The experience of creating this mural has had so many unexpected and delighting facets, in two intense weeks. I thought it was going to be simple and straightforward, and in some ways it was, but it was actually quite difficult starting it and there were complex problems to solve along the way. The best thing about it has been the deepening of existing friendships and making of new friends, alongside creating a floral metaphor of friendship in a residential area.
Phase 1 Teething problems
Work began on Monday 5th June. This was a frustrating day for me because the driver who delivered the cherry picker refused to drive his lorry down the road to unload the machine, and he couldn’t get it up onto the kerb where I needed it. The Flower Street roads have never been modernised to accommodate for pushchairs, wheelchairs, bikes etc and the only way to get the cherry picker onto the kerb was to wait a day for a different driver to reload it onto the lorry and use the lorry’s ramps to position it correctly. So we lost a day’s upper level work. But we managed to catch up fairly rapidly.
Beautiful blue
The beautiful sky blue was the perfect backdrop for my wild daisy model, and the gold archway accompanied it perfectly.
Fibonacci fun
It was a happy coincidence that June is the month when wild daisies fill the roadside and wayside, dancing on the breeze in their simple and cheerful way. I had painted my acrylic prep painting from daisies growing near me on 2 pieces of A2 paper. But I was still faced with the dilemma of how to paint a daisy centre with a 25cm diameter! The answer lay in making a couple of Fibonacci spiral diagrams. The arrangement of the small yellow disc flowers (which look like dots) have a subtle order so the maximum amount of flowers/seeds can be packed into the smallest space. It resembles a sunflower head (which is also part of the Asteraceae family) or when at this size, big corn kernels!
So, yes, art actually involves some maths - I have always loved geometry, the Golden Section, spirals and fractal patterns found in nature.
Magnification is a wonderful thing
One of the things I’ve thought since a young age is that as an artist, I magnify and enhance something that has captured my attention; something I observe carefully and pay attention to. A daisy is such a common, unassuming flower, whose star-like appearance ignites a spark of joy when noticed. What a privilege for me to magnify this humble flower for it to bring a hopeful burst of joy in this part of Liverpool.
People of all ages participated in this mural
Maddy, an art student from LJMU, braved the cherry picker with me and did some blue rollering. Andy, an art student from Hope, and Davood, a local passerby, painstakingly outlined my poetry lettering.
And of course, loyal since the beginning, Joyce was a pillar of strength and enthusiasm, and ever-dedicated Colin went all the way to the top with me to roller blue from the chimney stack down. I’m not sure how old he is but he was born before the end of World War 2. This man is a legend.
Local children helped finish the mural
Despite the heat of the afternoon, some children who live on the Flower streets responded to my invitation to be involved - particularly apt since daisies symbolise childhood as well as friendship. Anyone who knows me well knows that I adore interacting with children and celebrating their unique worth. I loved having this chance to pass on some painting/drawing tips and to give them a sense of ownership of this new feature of their neighbourhood.
The people and the poetry
It’s interesting to note that the people who live in this house were actually negative about the mural project in the beginning. It turned out that their permission had not been sought before they got a flyer through the door about the project. I had assumed that permissions had all been taken care of before I was asked to be the artist. It concerned me quite a lot. But when I was about to start Pansy Street I went and knocked on their door and just talked to them, saying sorry and respecting their position. Then I got on with the first mural and they saw how nice it was, and they changed their mind. Since this mural started they have been wonderfully supportive and helpful; we have had warm interactions with lots of smiles and laughter. And they even helped paint a small daisy in honour of their new baby grand-daughter! They are “made up” about their mural. They think it’s the best one!
The message in the daisy chain stems reads:
Every time you warmly smile and look someone in the eye with sincerity, you strengthen the connections that run throughout humanity.
The main poem - which I put together from parts of the Daisy workshop - reads:
I am one of many. We reach common ground, everywhere. If stepped on, we bounce back to greet the light.
I also wrote a “sign”: DAISY Day’s-eye. This is because the word for daisy comes from “day’s eye”: daisies close when it gets dark and open when it gets light, like our eyes do. (This can also help us understand the term “fresh as a daisy”.)
There are multiple meanings and metaphors in the words on this mural. The main poem especially, reminds me that there are many many people in the world doing good things, every day. Let me know your take on the poems/words/symbolism.
The daisy chain reminds me that even though we are each individual, unique entities, we are inevitably, intrinsically connected to each other.
The next mural is 2 Daisy Street. Thanks for reading!
I love what you have done my daughter sent this to me and the memories came rushing back I live in Australia but my childhood was living at the bottom of Daisy street and that wall was our backyard our house was 208 Commercial Road and our back door was the bottom of Daisy street my mum Lillian Lloyd had eleven kids I was the youngest she worked across the road at Tilys were they made cigarette packets I can remember all the lovely neighbours that all would help each other we didn’t have much but everyone was so house proud the top of street Hamlits fruit and veg and fish shop always use to go in for a penny fade after school also the top of the street my mum would have loved what you have done congratulations on your lovely Artwork 👏👏👏👏