Community art work brings together residents and school children at Sanctuary Care Group care home

Residents have joined with children from a local school to transform a local poet's work into a mosaic wall for their newly built care home in Iffley, Oxford.

The artwork has been commissioned by Seddon Construction LTD who built the home and poet Mike Garry along with artist Amanda McCrann are responsible for the realization of the mosaic which involved local residents joining the home’s residents to complete the project together.

Mr Garry said: “It has been an honour to work with the residents of the home because we are providing this piece of artwork for them and the residents of Iffley, so to feel that people who live in the home have been involved in the creation of the artwork makes it all the more worthwhile.

“We are community artists and we like to work with people – this is what touches us.”

Iffley Residential and Nursing Home has 76 en-suite bedrooms and provides facilities for its residents, including a cinema room, music room, library, communal lounges and dining areas as well as a landscaped garden for residents to make full use of.

The poem used for the piece of community artwork titled, ‘Warm Rays of Sun Amidst Cool Falling Rain’ inspired the creation of the two metre circular tiled piece of art which is surrounded by six smaller circles containing the remaining stanzas of the poem. The visual boarders and patterns are inspired by the area of Iffley and were designed from the creative designs provided by local school children.

Care home resident, Charles Clapton said of the event: “I really enjoyed it – it was like doing a jigsaw puzzle and I think it’s a really good idea.”

Rita Harris, regional manager for Sanctuary Care said: “It makes me feel very proud that our residents have had the opportunity to contribute to this magnificent piece of history, which will be in the grounds of our home for them, their loved ones and the people of our community to admire both now and for years to come.”