Fieldgate Mansions off Fieldgate St in Whitechapel E1 were scheduled for demolition in the 1970s but thanks to the tenacity and courage of the locals the  buildings survive today, restored and still in use for housing. 

Sue worked with groups of children who live in the Fieldgate Mansions estate and helped them make the birds, animals and leaves featured in the picture. 

A six week community project with adults and children who use the centre regularly.

Children helped design the mosaic which features a large tree framed by a rainbow. It's oval shape came from the idea of using the O from the word Oriel. The O's on the tree allowed for people's individual imagination and creativity and to make a personal mark on this permanent feature for the centre.

Funded by the Rainbow Project a Hounslow Homes initiative and organised through Feltham Arts.

Unveiled on 11th July 2010 by the Mayor of Hounslow as part of the Oriel Fun Day celebrations. See news page for details.

The mosaic depicts key aspects of my local area of Mortlake and is located at 'The Old Bakery' on the Lower Richmond Road, Mortlake, (Richmond Borough's Training & Development Agency). 

The project, co-ordinated by Joe Pecorelli of The Environment Trust for Richmond upon Thames and funded by Richmond Parish Lands charity, brought together different groups of people from the local community, who enjoyed meeting up and making mosaics. The tree was made by the Richmond Mind group and the hill below it contains mosaic animals & insects made by St Mary Magdalene's Primary school children. The two beautiful old churches are St Mary the Virgin (Mortlake High Street) and St Mary Magdalene's Catholic Church which has the tomb of Sir Richard Burton the famous Victorian explorer in it's graveyard. 

Fellow artist Susie John & I ran mosaic workshops at the Old Bakery, then completed and put together all the individual mosaics and installed them on the wall during the summer. 

The project was supported by Mortlake Community Association (MCA), who run a variety of community groups at the Old Bakery.

This community project was funded by the Mayor of London's 'Outer London Fund' - an initiative aimed at strengthening the vibrancy and growth of high streets.

I worked with another artist Susie John with groups of children from 3 primary, one secondary school and adults at Age UK and a Tamil women's support group in Hounslow.

The four large panels are located in the town centre car park behind the High Street (opposite the Smithy Lane entrance) and one at the Civic Centre.

For more details visit mosaicsinhounslow.co.uk 

Feltham Green Pond has been a historic place of rest and relaxation for the people of the parish for generations. Many years ago horse and carts were allowed into it in order to cool the wheels after long journeys. There is even a bylaw banning locals from cleaning their cannons in it. But in 2013 it was time for a major clean up. More than one ton of debris was removed along with 1000 fish. 

In June 2013 Feltham Arts Association started its Touring Mosaic Project, led by artists Sue Edkins & Susie John. Funded by the London Borough of Hounslow’s Hounslow Innovation Grant, Feltham Art’s aim was to connect communities through the arts.

The mosaics were installed in May 2014 and opened by the Mayor of Hounslow on 28th May as part of the annual Community Fun Day celebrations.

This project was part of an initiative to involve residents of a high-rise block of flats in improving their environment. It was managed by ‘Places for People’ housing group and supported by the Big Lottery Fund.

Workshops (devised and run by myself and fellow community artist Susie John) engaged residents in making large mosaic letters to make a name sign with blue waves to compliment it at the entrance to the block of flats. 

To decorate a plain wall in the newly created & landscaped garden at the side of the block they also made flowers, butterflies and even a life size person in mosaic.

This project took place over eight two hour workshops at Age Concern in Brentford. I worked with a group of eight older persons making mosaic paving slabs for the garden. 

The theme was local bio-diversity and included flowers and wildlife. The slabs are cast  in moulds, handmade wooden frames with inlaid mosaics. 

Everyone worked at their own pace and benefited from the relaxed, social atmosphere of the art activity provided. Each person was pleased and surprised by the end result when the slabs were installed in the garden path. 

Heston Farm Estate is a large council housing estate in Hounslow. Its two tower blocks built in 1972 are clearly visible from the M4. The active Residents Association had successfully applied for a National Lottery grant for a community art project. 

It was decided to create a six square metre tile mural made up of  252 hand-painted tiles by children living on the estate. 

I held regular drop-in creative workshops that generated a real group sense of achievement and ownership. 

The St Pancras Way estate was built on land cleared after second world war bomb damage. It was designed HJ Whitfield Lewis and won awards. The project involved children and their parents developing a mosaic panel on the theme of 'Garden in the City'. 

The mosaic is displayed on the outside wall of the TRA community hall facing a lovely garden created by residents.

Project was part of the 'Play Around' summer holiday activites taking place on the St Pancras Way and Maiden Lane estates.

The Maiden Lane estate was designed by Benson and Forsyth in the 1970s and is highly regarded for its architecture. I worked with teenagers and younger children on a project at Community Centre Youth Club. Together we created a large mosaic of six square metres. I held after school & holiday drop-in workshops.

The estate’s cultural diversity is represented by symbols created by the children. The abstract design concept inspired by the paintings of Paul Klee

The linking together of housing blocks or 'communities' are represented by areas of colour and black lines.

I ran a series of workshops held at the delightful Kew Water & Steam Museum in Brentford, working with a group of older people to create two wonderful textile wall hangings on the theme of Peace. The project was one of the many activities offered by the HST Summer Festival 2014 and the theme of Peace was chosen to coincide with the 1914 WW1 celebrations.