A young illustrator from Bradley Stoke is set to have an example of her work become one of the most photographed objects in Bristol after being selected to decorate one of the sixty-plus sculptures on the Gromit Unleashed 2 arts trail which started on 2nd July.

Hannah Bone, 23, attended Baileys Court Primary School and then Bradley Stoke Community School before taking an Art Foundation course at Bristol School of Art. She then went on to study for a BA in Illustration at the University of Plymouth, graduating with first class honours in 2017. Since then, she has been working as a freelance illustrator specialising in children’s illustration, but also taking on commissions for pet and family portraits.

After submitting a design back in December 2017, following an ‘open call’ for artists, Hannah says was “extremely excited” to be told she had been chosen as an official artist. She began painting her sculpture in May, but was sworn to secrecy and only allowed to reveal her design a few days before the start of the trail.

Hannah’s Gromit is called Rockin’ Robin and it is located at Ashton Gate Stadium, home to Bristol City FC (‘The Robins’).

More: Hannah’s book illustration work »

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Brightly decorated pebbles have been appearing at random locations all over Bradley Stoke in recent weeks, a sure sign that a worldwide phenomenon known as the Kindness Rocks Project has reached our area.

The craze, which is particularly popular amongst families with young children, involves using paint, glitter and other materials to decorate rocks or pebbles with colourful images and then leaving them lying around in public places, sometimes partially hidden, for others to discover and enjoy.

The ‘rocks’ are usually labelled with a hashtag, which identifies the creator, and people are encouraged to post photos of their ‘finds’ on local Facebook groups (ours is called ‘The Stokes Rocks’), quoting the hashtag. Once recorded, the ‘rock’ is often moved to a new location, exposing it to a wider audience.

Around the Stokes, pebbles can often be spotted on top of street name signs, dotted around play parks and on bridges and posts in the Three Brooks nature reserve. Popular spots are around the local primary schools and on the pathways leading to the Willow Brook Centre.

While it is possible to use pebbles found in the garden, many people have been buying bags of stones from garden centres, as these have a regular size and consistent colour. Acrylic paint and Sharpie pens are often used for the decoration, which is then weatherproofed using clear nail varnish, spray lacquer or yacht varnish.

One enthusiastic member of The Stokes Rocks, Adrienne Wheeler, estimates that her family has decorated and placed more than 60 pebbles over the past few weeks. Adrienne says rock painting is a craft activity that children of different ages can easily get into. Apart from the creative aspects, they also enjoy ‘treasure hunting’ – discovering pebbles hidden by others.

Find out more about The Stokes Rocks group on Facebook »

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Ahead of the highly anticipated new museum opening in late summer, Aerospace Bristol has selected a trio of high-flying artists as the winners of a competition inspired by Filton’s aviation heritage.

Aerospace Bristol was asked to judge the competition by Stokes Art Group, a local community group that covers the six Stokes of South Gloucestershire and surrounding areas. As well as taking pride in their art, the group are extremely proud of the link that many of their members share with the local aerospace industry and were keen to celebrate Concorde’s arrival into her new home at Aerospace Bristol with a competition themed around Filton’s aviation heritage.

Reflecting the story that will be told in the Aerospace Bristol exhibition later this summer, the group produced a collection of 18 artworks depicting aircraft spanning more than a century of fascinating aviation history; from Boxkite biplanes to Concorde and on to the modern day.

After careful deliberation, the three winners chosen by Aerospace Bristol were:

• Winner: Concorde 2017 Home from Home, by Susan Hartry (watercolour)
• Runner-up: We Love Concorde, by Sue Kelly (watercolour)
• Third place: Concorde Assembly Line, by Sara Smith (mixed media)

Working with local people and groups like Stokes Art Group, Aerospace Bristol aims to conserve Bristol’s aerospace heritage and celebrate the world class achievements of our aerospace industry. To play your part in keeping Concorde’s memory alive, visit aerospacebristol.org/donate and give a gift that will help to inspire the next generation of engineers.

Photo: Susan Hartry (right) holds her winning watercolour, which depicts Concorde arriving in her new home at Aerospace Bristol. Stokes Art Group Member Sue Jones (left) shows off the 2nd and 3rd placed artworks.

More: View the prize-winning entries »

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Two enormous street art murals recently installed at the new skate park in the grounds of Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre have been attracting the attention of passers-by and visitors to the park.

The installation marks the completion of a community art project which involved over 30 children and young people and was part-funded by a community grant award from South Gloucestershire Council.

The project started during the October half-term with local children and young people working with two experienced mural and graffiti artists (Tom Sledmore and Jack Tierney from The Paintsmiths in Bristol), alongside Graham Baker, Bradley Stoke Town Council’s youth development worker.

An initial half-day workshop based at the skate park comprised an introduction to mural and graffiti art, including an extremely popular ‘have a go’ session. Over twenty young people participated and many proudly took home their own artworks on small 4’ x 2’ boards.

On Saturday 28th January, there was a further street art project session, this time focusing on the designs for the two large pieces. The two artists worked with the young people and some exciting designs started to take shape. The designs were then shared and discussed more widely in youth work sessions and further suggestions made.

A final design session took place at the skate park on a late afternoon in mid-March and was immediately followed by what Graham describes as “a whole and extremely long weekend of painting”. More than ten young people worked with Graham and the two experienced artists, in accordance with the previously agreed designs, to produce two large and impressive pieces of art, both 10 metres wide by 2.5 metres high.

More: Participation through extensive use of stencilling techniques »

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