City Waterside bulrushes.

City Waterside was the location for the third installation for British Waterways, this time in Stoke-on-Trent and this time a series of woven bulrush appeared from the paved canal bank, in the shadows of a stunning bottle kiln.
The day the images were shot we had a celebration of the project and then the mayor arrived on a restored working boat! It was a lovely day even dressed in my jacket a just had to grab the line and moor the beast.

Etruria locks Dragonfly

One of the four commissions for the British Waterways was at Etruria where the bone and flint mill sits on the junction of the Caldon Canal, the Trent and Mersey, it's also home to Stoke-on-Trent's industrial museum!
I created the dragonfly here, 4.5 meters high, to give some drama above the roof tops of the lower sheds, dragonflies are a great indicator of good water quality and as the industry calms down and we reflect on it's history everything gets a chance to breathe.
The sculpture is overlooked by some sheltered housing... I hope they like it, either that or they are having nightmares about giant insects!

A heron for British Waterways.

Since February I have been working in Stoke-on Trent on a commission for British Waterways, a series of four installations spread over the city all with a direct link to the canal and communities that use them.
The Heron below is at Westport Lake the largest body of water in the city, well known for its waterbirds, it's a great spot for a walk and has an environmental centre cantilevered over it, its pretty smart!
My heron stands about 4 meters up on its pole and is very much a willow sketch against the skyline.
Whilst there I ran a workshop onsite and created bits and bats with the visitors to discuss the ideas and engage folk in the process.
Incidentally my friend has a sculpture on this site too, a series of huge stainless steel feathers designed by Martin Heron (appropriately) and fabricated by www.artfabs.co.uk see below
More Stoke-on-Trent sculptures to follow!