In this exhibition entitled ‘A City as Sculpture’ Lichfield Cathedral’s magnificent and sacred Gothic architectural structure has been enveloped by Sculptures, paintings, light and sound installations and drawings by the artist. The work has filled this splendid space and whilst being respectful to its surroundings has let visitors see works of art that would not normally be viewed here. The visitor is first captured on entry to the Close by the giant abstract horse’s heads and bulls figures that adorn the outside grounds of the Cathedral. The viewers are heard asking, what is it made of? Is it carved stone is it made of metal? Why are they here? How did they get here? Can we touch them/ photograph them? Never has the area seen sculpture presented at this scale. On entering the grand Cathedral doors the visitor is then taken on a journey through art from realism to abstraction. They may think that the sculptures and paintings that adorn the corridors, nave, north and south transept and Lady chapel may be made by different artists as the accumulation of works are vast and show different styles and forms yet this is the extensive nature of Peter Walker’s artistic ability.

Art can be a spiritual and sensational experience and as viewers attended the exhibition they spoke of being moved. Some shed tears as they stood in front of an interpretation of Mary Magdalene and also a piece entitled ‘innocent victim of War’. They smiled as they saw the sunflower fields of Provence and the Spanish hills here depicted in oils for all to see in the west midlands. They learned of their heritage as they saw the maquette of the statue of Saint Chad and how he brought Christianity to Mercia and how Lichfield City and the Cathedral itself was founded because of Him.

It is such an unusual occurrence to have a large scale exhibit in such a sacred space and for the fact that people were able to witness such different visual artworks never witnessed here before, it was important to observe how members of the community and visitors to the City responded to the pieces because access and engagement with people was key to the artist’s intentions. Often the reaction to works can speak volumes. One lady was observed laying a posy of roses upon the sculpture entitled ‘Last Grasp of Freedom’ showing that the impact and effect this giant grasp of an abstract hand was creating an emotional and moving experience, it became a symbol of contemplation and reflection. Whilst viewing the painting entitled ’Cloud’ one visitor expressed her interpretation that this piece caught her attention as it felt like it was depicting the word of God speaking to her.

Peter Walker originally from Lichfield is the artist in residence for the next five years for Lichfield Cathedral. His extent of work and ability has already been described by several viewers comparable to Leonardo Da Vinci, and his abstract cubist ability to that of Picasso.

The exhibition has showcased over 100 pieces of art and some of the most thought provoking and challenging artworks that local people have never had access to before. With thousands of people coming through the cathedral grounds and attending the Cathedral the exhibition has meant that members of the community and public that visit the area have been drawn to this sacred space whether their reasons are for religious purposes, sanctity and prayer, or as a tourist viewing the heritage and cultural relevance to the City and now those who may never have stepped through the historic Gothic wooden doors have been able to come through to observe the surroundings in a different way and to have the chance to see the beauty and creativity that lies within.

As Peter Walker works alongside the people of Lichfield City and it’s visitors as he continues to develop the statue of St Chad which shall be permanently homed in the Cathedral grounds, he is an artist that is able to direct focus and attention towards the splendour that exists in the area and to show that art is for everyone to have access to and be part of. Bridging the gap between the artist and the viewer is a rare ability as all artwork is subjective and open to interpretation, yet having the capability to allow all to have access and learn the language of art is important. The Very Revd Adrian Dorber, Dean of Lichfield Cathedral, has supported Peter Walker in his understanding of the importance of creativity and with this acknowledgement has paved a way forward for the community to embrace and be included in the imperative aspects that art offers in the development of the City and its engagement with people.

by Kathryn Walker MA FRAI

The winning design will be developed by White Crow Design into a 3d digitally rendered sculpture – accessible online and as part of the City of Sculpture Project.

On Saturday the 13th June, over 300 people gathered on the second anniversary of the unveiling of SCAMP, the Sankeys Corner Miners Statue in Burntwood, to take part in the dedication of a plaque containing the names of over 105 local ex miners. The plaque has added the names to over 250 ex miners already dedicated on the Statues Plinth. The statue was originally designed by local man Peter Walker, in honour the miners who helped found the town.

The dedication also saw the launch of the 150th Burntwood Wakes in the area, which this year have a new look and feel. Rather than based across the traditional 2 day weekend in August, the Wakes will feature events across a number of months in the town, enabling more people to participate. The Wakes originated as a festival created by local miners 150 years ago at St Annes Church in Chasetown, which is also 150 years old this year. It was a fitting ceremony and event to bring focus on how communities gather and celebrate their heritage.
The dedication saw Chairman of the Burntwood Business Community David Whitehouse introduce proceedings, thanking the Miners, local Business ‘Bayley Property Services’ and Burntwood Library for supporting the event. Thanks was also given to the Burntwood Business Community who sponsored the fun day activities.

Chairman of the Burntwood Town Council Pam Stokes gave a touching speech thanking the miners for their dedication, this was then followed by a blessing by Rev Linda Hood, before being played out by Rugeley Brass Band.

The band continued to played on through the day with the Library converted into a community hub, gallery and arts centre for the day. Local groups had stalls and craft available. A free bouncy castle and face painting was also available for the kids. In total around 1000 people attended the fun day event, which ran between 10.30 and 4pm.

“This was all made possible by the Peter Walkers project The City of Sculpture with additional thanks to the local town council, Burntwood Library, Burntwood Heritage Group and Burntwood Business Community who provided fantastic support to the project”.

Local ex miner Keith Cooper also received a much deserved mention in proceedings after spending months collecting ex miners names for the new plaque.

“Since it was unveiled in 2013 by my predecessor, Ron Bradbury when he was Chairman of the Town Council, SCAMP has become a visible symbol of our community and heritage. Of course, Ron Bradbury had always been the driving force behind the project to get a meaningful memorial and tribute to our local heritage, raising funds and awareness for years before this beautiful sculpture was unveiled. Today is the start of the new Burntwood Wakes Festival, a new way of celebrating our community throughout what I hope will be a wonderful summer! This year, Burntwood Town Council has changed the way we are holding the Wakes Festival to let our local community groups have more involvement and bring new ideas”. Chairman Pam Stokes

“Scamp has been embraced across the community, and that is key to producing art in public places. It is fantastic to see all generation engaging with the artwork. We must remember that this town was built on the mining heritage, and although there is no visible reminder of the many pits in the area, I trust this statue and the names which are proudly inscribed on the plaques will last for generations as a reminder of the routes of this community. Today its a different world, and in line with that we hope to bring many new art projects, using new technology as well as sculpture and and other art forms to the area. There is overwhelming enthusiasm for the projects we undertake in Burntwood and Lichfield and we will continue to develop opportunities wherever we can to create access to art in the area”. Peter Walker

Sculptor and Artist Peter Walker has set local school pupils in Lichfield and Burntwood a challenge to draw their best design for a sculpture.

Entrants have the chance to draw any design they would like and one selected winning design shall have the honour of being recreated in virtual 3Dimension sculpture online. More than that the design will also be geo-located for a site in Lichfield or Burntwood and become the areas first permanent digital public artwork.

If you can imagine anything being put on display for all to see in a public space, what would it be?

Entries must be completed on a design sheet and returned to Lichfield Library.

Download design sheet by right clicking here: Sculpture design sheet – and then click – Saved Linked as , to save the design sheet to your computer.

The competition is designed for children aged between 9 and 16 years. The deadline for drawings to be entered by is 1st July. All entries should be given to Lichfield Library

“As a public artist we create artworks which are designed to last forever. For the competition we want children to use their artistic imagination and come up with original and diverse ideas – Anything they would like to see themselves or which they can imagine to be seen on the streets they live in” Peter Walker

50 selected designs will be framed and displayed at Lichfield Library during the summer and 5 shortlisted designs will be open for public vote to choose a winning design.

The project is being supported by inLife design and White Crow Studios who will help to create the digital 3d artwork for the winner, and the Arts Council England

inLife are an award winning Web design agency in Staffordshire specializing in providing web design and digital marketing solutions to suite all businesses and budgets. http://www.inlife.co.uk/

White Crow Studios Ltd are a Midlands based visualization company that can turn any 2D idea or concept into a 3D photorealistic illustration or animation. They visualize architectural designs based on 2D CAD or drawn schematics.

Entrants have the chance to draw any design they would like and the winning design shall have the opportunity of being recreated in virtual 3Dimension online.

contact pw@acityassculpture.com

The winning design will be chosen by a public vote during the Summer of 2015 as part of an exhibition of 50 chosen designs which will be exhibited in the Library gallery.  The design will then be created digitally and virtually embedded as a work of art in the City landscape.

The sculpture studio days are the 7/8th April. And will include further art activities.

Sophia  is a Midlands based artist. Having graduated from Goldsmiths College, University of London she undertook several residency programs at The Banff Centre, Canada and with Red Gate Gallery in Beijing.

Sophia is an artist and a writer, although it is more so becoming one practice. She moves between different methods of creating, her work comprising of painting and collage. For her, fiction never leaves the picture.

Work produced by children from Ridgeway Primary school alongside small sculpture designs, inspired by the Staffordshire Hoard produced by groups around Burntwood have gone on display in Burntwood Library. During several sessions students worked on designing artworks relating to the the Hoard discovery alongside working to develop sculpture in numbers materials.

The project saw research and development sessions, sketching and design, maquette and model making alongside being taken on guided walks around the art of Lichfield and Burntwood.

The school itself first struck my attention to be very well decorated in art materials which showed it already had a high value towards the arts and crafts as upon entry to the school at every corner, wall and notice board there were many displays using different media to depict the students areas of education – large hanging mobiles adorned the hall, masks from different cultures they had learned about, even in the staff room teachers were busy making props ready to be used for the school Christmas play. There was a display on one wall all about the work the children had previously done with the artist at a previous time. The children were highly energetic and enthusiastic about the artist visiting again and upon introduction by the teacher and artist they also learned about my role there as a Social Anthropologist.   On the first day, the children were asked to design some sculptures for the town and were helped by the artist to re-discover words previously used to describe art work –such as ‘abstract’, ‘realistic’, ‘subtractive’ and this was made an exciting part of the lessons for the children as the artist designated a word to an individual and they had to stand up each time the words were explained which they enjoyed. The drawings they produced were all very imaginative depictions of what they would like to see in the town in the future and many designs seemed to be based around the projects recently learned about with the artist such as the recent finding of the Staffordshire hoard in the local area.

Then the children were all escorted up to the local town centre Library and outside of which stands the latest statue which depicts the mining heritage of the area- a miner and pony proudly stands on a plinth here. We were all asked to attend the unveiling of a new plaque which commemorates the lives of the miners and families of miners who all worked in the area, even beneath the statue where there once stood a coal pit. Approximately 200 people attended the unveiling of the plaque. The children sang Christmas carols at the unveiling to mark the occasion and members of the public gathered around the statue as a speech by the local councillors and a blessing by the local vicar was also said as a mark of respect to the miners and families. The school children were also joined by a further 30 children from another school (Chase Terrace primary) who also came to participate in the unveiling of the plaque. Afterwards, the public and the children gathered in the library to watch a short film the artist had made which covered the making of the statue and also interviews of ex-miners of the local town of Burntwood. I was most impressed by the questions and answers that the children asked the artist afterwards, they were intrigued by the notion of people going down under the ground it was a concept they had not come across before, and they wanted to know how this was physically possible how structurally people were able to make the tunnels and asked all about the circumstances they would find themselves in and also if women were involved in the mines. Luckily there were many experts that had turned up that day to see the public unveiling, there were local members of the history society group and even an ex-miner there to help answer their insightful questions. Overall the children were then inspired for the next day’s events with the artist as there education from this day appeared to creep into their artwork.

On the second day the children were shown how to make large willow and tissue paper sculptures, they were free to design anything they felt appropriate with the materials. The children produced spitfires, a miners helmet, a Christmas tree, a mining cave with hanging diamonds, a heart of love, a mini-music cathedral, a large butterfly, an open book for the library, tennis rackets, and many other objects some to do with the Staffordshire hoard . The year was divided into two groups and as one group made these another learned how to make clay sculptures, they learned to use this different media and had sculptural tools to shape and model objects of their own design or remnants of the hoard. This session was teaching them all about form and material shape. Once again the children created many imaginative items – including a statue of Winston Churchill and a unicorn that turned into a shark! The day was enjoyed by the children. Throughout the day there were moments of frustration if the images that they had in their minds were not physically appearing in front of them through the magic of their hands, but this was the learning curve of learning hand –eye co-ordination, perseverance and persistence and as they pushed through with determination they stood with their final sculptures they had made and were able to explain them and discuss them with their peers at the end of the day with proud looks on their faces and a sense of achievement. The artist explained to them that they were all learning about art and that making sculpture is all about perseverance, and well he should know after all.

On the last day the children turned up giving the artist and myself big hugs and Christmas cards. They were asking if we were with them all week but this was our last day with the children. The groups were divided into two again and they both had chance to make small detailed work with wire, they chose a shape to follow – a Staffordshire hoard remnant and they attempted to follow with the line of wire this shape. The children found this the most challenging task as it was more intricate in detail and took a lot of concentration. They also worked on the computer and typed up their experiences, a mini- social anthropological report that they each wrote, and they also designed a poster for their own exhibition of their work to be viewed in the local library by the public.

Overall the dedication of staff at the school to the art world was highly commendable, the head-teachers support was refreshing to see and the work of the teachers and teaching assistants to support and encourage the arts with the children was a joy and one which showed the pupils to be a step ahead in their learning and education in this area. I viewed the progress over such a short time with these children and it was only on leaving that I was informed about certain pupils and how they normally find certain tasks difficult, or about certain pupils who often have difficulty with concentration and involvement with lessons and needed particular assistance, however during my observations in this time period, I didn’t see any lack of participation in the sessions, all the children were thriving off being allowed to self-express and create something with appropriate guidance and support. They showed imagination, determination and thoughtfulness beyond their years and showed they could all push beyond their skills set to learn something new and inventive.

I was able to say goodbye with a feeling of happiness that the next generation were open minded, and willing to learn about their heritage and create new exciting designs for their local town, a wonderful addition to the population of Burntwood.

They began by designing and sketching before making willow structures to replicate making armatures, clay models to look at maquette design and wire sculptures to concentrate on details

A collection of their work will be displayed at Burntwood Library before the end of December.