Bella the Beithir Scale Make & Stockingfield Bridge Ceramic Art Park Tour

Come and make with us! Make it Glasgow is offering the unique opportunity to contribute to Scotland’s largest community artwork and learn about the history, heritage and global reach of Scotland’s industrial ceramics. You will also join us on a guided artist tour of North Glasgow’s developing Ceramic Art Park at Stockingfield Bridge. The park includes Bella the Beithir, Scotland’s largest mosaic artwork and a further eight community artworks commissioned by Scottish Canals. To make your scale for Bella you will work with clay and trencadis, a technique perfected by Gaudi, and leave your mark at Stockingfield Ceramic Art Park. Bella, a water serpent one of the four fuath or water creatures in Celtic mythology, is the cousin of the Kelpies in Falkirk. She is Scotland’s largest community artwork designed by Nichol Wheatley and will take 5 years to complete. Explore your creativity with this half day scale mosaicking workshop at Make it Glasgow’s Art Bothy at the top of Stockingfield ceramic art park. We will start with an introduction to the ceramic art park, mosaics and a health and safety talk, before showing you some examples and guides for a simple design. You will be given a demo on how to smash, cut, shape, stick porcelain tiles onto fibre glass mesh to create your unique pattern. You will also make your own bespoke clay Beithir button as part of this creative experience. Two of Make it Glasgow’s artists will facilitate the workshop to guide your creativity and thinking to make your unique Beithir scale. No previous experience is required but by the end of the 3 hour workshop you will feel like a pro and know you have helped bring the colour Scotland’s biggest community artwork. Your scale will be permanently installed as part of Bella the Beithir’s decoration. Once installed on the Beithir at Stockingfield Ceramic Art Park you will be able to come and find your scale and personalised clay button and show it to your friends, family and future generations. Make it Glasgow (MIG) is a community interest company making clay tiles with local communities and communities of interest for the developing Ceramic Art Park at Stockingfield Bridge. MIG’s process allows individuals to contribute to and engage with the ceramic art park by creating their ‘mark’ or ‘menchie’ on clay tiles and by exploring local industrial pottery heritage and shared clay stories. The aim of this making and learning with clay is to improve wellbeing and strengthen individual and community identity, creating deep rooted community ownership and pride. The long-term aim of the project is to create a sustainable cultural destination, which will include a community Scottish Pottery Museum and ceramic manufacturing base.