Galbraith Katy

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		Made for the Perthshire Open Studios Taster exhibition at the Bield, near Perth. The chicken / cockerel is one from the Bield's steading, and is quite a flamboyant one! The Bield operates as a charity, and offers placements for young adults who need to learn skills, including communication, work ethos etc. I have reproduced him with a variety of broken crockery, including a mug which had chickens on it, and a few mugs which had my father's church on (Eccleshall, in Staffordshire). The background is made of vintage dishes, where I have cut all the circles out. And the flowers are mostly stoneware.
		Commissioned by the local Girl Guiding group in Shieldhill, by Falkirk, to be the focal point of the patio area in a community garden. The original design was developed from being one large image of the guiding trefoil, to include individual elements representing the three key areas of guiding (Girl Guides, Brownies and Rainbows), and that it is part of a butterfly conservation garden. We held a drop-in day which was very successful, allowing the community to get involved. Then the mosaic was completed at my workshop. Made as 7 individual paving slabs, it was finally installed into a paved area. "The mosaic has been well admired and talked about; and it has survived the several days of very hard frost and freezing temperatures.we have had here in Shieldhill."
		Teaching and advising the art teacher of the School, so that all the children made a piece for the mosaic, be it a flower head, an owl, or butterfly, I was then tasked with 4 days to install all the pieces, and teach the art of grouting to all the volunteers. By far the biggest and most spectacular of my wall mosaics, given the enjoyment of the children each seeing their piece in situ
		Flower Cloud was a commission with a purpose. The client looked out of her kitchen onto a pebble-dashed garage wall, which was a bit bleak, so she commissioned the mosaic so she would look out onto a bright colourful garden in mosaic instead. Made onto a suitable board, the mosaic is made of bone china dishes, glass and tile, with ceramic stoneware wastage from a local potter. A lot of charity shop finds have gone into this mosaic.
		Inspired by an illustration in a calendar, I loved the concept of a path through a meadow, with a garden gate beyond to fields. The oval frame is originally held a large mirror, but makes the perfect surround for this mosaic. The path, made of the edges of a ceramic plate, meanders through a meadow of flowers, which are made from a whole combination of dishes, mugs, cups and broken china. The flower centres are fused from scraps of glass, each being unique. The sky is vintage tile, and the leaves and branches are from wine bottle glass.