Today I primed this side of the work with an acrylic undercoat. The mosaic of torn newspaper bits can confuse the surface, making it difficult to 'read' (pardon the pun). The primer reveals the forms and surfaces more clearly. Any adjustments can be planned and made, prior to colouring.

Here are some characters which will be appearing in the work. There will be approx 40 figures of men, women and children, some workmen, a fisherman, 3 swans-a-swimming, and various other items of contemporary and/or symbolic significance. Today, I worked more on the low relief of the 'nature' side, and painted all the '0' scale figures. There is a lot of work ahead, and I hope I can complete it in time for early September.

Welcome from Martin!

This is an online record of the making of 'new ragged cross' for Selby Methodist Church. I aim to post more photos as the work progresses. Please feel free to add comments.


I started with a wire mesh frame, onto which layers of paper are pasted. The cutting and shaping of the edges is the tricky part, as the wire mesh can be unforgiving.
The low relief of the natural plant forms was done with tissue paper and paste.

The flower shapes were made with cardboard, wire, paper and glue. Here, (below) they are being primed, prior to being coloured.

At top right, are boxes and packets containing some of the objects which will later be glued onto the other side of the work. More pictures of these later.

The piece is approximately six feet long, so takes up a lot of space in my studio. The aim is to hang the work in space, so I'm trying to keep to light materials.