Courtyard Mosaics at Drumnadrochit
In February 2014 I visited Craigmonie, the community learning centre in Drumnadrochit, on the shores of Loch Ness. The building that houses both the school and the community facilities is beautiful and bright, with an internal courtyard, complete with benches, so that members of the community can take a break in the sun. The only problem was that the courtyard walls were bare and so there was little there for the eye to enjoy other than the contents of a few plant troughs.
So, together with a diverse group of locals, over three days we made a wide range of mosaic designs onto old roof slates, on the theme of wildlife. I passed on the skills of cutting and shaping ceramics and also the entirely different skill of cutting glass. We mostly used recycled crockery and wine bottle glass and so the volunteers were genuinely amazed at what could be produced out of these waste products. And they were good learners too, as the photographs testify; what a quality of work was produced from these first-time mosaic artists!
I will be returning to Drumnadrochit soon, so hope to add more photographs of the work once it is installed in the courtyard itself.
Please click to see full images..
