Stanford In The Vale CE Primary School
Oxfordshire
The art work was commissioned by Mrs. Amanda Willis, headteacher of the school. After a lengthy process of obtaining an arts grant, the go-ahead was given in 2024. It was funded with support from Vale of White Horse District Council, through developer contributions in the area. I started the project towards the end of 2024 once my existing commissions were completed. It was installed on March 27th 2025.
The design incorporates the flower names of the classrooms, the mini beasts are used to represent the school being an eco-school and loving the outdoor environment.
All the 3-D work was carried out by myself, heating the steel in my coke forge using both traditional and contemporary skills and techniques. The lettering was laser cut by Hurstbourne Forge of Andover to my design and measurements.
Galvanising was chosen as by far the best finish to ensure a rust-free future for the sculpture. Totally immersing it into a tank guaranteed all the surfaces were fully coated. It would have been impossible to achieve this using a painting or powder coating.
Despite 30 years in metalwork, this was in fact my first encounter with galvanising. My local galvaniser in Winchester, took great care and were respectful of my art work, producing a superb result, with the bare minimum of cleaning up required. Hot dip galvanizing negated the need for any painting, helping to keep the costs down too.
Photographs © Hazel Moore, Mrs Amanda Willis