In a quiet terraced street in Stoke Newington a new mosaic has appeared, conjured into existence by Tessa Hunkin & Hackney Mosaic Project – as Tessa explained to me.
“The householder had seen our work on Hackney Downs and gave us a brief. They wanted a mosaic path showing their dogs, Pepper & Rocket, chasing a squirrel while a clever fox escaped into their neighbour’s garden. They also gave me a list of local bird life to include – an egret, a kingfisher, a kestrel, a parakeet and a woodpecker. Although it was challenging to fit everything in, this proved a great subject because it is dynamic and mosaic is a medium that expresses movement very well.
It helped that the householder came to our pavilion in the park to make a lot of the path, while Pepper & Rocket supervised. During lockdown, one of our volunteers, Mary Helena, was able to carry on working from home too. She made all the little birds in the porch and the kingfisher, so by the time restrictions had eased it was all ready to be fixed.
As often happens, the fixing was hindered by unexpected showers but my brilliant assistants, including Ken Edwards, carried on working under a tarpaulin while the rain poured down. There was a particularly heavy downpour in the evening of our first day, but luckily the household was on hand to rush out with sponges to dry the mosaic and no harm was done.”
Tessa Hunkin
THE HACKNEY MOSAIC PROJECT is seeking commissions, so if you would like a mosaic please get in touch hackneymosaic@gmail.com
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