Sculpture
Robot Cossey
Saltwells Sculpture Trail 2004-5
One of the most successful large scale community projects that I have been involved with, is a Sculpture Trail within the Black Country. The sculpture Trail is now open for the public to view at Saltwells Nature reserve in Dudley.
The sculpture trail was commissioned by Groundwork Black Country after receiving funding from the Millennium Commission.
The Sculptures were constructed and lead by myself and a team consisting of two local Artists Marc Temple, Jake Wilman and one trainee Artist Mathew Peak over a period of four months.
The Trail consists of eight sculptures that represent the wildlife and the local area and include an outdoor classroom with a three metre high rocking chair, a wildlife totem pole and a giant oak monolith representing the four elements.
The designs for the sculptures came from consultation with two local schools, Netherbrook Primary and Quarry Bank Primary School, after running a series of workshops with the children.
This particular project has shown best practice, firstly by consulting and engaging with the local community and secondly by generating employment for locally skilled people.
The Trail has had excellent feedback and a lot of interest generated outside the Nature Reserve with the making of the sculptures. The number of walkers and members of the public asking about the project and giving positive comments has been amazing. The sculpture Trail has already had a massive impact on the nature reserve, attracting a lot of interest and publicity, including local papers and profiled on BBC Midlands Today.
