Large-scale mosaics of local scenes and themes which have been a two-year project for Osmotherley village hall are being unveiled.
An open evening will include a talk by the artist, Jane Thorniley-Walker, who will explain the background to the project, as well as her techniques and methods.
The Osmotherley Village Hall Mosaics Project began in the summer of 2021, when the committee first had the concept for a series of mosaics to be sited in the six window arches of the newly refurbished hall.
The committee approached local mosaic artist, Jane and they started the process by asking the community for feedback about the topics they would like to see in their hall.
They say the responses were informative and pivotal in the direction of the project, identifying interest in both the history of the village and surrounding area, as well as the celebration of the rich flora, fauna, built environment, and even the dark skies and stars above the village.
Jane uses a variety of materials in her mosaic work, ranging from objects such as pottery, fossils, and vintage china, to pieces of genuine jet from the North York Moors. She also uses colourful vitreous glass, gold mirror tile and ceramic.
Given the large scale of the Osmotherley mosaics and their position above windows, she had to give particular attention to the reflective qualities of the individual tiles and the impact of the designs from a distance, as well as planning the flow across the series.
All the mosaics have a uniform surrounding border, but every design is unique in its colours and subject matter. They took over a year to complete.
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Jane said: "It was a year that opened my eyes to features in my own village that I had not sufficiently appreciated before and the research for each mosaic was therefore as enjoyable as the execution of the designs themselves."
She said help offered by the residents, many of whom gave pieces of their own china. "Mosaic is an art form that can speak the language of meaningful connections between people and the material world," added Jane.
"Each member of my village who so kindly donated their broken treasures would be able to see their incorporated pieces and know that they had a valuable part in the creative process.”
The open evening at Osmotherley Village Hall at 7.30pm on Tuesday, September 26, is open to all, with refreshments and printed booklets available about each mosaic with contributions for the hall.
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