New mural at Blakey Moor.
Published Thursday 5 August 2021 at 9:25
Blackburn’s Townscape Heritage Project has teamed up with the National Festival of Making to install a brand new public artwork at Blakey Moor.
The ceramic tiles featured in the unique installation were created by participants of a workshop led by, James Bloomfield, as part of the Festivals making programme.
The new installation is inspired by the artisan craftsmanship of Darwen Terracotta, a manufacturer based in Blackburn and established partner of the National Festival of Making whose work in terracotta and faience can be seen in locations as prestigious as The Royal Albert Hall, The London Coliseum and Battersea Power Station.
As part of the Festivals workshop programme, artist James Bloomfield led over a hundred workshop participants who marked out and painted individual bisque tiles with underglaze pigment, some forming decorative border tiles and lettering, others depicting important cultural landmarks in Blackburn and Darwen’s history. Each tile was painted using underglaze and overglaze techniques, incorporating the famous cobalt blue and white of traditional delft style. The finished tiles were fired in the enormous industrial kilns of Darwen Terracotta.
Delft Style Workshop at the National Festival of Making 2019
At the centre of the mural is a well-known quote from Alfred Wainwright, British fellwalker, author and illustrator who was born in Blackburn in 1907 and attended the Blakey Moor School in 1919-20.
You were made to soar, to crash to earth, then to rise and soar again.
The installation of the tiles was delayed slightly as a result of the pandemic, but has now been installed on the boundary wall between King George’s Hall and the former Blakey Moor School.
James Bloomfield said,
When I envisioned the artwork in 2019 I was thinking about the words on an ind
ividual level, I was thinking about the story of Darwen Terracotta and how they pulled together collectively to keep their jobs and livelihoods intact… but now the quote seems rather fitting in these strange and difficult times we live in and have lived through…I now see it as a call to arms for everybody to pick themselves and each other up, to rise and to soar again.
Councillor Phil Riley, Executive Member for Regeneration said,
This is a lovely new addition to the town’s collection of public artworks that celebrate our rich cultural history and heritage, made even more significant by the participation of local people in its creation. The location of the mural at Blakey Moor is also very apt, helping to raise awareness of the fact that Wainwright was a student at the Blakey Moor School and enhancing a blank section of wall in the Northgate Conservation Area.
The National Festival of Making delivers a year round making programme and annual weekend Festival that celebrates making and manufacturing from the kitchen table to the factory floor.
The Festival works in partnership with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and receives funding from Arts Council England. The Delft Style workshop and installation of the work was supported by the Townscape Heritage Project, a joint investment by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund to transform the historic heart of Blackburn town centre.