Knowsley Park Mosaic Commission

Plaque for mosaic

2010-12-17T04:51:00.000-08:00

Mosaic installed!

2010-11-12T03:10:00.000-08:00

Mosaic from the side facing the entrance doors

Keith & Dean after days of their hard work, job done!

The finished mosaic from above...

Last of the panels

2010-11-12T03:07:00.000-08:00

All the figure panels are up, the kite motifs with the school motto (dream, believe, achieve) are nearly all up

Here come the sun, the last panel! It has a globe of the centre of it to represent the school's specialism in Languages.

Keith and Dean checking over the fixing points.

Now, each of the panels had to get several tiles placed over the fixing holes, there was numerous ones on the tree panel....

Fairly high up work

Upper level install..

2010-11-12T03:00:00.000-08:00

Here's the tree panels going up

The install happened on a cloudy October week, here's the tree panel catching abit of sunlight, it will be really reflective in summertime.

Keith checking over the mirrored figure panels

Install.. second layer

2010-11-12T02:52:00.000-08:00

The tree piece laid out on the atrium floor, this is the most difficult piecing to get right, afew mm out at an angle, throws all the other panels out. All the other panels are placed in a linear format.

Started with the third panel along, it had a defined matchup line. Here's where the scaffolding comes into use.

Dean and Keith half way along, on the two hills...

2010-11-12T02:41:00.000-08:00

The lower level of panels, we noticed shakespeare's beady eyes had a way of following you around the atrium

First panel on! Each panel was fitted with a multitude of special fixing screws, very heavy duty, along with several other fixing methods, just to be extra sure that there would be zero movement.

Here's Dean overseeing Craig's painterly handiwork, pre painting the area behind the panel joints..

Install!!

2010-11-12T02:32:00.000-08:00

Day of the Install, this wall looks rather daunting, despite the numerous measurements, and double checks, theres always the worry will it fit??The install team were D & G Builders and Joiners they were great, and had checked through the plan and wall thouroughly, and knew the exact fitting methodology for this type of job.

Here's the first layer of panels around 8-10 out of 34 panels. The install was during the School's half term break, so there was no worry of any sudden rush in of pupils.

Just checking up where the first panel will go....

Grouting...

2010-11-12T02:14:00.000-08:00

Quite a messy job, unfortunately I forgot to take more piccies...

No matter how many pairs of gloves I use, I always end up with atrocious looking hands, the gloves rip, despite cleaning products & nail brushes, this finer type of grout manages to always to get under the fingertips. Going to the shops around these times is always quite funny...

Patch up work, with some extra grout, always afew tiles come loose

2010-11-12T01:37:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed a delay since the last few posts, this was due to a technical glitch, or rather me dropping my camera right on its lens. Photos will be all up soon!

A milliefiori E=mc2

Heres the tree panels in my studio corridor, grown a tad too big for it now!

Heres a tree panel after the grouting stage

Tree panels

2010-11-12T01:19:00.000-08:00

Heres some of the tree panels, they have the names of the different 'houses' in the school: Da Vinci, Seacole, Pascal, Bronte and Faraday.

A rather small mosaic Mona Lisa

Further panels...

2010-10-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Been a while since the last post apologies, finished off the soil layers, archive panels and green hills.

Town in progress

Heres the additional Town scene and mirrored figures...

One of the Kite motifs in progress

Kites pre grout

Archive panel

2010-08-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

Heres a panel showing some archive pictures pre grout and varnish. The images are from a variety of archives of the history of Prescot, Knowsley and Whiston

Update of mosaic

2010-08-16T04:45:00.000-07:00

Progressing along now, heres further photos of the mosaics....

Prescot was famous at one point in history for its clock and watch making history, heres one of the lower sections with a grandfather clock mosaic, the clockface is still slightly opaque with the drying glue.

Heres some of the panels placed together, theyre bigger than my studio corridor now, so only afew of them can fit into this picture.

Archive prints

2010-08-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Heres some of the historic archive photographs printed onto the tiles.

The above photo shows the sun section of the design, it has a globe in the centre of it.
The picture below shows one of the last sections of the lower panel, the circular patterns were inspired from drawings found in the archive, of cross section diagrams of cables, taken from the local company BICC

Mid section panel - Shakespeare done!

2010-07-29T04:08:00.000-07:00

Heres the portrait, pre grout. Will be adding a quotation from Hamlet after the grout has been added. Hamlet was one of the plays that the eighteenth century actor John Kemble became recognised from...Kemble Street in Prescot was later named in his memory.

Here are the two lower panels together, the clay part represents the Alphabet stone...

Heres another panel, this vase was from a design from one of the pupils sketches, the vase was made by a small group of pupils during one of the workshops, it was glued onto mesh using the direct (indirect) method, and then glued into place to fit into the panel.

Mosaic progress

2010-07-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

Currently working on the 4th panel, it is the lower section of the mosaic, which features a portrait of William Shakespeare. There was once a 'globe of the north' theatre in the area, which probably featured plays written by Shakespeare.

Heres a selection of tiles as well, will endeavour to use lots of the glittery ones!

Green fingered panels

2010-07-16T05:47:00.000-07:00

Panels 2 and 3 are quite interesting to mosaic, lots of flowers and colour!

Panel 2

You may notice gaps with holes in them, this isnt a mistake, its a placing for the screws when the panels are installed. You have to drill a hole, and then use a drill bit called a countersink, this creates a groove in the panel, where the screw head can sit. once all the screws are fitted into place, tiles are then glued ontop, so a nice level surface is created, and no tiles stick up!

Panel 3

A bluebell detail - the area was known for having a bluebell woodland a fair while ago.
Also, a ladybird as requested by one of the school staff during a consultation session.

Section from panel 3 - note the tile nippers at the top right of the picture, these are called rotary nippers, they are a specialist mosaic tool, and are a well guarded secret by most mosaic artists. They cut glass 10 times better and straighter than any standard pair of tile nippers you'll find. I would say they are the most important tool I use out of all my equipment!

Giant jigsaw

2010-07-16T05:25:00.000-07:00

Here's part of the tree panels, part way through cutting out.

The panels are cut, here they are waiting to be sealed and primed, there is around 34 of them, they are pretty big. Quite like a giants jigsaw puzzle!

This is the starting point for the first panel, its at the bottom left of the design, heres a mosaic in progress:

Design historical references

2010-07-16T04:22:00.000-07:00

Heres some historical info about the mosaic references - click on the picture to open a larger window

Archived photographs

2010-07-16T04:15:00.000-07:00

Prescot Grammer school

Met with the local hisorical society at Prescot museum, they were really helpful, with lots of information about the area. I will be using images and printing them onto tiles, which will then be embedded into the mosaic. So people will see how areas used to look, old buildings that no longer exist etc. Prescot grammer school for instance has a 400 year history!!

Photograph of the Earl of Derby

Workshops & consultations

2010-07-16T03:59:00.000-07:00

Workshops - Pupils Designs

Over 120 pupils worked on a variety of designs, aswell as developing paper mosaic designs for the project. Here are some images of pupils work from the design sessions.

4 classes were involved, and their designs and ideas led to the creation of the final design.

Mosaic Workshops

Over 120 pupils also learnt how to create a mosaic, each making their own individual design. Some pupils also worked on mosaics that are going to be embedded into the final mosaic.

Coaster designs pre grout Coaster designs finished

Consultations

As the school also serves the local community, it was important to get information and opinions about the final design and what should feature in it. Several consultations were held during school open days and parents evening. Lots of information was collected, with some visitors hidden gems of local knowledge!

Some suggestions....

Design

2010-07-16T02:59:00.000-07:00

Heres the design for the mosaic. It is made up of a collection of historical facts about the area. From 14th century pottery, to shakespearian theatres,coal mines to clock and watch making industries. The tree will have a variety of images in it also.(Too much to feature here).The figures are likely to be made from mirror tiles, and the kite shapes represent the school's motto: Dream, believe, achieve.

Location

2010-07-16T02:49:00.000-07:00

Heres the location of where the mosaic will be.... its going to be a big one, at around 8m wide and 4 m high!