Youngsters to make their mark on the Heart of Hawick project
Thursday, December 21 2006
Youngsters in Hawick will be the first in a long line of future visitors to make their permanent mark on the one of the biggest regeneration projects in the Borders, the ‘Heart of Hawick’.
Working with local artist Jane Gaze, S1 pupils at Hawick High School and primary seven pupils from Burnfoot and Trinity primary schools have started work on embedding their surnames into specially crafted cobbles which will be compressed into the recessing wall on the Heritage Hub building. Additional space will also be available in the seating area of the civic space for future visitors to add their own personalised cobbles.
Lindsay Wood, Business manager for the Heart of Hawick explains how it is important to have local surnames visible on the project: "Since we started we have involved over 150 primary and secondary children and consulted regularly with the community to find out exactly what they want in the heart of their community. We feel this is a great opportunity for locals to have a permanent place in a project they have so heavily been involved in."
The primary seven children started their visits to Hawick High School in October, to work with Jane Gaze from Walkerburn. Jane has worked on various projects with youngsters, but this is the most extensive one to date. She said: "The intention is to replicate the traditional causeway paving which can be seen in many locations around the Borders including the older areas surrounding Hawick. The cobbles are ceramic-fired to stoneware temperature which makes them being extremely durable and permanent. It is hoped that visitors to the HoH would take the opportunity to add their family name to a cobble and then in the future they would return with their families to show them their cobble and be proud to see their name on such a magnificent project."
Jane added how she feels the project is valuable, particularly within such a strong community. "When you visit somewhere like Hawick, you immediately sense the strong community identity within the town. The process of making these cobbles is straightforward enough to accommodate the varying abilities of the participating pupils, so when I came up with this idea, I knew it would be perfect to give youngsters of all abilities the chance to make their mark on one of the biggest regeneration schemes in their town. They are really enjoying it and many pupils who lack confidence have produced clay work to an exceptional standard. Perhaps in the future these pupils could be the entrepreneurs to manage the project."
The youngsters from Trinity and Burnfoot will be visiting Jane at Hawick High School regularly until 16 March 2007. It is hoped that this project will also help the youngsters’ transition from P7 to secondary school. The residency will include work on a variety of arts and crafts which will culminate in an opening exhibition at the Tower Mill.
Jane would like to thank Scott and Paterson Ltd in Hawick who have kindly lent their antique Victorian letter press type for the project.
For more information please contact Tracey Graham, Education & Lifelong Learning Communications Assistant on 01835 824000 Ext 5461 or online
Unified Solutions.