New Mosaic celebrates Community and Diversity

We are very proud of our new community mosaic, designed by local mosaic artist Jane Visick, which was installed earlier this year as the centrepiece of our refurbished meeting space. The mosaic is made up of eight different panels each depicting the flora and fauna found at the Triangle Garden. In the centre of the mosaic is the Triangle Garden’s distinctive logo.

The mosaic was an exercise in community engagement, orchestrated by Jane and ourselves, and represents what community gardening is all about: a coming together of many different elements, people and processes, building slowly to fruition: the process being as important as the finished outcome. Each panel was composed of sketches done by different community groups linked to the Triangle Garden, eg  Hitchin Boys School, Hitchin 17th Cub Scouts, and members of our own Growing Ability project, Gardening Club and Garden committee. Different panels depict the diversity of trees, flowers, bugs, pond life and nocturnal wildlife seen at the garden, and also some of the fruit and vegetables grown at the Triangle Garden allotment.

In the autumn of 2014,  workshops were held at Jane Visick’s studio to create the actual mosaics, glueing tiny vitreous mosaic tiles onto a mesh backing, laid over the template for each design. The mesh mosaic panels were then mounted onto concrete paving slabs which had been cut to shape, and grouted up with external-grade cement. Jane then handed over the finished mosaic slabs to our contractors, who laid them as part of the meeting space refurbishment works. The result is beautiful and we hope you will pop down and have a look at it, if you haven’t already. Let us know what you think on Facebook or Twitter.