Rocket Round Leicester

Rocket Round Leicester

Nov 9, 2020 | PROJECTS

Loros Hospice commissioned me to create one of the ‘hero’ sculptures for ‘Rocket round Leicester’ – a 10-week public art trail which will take place across the city of Leicester during the summer of 2021.

Stardust was inspired by Leicester’s heritage of space expertise. It is made entirely out of glass which is hand cut to create a sense of movement of particles and cosmic dust floating through space. I like to work in an abstract style and chose a reflective colour palette of white and silver to create the magical shimmer and sparkle of stars. The 8 ft rocket sculpture took 3 months to complete and I worked on it during the 2020 lockdown. Fortunately, I have a home studio!

“We first became aware of Julie’s beautiful designs through our event partner, Wild in Art. Julie’s work had jumped out to us from the pages of other sculpture trail catalogues and we just knew that she was the artist for us! Stardust is one of two Hero Rockets commissioned to be the flagships for the promotion of Rocket Round Leicester, a 10-week sculpture trail in summer 2021. ‘Stardust’ is everything we hoped it would be – visually stunning and a totally inspiring design. Thankyou Julie!” Louise Lowman, Loros Hospice

David Wilson Homes

David Wilson Homes

Nov 9, 2020 | PROJECTS

Public art commissioned by David Wilson Homes for a new housing development ‘The Millstones’ in Queniborough, Leicestershire.  The artwork consists of a glass mosaic millstone wheel sculpture designed in the style of a colour wheel.  I worked with local stone sculptor Graeme Mitcheson to position the wheel on a natural stone plinth with a swirl of green mosaic flowing down.  There are a series of 5 large stone boulders, each piece weighing around two tonnes framing the pathway through the development.  The glass mosaic continues through the stonework ending with a final swirl of gold. The central area of the millstone wheel frames a view of the church steeple in one direction and the stone boulders and housing in the other.

Before designing the artwork I worked closely with the developers to host a public consultation workshop where members of the WI, local history groups and pupils at the sixth form college were invited to make a small mosaic of their own whilst discussing what type of artwork they would like to see.

Jason Hearn, Sales Director at David Wilson Homes East Midlands, said:

“The sculptures installed at our Queniborough development have been designed with the local area in mind, which is a fantastic way to reflect such a sought after area of Leicestershire.

“We wanted to choose something that would complement the area’s surroundings and thought this would be a great way to enhance our development.

“Thanks to the hard work of Julie, the residents at The Millstones now have these amazing and inspirational pieces of art to enjoy for a very long time.”

https://www.lovebusinesseastmidlands.com/love-business-news/2017/10/03/home-is-where-the-art-is-at-the-millstones/