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Tessa Hunkin In Stoke Newington

July 17, 2020
by the gentle author

In a quiet terraced street in Stoke Newington a new mosaic has appeared, conjured into existence by Tessa Hunkin & Hackney Mosaic Project – as Tessa explained to me.

“The householder had seen our work on Hackney Downs and gave us a brief. They wanted a mosaic path showing their dogs, Pepper & Rocket, chasing a squirrel while a clever fox escaped into their neighbour’s garden. They also gave me a list of local bird life to include – an egret, a kingfisher, a kestrel, a parakeet and a woodpecker. Although it was challenging to fit everything in, this proved a great subject because it is dynamic and mosaic is a medium that expresses movement very well.

It helped that the householder came to our pavilion in the park to make a lot of the path, while Pepper & Rocket supervised. During lockdown, one of our volunteers, Mary Helena, was able to carry on working from home too. She made all the little birds in the porch and the kingfisher, so by the time restrictions had eased it was all ready to be fixed.

As often happens, the fixing was hindered by unexpected showers but my brilliant assistants, including Ken Edwards, carried on working under a tarpaulin while the rain poured down. There was a particularly heavy downpour in the evening of our first day, but luckily the household was on hand to rush out with sponges to dry the mosaic and no harm was done.”

Tessa Hunkin

 

THE HACKNEY MOSAIC PROJECT is seeking commissions, so if you would like a mosaic please get in touch hackneymosaic@gmail.com

You may also like to read about

The Mosaic Makers of Hoxton

Tessa Hunkin’s New Mosaic in Haggerston

The Hounds of Hackney Downs

The Cats of Hackney Downs

The Hoxton Varieties Mosaic

The Mosaic Makers of Hackney Downs

The Award-Winning Mosaic Makers of Hackney

The Queenhithe Mosaic

Hackney Mosaic Project at London Zoo

At the Garden of Hope

12 Responses leave one →
  1. Greta Kelly permalink
    July 17, 2020

    Exquisite, I love the muted tones, and the movement of all the wildlife. I met one of the group at The Christmas Fair…….spoke about visiting their workshop…..then the virus reared it’s ugly head and we had to return to West Cork, I wonder if and when things return to “normal” would they take a commission outside the UK? With bed and board?

  2. July 17, 2020

    That really touched me this morning – so, so beautifully crafted. A work of art that will
    be shared with everyone who walks up to the front door – lucky postman!

  3. July 17, 2020

    I absolutely love this and am so envious of the lucky (and imaginative) householder. A beautiful creation that will hopefully last centuries.

    Warm wishes that Tessa and her talented group continue to thrive and delight us with these wonderful works of art.

  4. paul loften permalink
    July 17, 2020

    Absolutley beautiful work. I would love to have the same outside my house but I still need a car and it would be an act of vandalsim to park on it .

  5. Jill Wilson permalink
    July 17, 2020

    Another delightful mosaic by Tessa and her team – full of life and movement!

  6. July 17, 2020

    I am not only GREEN with envy — I would include ALL colors of the rainbow. In a very perfect world, I would commission Tessa to do a walkway for our little Hudson Valley Town Hall that would reflect our fabled history, farming, wildlife, and community. It would be a lasting tribute that everyone in town would see, whether walking into Town Hall for a meeting, the kid’s camp, a party (we LOVE our parties here!), or strangers stopping to ask directions.
    Sigh. If anyone can ever figure out how to do “long distance” mosaic work, I want to be at the front of the line to hire this gifted artist and her team.

    Please, more posts about these magnificent mosaic artists!
    Stay safe, all.

  7. Sonia Murray permalink
    July 17, 2020

    What wonderful work, catching the spirit of the animals and birds so perfectly. I adore the heron! The artists are supremely talented. Long may the householders enjoy their beautiful walkway!

  8. Jeanne permalink
    July 17, 2020

    Wonderful! — thanks for sharing —

  9. Elizabeth Olson permalink
    July 17, 2020

    Quite a fetching entrance walkway! Adorable subjects, brilliant execution! Love everything about it.
    Have they thought of boxing up their creations into tiles or jigsaw puzzles for those near and far to order?

  10. July 17, 2020

    Gorgeous. Green with envy

  11. Ros permalink
    July 18, 2020

    Oh that’s wonderful! Lucky householder, but fortune favours the bold and I think it was brave and splendid to commission such a thing of beauty. I love the colours and poses chosen for each creature – so much life in each of them, and of course they’re all seen regularly in central London

  12. July 18, 2020

    So Gorgeous!! I Love It!!!????????

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