The Orchards Ceramic Mural Commission

Once we had been asked to get involved, the key dilemma was how to get as many people as possible to make their mark, in an original and clear way, whilst maintaining a good visual standard.
 

A walking stick is used by a group
member to make his mark in the soft tile

We very quickly decided on the idea of getting people to literally make marks in a pre-prepared clay tile, which would later be carved into a uniform pattern, fired and glazed. Using an unfired tile meant that we could be fairly mobile, visiting different groups and getting them involved.
 

As we get more adventurous someone
decides to ride their bike across
the soft tile
 

A set of the larger tiles

We hoped that the marks that people made would be meaningful to them. A variety of novel and fun approaches included marks made by jewellery, walking on the tile and even riding a bike over one.
 
The old hospital building provided the inspiration for the smaller simpler tiles. Lino prints were made based on the patterns found in the tiles there and we then made our own version - a fusion of the old and new.
 

Tiles from the old hospital building

We enjoyed our involvement in this project, it's always fun to be part of the creative process. It was especially nice to see people start to make tentative marks and then become more and more expressive.
 
 
The marks are like a series of little secrets, and we hope that all those who made them will enjoy spotting their bits and remembering why they chose to make the marks they did. Perhaps you will too.
 
 
 

and the result......