March 2015 – step in stone

We held a Launch for the Sculpture Design Competition at Somerset Earth Science Centre, Stoke St. Michael on Monday 23 March, to give the public a chance to come along and find out more about the competition and our project as a whole.

It was good to hear artists discuss their ideas and see examples of work for the project so far. Juliet Lawn, from Somerset Earth Science Centre, illustrated the geology of the area, allowing us to see and feel different types of limestone in the Mendips – black rock being most typical of the carboniferous era, when the Mendips were submerged by swampy sea, giant dragonflies and a myriad of sea life forms existed. In between slideshows Fiona Campbell, Duncan Elliott, Bronwen Bradshaw and Cath Bloomfield spoke about their different art forms and gave ideas about how to approach design work. The contrast between Duncan’s found rock pieces, Fiona’s mixed media sculptures, Bron’s hand-made books fusing words and print and Cath’s cut-out reliefs gave a strong indication of the range of work that will form step in stone.

We had resource tables with examples of sculptures, designs, rocks, fossils and other imagery to give inspiration. Young visitors were able to talk to individual experts and start designing.

Thanks to those who came, and to all who helped and supported including Nick Weaver, Jack Robson, Duncan Simey, David Chandler, Mark Adler and to Juliet Lawn for hosting on behalf of Somerset Earth Science Centre.