The Family Tree Mosaic

As part of the sculptural outdoor classroom that I am working on at the moment for a school here in Dublin, I was asked to incorporate a tree somewhere into the design to represent the 'Family Tree'. The 'Family Tree' is a song which has come to symbolise the 'Croí na Scoile' (The heart of the school).

I was also asked to give the students a chance to have some input into the outdoor classroom so that they can make it their own (a very important part of the process for sure) 

My solution to this was to create a large stone mosaic of the tree into the wall of the structure and to then let the students paint the leaves of the tree on precut tiles.

Past pupils, staff, board and PTA members (past and present) received a leaf to design and paint.

Almost 100 leaf tiles were painted as well as another 70 square tiles that make up the border around the mosaic.

It was great to spend some time in the classroom with students and see the excitement about creating their very own piece of art that will remain part of the outdoor classroom for years to come.

Painting the leaf tiles in class

The finished leaf tiles painted by the students

Many many hours went into the making of the stone part of the mosaic, far more than anyone will ever know, but now that it is finished I know that it was all worth it. 

The roots of the tree

The border tiles that surround the mosaic spell out 'All different all equal' as well as its Irish translation 'Gach duine atá difriúil ach freisin cothrom'  

There is still lots to do before the outdoor classroom is complete with lots more exciting features and student involvement also, so I will get back to work now, and will post more about the outdoor classroom once it is completed.

Happy New Year and reflecting back on 2012

Detail from the 'Family Tree' mosaic I am working on for an outdoor classroom

Happy New Year everyone. I feel the need to write a new blog post as I have been neglecting to do so over the past six months or so. Looking back at 2012 it has been a mixed year. While battling our way though a severe recession I reflected on some of the positives of 2012.

Although I had a long and quiet winter and spring, 2012 did bring along a few projects that I am very happy with. I did get to make a stone mosaic panel that I had been wanting to make for some time. My mind is full of many, many ideas. Some just plain crazy, some incredibly ambitious and some that just require an enthusiastic client to make them become a reality.

Fortunately I got one of these enthusiastic clients this year that let me create this mosaic panel as a focal point in a garden makeover I was doing for him at the time.

Gerry's Town Garden. More photos of this garden here

For this panel I used some Golden brown Quartzite from Co. Donegal that I had left over from building the garden, with some Liscannor sandstone from Co. Clare I had laying around in the studio. These two stones make a striking contrast to each other and the mirror reflects fragmented colours and light from around the garden.   

Natural stone mosaic in Gerry's Town Garden. More photos of this garden here

In early 2012 I also took in the position on Chairman of The Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland and although this has taken up much of my free time (time usually spent writing blog posts) it has been great working with like minded people that share a passion for stone and Ireland's rich stone heritage.

One of Ireland's stunning dry stone walls. 

Working on a section of dry stone wall at the Liscannor quarry with members of the DSWAI, more about this here 

During the summer I was asked by friend and fellow DSWAI member Tom Pollard to help with a public art project he had organised at Electric Picnic, the country's premium music and arts festival. 

Dry-stone public art project at Electric Picnic 

Tom had devised a sculpture that would only use materials that could be salvaged from the grounds of the estate that the festival is held on and also show off the craft of dry-stone construction. The cantilevered seats made the piece interactive and gave people the opportunity to take a rest.

The team. DSWAI members Tom Pollard, Alex Panteleyenko, Sunny Wieler and Julia Gebel

The beautifully carved cap stone was carved by Julia from an old piece of cut stone that lay on the ground not 10m from where it now sits. 

  The rest of the structure was built from reclaimed limestone and slates from the roof of the estate that had recently been replaced. Even the timber for the seats came from a damaged tree that was cut down on the estate the year before.

2012 also saw some of my stone projects included in a internationally distributed book on stone features. I was honoured to be featured alongside many wonderful stone artists from around the globe.

2012 also saw me return to the Aran Islands for another Feile na gCloch (Festival of Stone), a wonderful weekend of Stone, Stout and banter among fellow wallers and stone enthusiasts. This is a weekend I thoroughly recommend and one I will look forward to returning to next September. More about this event in my blog post here

Feile na gCloch 2012

The rest of 2012 has been taken up working on a wonderful outdoor classroom I am building for a school in Dublin. This is still very much under construction but I will share more about this with you all once it has been completed. For now I will leave you with a sneak preview of the classroom as it looks now from one of the two entrances.

Under construction. Outdoor classroom for a school near Dublin.

 Wishing you all much success and happiness in 2013. Regards, Sunny Wieler