S a r a h   H a m m o n d

Details of the Mosaic

the whole mosaic is 1.8 x 2m

The  mosaic is the sign for an Estate so for the sake of privacy I haven’t included a photo of the whole design.

Mosaic sign for a housing estate made by the children and mothers.   The mosaic was commissioned by the Southern Housing Group to give the estate an identity and make it a more pleasant place for everyone.

Mosaic sign for a housing estate

The theme for the mosaic was inspired by the name of the estate and the history of the area.  The Estate is in a conservation area so the colours of the mosaic were chosen to harmonise with the Victorian tenements.  We included birds the children often see locally such as the magpie and blackbird.  Other creatures such as the cockerel and duck were from drawings the children did at the local city farm or from our outing to Kew Gardens - or simply from their imagination. 

It was autumn when we designed the mosaic so leaves collected in the courtyard make up the border of the mosaic. 

On each project on this Estate young people age 14-17 have volunteered to help.   This gives them experience of working with younger children and running workshops.  They take on responsibilities like organising games for the children.   Mums helped out too and came and did their own piece of mosaic alongside their children.

ArtsSpokes delivered the project through its Art Director, Sarah Hammond,  assisted by Sue Edkins.  Sarah has been running art workshops on this Estate for five years.

A community mosaic is an opportunity to bring people together to make a positive difference to their area.  Alltogether 50 people were involved in the making of this mosaic.