Northwich Workshops

Public Engament Workshops

As part of the Barons Quay project, I wanted to engage with local schools to contribute to the project's IMAGE BANK, which you can see here; https://www.flickr.com/photos/129716078@N08/albums ,which stores images that will be etched in to the metal for the final Artwork. We started each day with an advance 'sneak peak' tour of The Lion Salt Works, to eductate and inspire the students through looking at the salt mining history in Northwich area.

Leftwich Primary 2/6/15

The first workshop was run by local artist Beth Barlow. She planned a very active and engaging workshop task; creating homemade puff paint, for the students to get invovled in!  We created a large scale collaborative artwork that I could then photograph and upload to the Image Bank, and whcih will be used as a design within the final Artwork.

Hartford High 3/6/15

The second workshop was run by myself and two handy helpers. The aim of this exercise was to create textural salt desposit imagary. We layered up materials such as strunched up paper, foil, spong and string to create a large collaborative collorgraph, which we then inked up and took a print from.

For the second task, we wanted to  create structural images, again to use in the final artwork, using cut up pieces of paper, collaged on to acetate, so it could then be layered on top of the collograph print made earlier in the day.

A huge thank you to all the staff and students involved, to Lorna at the Lion Salt works for fantastic tours, and to Beth Barlow, Fay, and Rosalyn for their hard work over the two very productive days!

A visit to Northwich

Just back from a packed two days in Northwich, meeting with some really interesting people. I've been organising a series of events for my public engagement programme, which include art workshops with school students in June, at the soon to open Lion Salt Works.

Meeting with local Artist Beth Barlow, who will be creating and facilitating the primary school workshop, I got very excited about the prospect of using glue and ink to create collaborative drawings with the students, drawings which could appear, etched in to the surface of the final commission, through their inclusion in the Barons Quay Public Art IMAGE BANK.


I visited the Barons Quay site in the centre of Northwich, and work is under way to transform this land, reclaimed by filling abandoned and dangerously unstable salt mines with a concrete composite, in to a new public and retail space.

Hearing from Danielle, who works for Fusion21, about her work to engage building and construction apprentices from the local area, I realised how much effort is being put in to ensure that the development work benefits the local community. 


On Wednesday, I took the opportunity to see an exhibition of local Art at the Weaver Hall Museum in Northwich, organised by members of Visual Arts Cheshire. Whilst there, took pictures of industrial relics outside the museum:

 Detail of a marine steam engine, once part of the 'Anderton', one of the last two steam powered ships built in Yarnwood's shipyard in Northwich, in 1945.

Detail of the tyre of a CAT 988s  used in Winsford rock salt mine, the oldest salt mine in the country, and also the oldest working mine.  The salt union extracts one million tonnes of salt from Winsford mine each year. Most of the salt is used for de-icing roads in winter.

I find industrial relics and architecture fascinating. I'm always drawn in by how the object or building's form relates to its function; looking for spouts, chutes, ladders.... to give a clue to the relic's past use.

Visit to Lion Salt works

As part of my public art project for Barons Quay in Northwich, I'll be working with the soon to open 'Lion Salt Works' near Northwich.  Industrial buildings have been beautifully restored and converted into museum and cafe / shop, along with education facilities.  I'm planning to work with Lorna from the salt works, to facilitate workshops with school students, creating artwork images for the project's IMAGE BANK.

I was really inspired to see the equipment and machinery once used in the industry, and look forward to working with Lorna to create some exciting events!