Say It With...ceramics exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery

Come and visit Say It With... at Manchester Art Gallery this summer, an exhibition of ceramic tiles featuring poetry and images of flowers. The artworks were created by people attending a special arts and wellbeing course. This course is part of the latest partnership venture between Start Manchester and Manchester Art Gallery.

8th June 2010 - 25th July 2010
Manchester Art Gallery is open Tuesday - Sunday 10am-5pm. Closed Monday except Bank Holidays.
For more information 0161 235 8888 or visit www.manchestergalleries.org

The ceramic and poetry artworks were made by local people who took the theme of flowers as their starting point. The 12 week course included art appreciation, drawing and creative writing activities, paper mosaic, printing and creating ceramic art. Participants were inspired by Dutch still life flower paintings and ceramic tiles from Manchester Art Gallery's collection, as well as botanical specimens from Manchester Museum's Herbarium.

Annie Tortora-Cailey, Start ceramics artist, explains: "To make the ceramic pieces, we followed quite a few stages, with participants first creating a flower image using textured papers, which was then impressed into paper porcelain (porcelain clay with added cellulose fibres). Participants added colours between firings using underglazes, and they applied poems they had written during the course using decals (a kind of transfer) before the final firing."

Participants on the course were from Start Manchester and Out in the City (an Age Concern support group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender older adults).

"The course went down really well with participants who loved the range of skills they learned, and liked the focus on wellbeing," says Leisa Gray, Community Development Manager from Manchester Art Gallery.

"I came away from each session with a feeling of achievement," explains one course participant, whilst another adds "When I'm working creatively I feel uplifted - I am enjoying myself."

The Say it With... project is a partnership between Manchester Art Gallery and Start Manchester. It is part of Manchester Art Gallery's community development programme and was funded by Renaissance in the Regions Who Cares programme.