Hayfield (Countryside Centre), High Peak
Rail to Trail was designed by adults who attend the environmental arts and health programme, Project eARTh, in 2016, during workshops facilitated by myself with help from staff and volunteers. Our workshops began with a site visit, looking at where the sculpture could be positioned, discussing what would work well in the space available, observing the immediate surroundings and learning about the site’s history, flora & fauna.
Following on from this starting point, further activities included evaluating outdoor works of sculpture in other places (via a slide show that I put together); consideration of possible materials, scale, shapes and themes; working in teams to generate ideas and making scale models of potential forms/structures for the sculpture. Imagery created as quilled paper and wire artworks in a further session produced all of the ideas for the details. The team that produced the arch structure idea wanted to create something interactive, that children could go under and around. It was only by making the model that the link with railway tracks became apparent, which we all agreed is so fitting given the history of the Sett Valley Trail.
Date
2016
Client
Project eARTh
Photos
Vincent Abbey