also to Irene from Manx Cancer Care who brought two brothers, one of whom made this rather fabulous recycled common frog.

Garey Glass Project - Isle of Man - more mosaics!

Breakthrough Breast Cancer, IOM were one of the many groups participating in the Garey Glass community project.  Their logo was produced by Kim who also came to install it in the garden.  Sadly the photos do not do the mosaics justice - come to the gardens and see them.

 I must say how much a pleasure it was to work with the staff from Douglas Council. They were so helpful and I cannot omit mentioning Dave! Dave - the gardener who looks after the Loch Promenade gardens does an  incredible job.   This garden in particular is my favourite and it seems of many others.  It really is worth coming to the island to see them!

This panel was inspired by St John's Wort, though I had to use artistic license as the flower really only has 5 petals! The panel is awaiting the sign to be fixed in the centre.

One of the minotaur beetles...

I know one should not have favourites but I cannot help but adore this puffin which one of the students at Ballerkermeen High School produced.

Victoria from Max Foundation for the Physically Disabled was supported to produce this St John's Wort flower. 

Such a shame the image doesn't show the octopus so clearly!

Originally, the idea was to have wind turbines but when that changed, the mosaics produced by the children of St Mary's had to be used somehow.  As many of them produced 'blocks' of blue for the wind turbine designs, I decided to incorporate them as backgrounds for the circular and flower shaped signs around the garden.  This one includes an anemone and small fish, with a mackerel produced by children at the 'Home School' group.  The shell at the bottom was made by a student at Ballerkermeen and the Manx Queenie was made by a service user at Eastcliffe Resource Centre. 

If I remember rightly, this herring gull was made by one of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer girls.

This cutie was made, I'm sure, by one of the children at the Youth Centre, Douglas

Kemmryck produced their logo (in the centre) and the Manx words chymbyllaght (environment) and pobble (community/people) were produced by some young men from probation.

Awaiting the central sign, this flower shaped panel houses an oyster catcher and a butterfly. Hmm - my memory is failing my now but I think from children at Ballerkermeen and Cronk-Y-Berry schools.

A butterfly from Ballerkermeen...

...the Puss Moth caterpillar. An amazing caterpillar which some say was an inspiration for 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'...this one was produced by Jan who was really thrown in at the deep end of mosaics on her first visit to Noble's Park!

I was really impressed with the staff at M&S who started their logo.  The fish, ladybird and flower were produced by Ballerkermeen students.

A big bright flower made at Eastcliffe Resource Centre.  

This Laoghtan Sheep head was produced at Noble's Park at an open session.

One of the two Manx cats...

Some flat periwinkle shells...

a fun butterfly...

...two sea waves, a mackerel and a Queen scallop (Manx Queenie)...

...awaiting the Garey Glass logo...

...Garey Glass, produced by Robin...

...Queen scallop...

...ah...I love this harlequin lobster made at Ballerkermeen High School.

I just love ALL of the mosaics....

A mackerel...

...another herring gull and, of course, the island of refuge...

...Manx word 'pobble' (community)

...another herring gull and the Manx word 'cummalagh' for inclusive.  This panel had bottle glass fused in a kiln used for the bird and the outline of the sign.

Another Ballerkermeen triskelion...

...the cutest Viviparous Lizard...

...Cronk-y-Berry logo...

...a VERY neatly mosaiced 'recycle' and another lovely Laoghtan Sheep.

Bees and beetles are so important in a garden and these two are no exception!

Another colourful Manx Queenie!