Horsing Around – The Normanby Hall Country Park Trail
11. Anvil – Laundry Cottage
Undici Venetian aka Tom Butcher
I am a Graffiti artist and Venetian plasterer based in North Lincolnshire. Heavily influenced by textures and natural decay of materials, I’ve tried to blend a combination of copper Verdigris, steel and natural oxidisation within this piece. A nod to Scunthorpe’s industrial heritage. This work was guided by the brilliant young people of Althorpe and Keadby Primary School.
with Althorpe and Keadby Primary School
Our school wanted to be involved because we are proud of our local area. It’s such an exciting project to be a part of, particularly because we love anything creative and are passionate about inspiring adventures in our children. Highlights from the children included: “We enjoyed choosing the textures”. “It was a flexible project and it was fun”. “We were part of the design and got to draw the horse and label it”. Pupils involved: Lilly Broadbent, Leo Couch, Yasmine Couch, Jack Taylor, Isaac Hopkins and Lexi Dixon.
12. Sweet William – Go Ape
Mary Blackshaw
I am ‘BaaBaa Blackshaw’ otherwise known as Mary, a children’s illustrator. My inspiration comes from outsider art and folklore. Inhabiting a space between humour and storytelling. I work with natural and modern materials, creating inks, paints, and photoshop. Before moving to Oxfordshire, Alkborough was my home. North Lincolnshire has a special connection for me. Working with North Lincolnshire Sanctuary Group was such a warm and friendly experience. I have incorporated their beautiful linocut images into the folk history from the area. It is a homage to how local stories adapt, celebrating what was and what will be.
with North Lincolnshire Sanctuary Group
We are a community-based group of volunteers who offer befriending and support to Refugees, Asylum Seekers and all seeking refuge in North Lincolnshire. North Lincolnshire Sanctuary Group is part of a national network called City of Sanctuary. Mary worked with a group of women from many different countries, who meet every Thursday morning. In Mary’s lino print workshop the group made stamps and prints of things which are important to them – wheat, the mosque, flowers and mandala and mehndi patterns. Contact us via northlincssanctuarygroup@gmail.com.
13. Pumpkin: the Doodle Horse – Park Education Rooms
Karen Webb-Meek
Karen Webb-Meek has been an artist, illustrator and designer for over 30 years. She has worked on hundreds of projects, large and small, and is a jewellery designer based in Cleethorpes. Karen gained an HNC in Graphic Design at Farnborough, an illustration degree from Lincoln and a Masters in illustration from Cambridge School of Art. The horse is an illustrative artwork of native flora and fauna of North Lincolnshire as well as scenes of landmarks around the county. Karen lives, works on the Lincolnshire coast, and is inspired by the Lincolnshire countryside and coastline.
with Willoughby Road Primary Academy
At Willoughby Road Primary Academy, we are always looking at ways of giving our children different opportunities. We are keen to involve ourselves in the local community. We are excited to take part in the Horsing Around project as we have many passionate, budding artists. The workshop was a wonderful experience. Pupils from Reception to Year 6 worked together with the artist, Karen Webb-Meek. They created imaginative line drawings inspired by flowers and animals from Lincolnshire. Karen even selected some designs to use in her final design for the horse!
14. Rabbit Seizing a Horse – Walled Garden
Sarah Allen
I wanted to explore the landscapes capacity for mindfulness. Working with Autism Peer Support made me realise that this is not the case for everyone. For some, especially those who are neurodivergent, the world can be a place of discomfort and dysregulation. I challenged myself to ‘destroy’ elements of my final piece to communicate this. We expressed our feelings through visual arts and writing. We meditated together before putting ideas on paper instinctively, leading to much discussion about creativity, autism, and mental health.
with Autism Peer Support organiser, Marc Device and poet, Steven James Parkins
The Autism Peer Support Group is a monthly social space, supported by the kind people at Café Indie. It is a space for autistic adults to meet and talk about all aspects of life as an autistic person, without judgement and without needing to mask. Art allows us to make sense of feelings. It is such a valuable tool to both neutralise life’s poison and celebrate its joys. Sarah listened without criticism. ‘I really enjoyed the session, and feel in some ways, I may remember the whole thing as the beginning of me starting to feel closer to the world’.
15. Hollyhock – Wellbeing Garden
Charlotte Portier-Tock
I am an illustrator that works in traditional and digital media. I have a particular interest in photographing and creating art inspired by plants, insects and animals. The horse has is covered in a dark green base to allow the vibrant colours of the intricately painted flowers and insects to bloom alongside the lighter green tones of the textured mane and tail, reminiscent of long flowing grass. Many of the flora and fauna can be found within the gardens and woodland area of Normanby Hall Country Park.
Outwood Academy Foxhills
Our students really enjoyed Charlotte’s workshop where we experimented with placement and looked at developing a natural forms piece. They really got a lot out of the new techniques that Charlotte showed them with the fan brushes, and I am sure they will continue to use these as they progress throughout their GCSE. Thank you so much for coming to see us!
16. Polyanthus – Woodland Walk Entrance
Lucy Bryant
I am a passionate hobby artist whose work reflects a deep love for flora, fauna, and equine anatomy. I am fascinated by taxidermy. I balance the natural world, botanical illustrations and animal anatomy, particularly horses. Self-taught and inspired by native British flora, I hope you can enjoy this piece situated within the beauty of nature.
with Scunthorpe 16th Scouts
Our Scout and Explorer group is made up of young people aged 10 ½ to 18 years old. We support our young people in their personal development, encouraging them to take on different challenges and contribute to their community. In the summer, we love to meet outdoors at a local woodland. We gathered flora and fauna from the campsite which is the inspiration for the designs on the sculpture.
17. Whistlejacket – Woodland Walk
Joanne Botterill
Joanne is a full-time artist and seamstress working from her home studio in Wragby, Lincolnshire. She is extremely interested in the natural world and how both flora and fauna can be incorporated into her art and clothing design. The design for her horse borrows from the gardens and woodland surrounding Normanby Hall. Autumnal palettes show the beauty of nature’s abundance of colour even when it is dying. The fun that can be had kicking up leaves in your wellies and the sound of them curling in the wind.
with Outwood Academy Brumby
We are a welcoming and supportive academy, with a relentless determination to provide the very best education for every child. We wanted to be involved in the Horsing Around sculpture trail because of our school’s name, Brumby, is also a type of horse!
18. The Dala Horse – the Sunken Garden
Lois Pittman
loispittman1.wixsite.com/meiko
My design draws on the Swedish folk tradition of the Dala horse. Over 4,000 years ago in Dalarna a region of Sweden, wild Dala horses were tamed and became domesticated. In the 1700’s little wooden horses were carved from pine wood and sold at markets as toys. At this time Stubbs was making his anatomical drawings of horses in North Lincolnshire. The Dala horse is a treasured object and represents Strength, Courage and Happiness. Some believe they bring good luck to one’s endeavours. A bright beacon of hope to charm and delight everyone in our community!
with John Harrsion CE Primary School
We offer our children a range of inspirational activities to enable them to be aspirational about their future. Our children relish opportunities to work with local artists to design lasting pieces of artwork, but to also raise money to support local charities. They take a real pride in contributing to society. The children learnt about how to use different painting techniques to create a range of patterns inspired by nature. In the words of one child, ‘it was amazing’.
19. Whinny – Normanby Hall
Growing up in rural Lincolnshire, my life-long love of the countryside and nature has always influenced my artwork. My passion for wildflowers was inherited from my Granny Winifred, who tended her garden with a green fingered magic. Her beautiful pressed flower pictures still play in my mind while I work. The name of this horse, Whinny, is a little nod in her direction. I hope my artwork will nurture an awareness of the beauty and vital importance of the often unappreciated familiar plants and wildlife around us. You can find me in my studio and delivering workshop at @elbowroomlincoln.
with the Ukrainian Saturday School
The Ukrainian Saturday school is an informal group of Ukrainian families. Our workshop with Dahlia was centred around elements of the natural world that are important to us. We each created a sketchbook of plants and creatures; some we see locally and others we see in Ukraine. We had great conversations about our memories, swapped folklore and stories. We’d like to draw your attention to the guelder rose, the national flower of Ukraine, which can be found throughout our folklore, in songs, poetry and art.
20. Ivy Rose Sunshine – the Stables
Dancing Tiger Scrapstore
We are Lillie and Lucy from Dancing Tiger Scrapstore. We are a Community Interest Company which takes scrap and surplus items from businesses and repurposes them as art resources. Originally we planned to use flowers shapes cut from discarded crisp packets in our design, but we couldn’t make them stick! So, never ones to be beaten, we used other resources from our scrapstore instead. We loved working with the children at Crosby Primary school and hope we inspired them with our workshop on colour theory.
with Crosby Primary School
Our school is a wonderful, unique school with a diverse mix of cultures and faiths. Our environment is rooted in mutual respect, where our children celebrate their differences. We were keen to be part of the Horsing Around sculpture trail. Our children find great joy in expressing themselves through their artwork. It is great to be able to take this beyond the school grounds. During the workshop, the children learnt about the colour wheel and looked at Mondrian squares.