Like Gaul, our mural is divided into three parts. The first panel depicts Stag Gates and an idealised view of what Bevois Mount House may have looked like before it became a car park for JoJo's Gym. The middle panel is a 1905 map of the Bevois Mount area, and the layout isn't very different to what it is today. There is also a fine portrait of Sir Bevois of Hampton who is so famous he doesn't need explaining. The final panel shows icons of Southampton. These include the Titanic:
A horse-drawn tram:
A suffragette, a cherry tree and the Alma Inn.
The Alma Inn was put in at the request of the wall's owner; so it was iconic to him.
Although the bones of the mural were very much in place, there was still plenty of fine detail to argue about and one of the hottest topics was whether to separate the panels with a border. This was settled in a most sensible fashion, by putting on the border.
Although the bones of the mural were very much in place, there was still plenty of fine detail to argue about and one of the hottest topics was whether to separate the panels with a border. This was settled in a most sensible fashion, by putting on the border.
Once the border was there we all agreed it looked great, and also delineated the panels beautifully.
Our second dilemma was that next to our stunning map we had a blank scroll.
Our second dilemma was that next to our stunning map we had a blank scroll.
It had originally been intended to mark the homes of suffragettes, Titanic victims and war heroes, as well as bomb sites and tram lines. We quickly realised that we did not want our lovely map covered in a lot of blobs; which left us wondering what to do with a blank scroll labelled 'Key'. Anyone who has written a child's school report before the days of computers knows the heart-sinking feeling of making a mistake and having to start again. That was something we did not want to happen and so we came up with this:
Perfect use of space, thanks to Fiona and her capacity for digging out information, and the map was left in its original state, apart from one small detail.
Most women and many men would agree that men cannot multi-task. Slam Daniels must be the exception that proves the rule, because apart from when he was having his refreshment, he kept working despite distractions
He has produced a super piece of artwork, and we would love to do another one, so does anyone want to buy a calendar?