Sculpture students from Wirral Met get creative for new restaurant

Mar 3 2010 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

STUDENT sculptors from Wirral have been chosen to design the artwork for a new restaurant.

The adult learners from Wirral Metropolitan College have made a blue six foot acrobat performing a handstand, a large armadillo and a multicoloured ostrich out of chicken-wire and papier-mache.

They will go on display at Catalonian restaurant Lunya when it opens in Liverpool One next month.

The students are learning the art of papier-mache as part of their BTEC sculpture course, which also includes clay modelling, casting with plaster and wood carving.

Helen Howard, 48, from Wallasey, said: “I wanted to do something with scales and at first I thought of a fish.

“The piece I’ve designed is a pangolin – like an anteater with scales. It’s multi-coloured and quite Catalan in its patterns.”

Paul Bearman, course leader, said: “The students have been heavily engaged in the art form this year and have pushed the boundaries to create some very large and unusual lifestyle pieces, which will capture the attention of enthusiasts.”

The owners of Lunya approached the college to request help with the sculptures and say they are delighted with the results.

Peter Kinsella, executive chef and proprietor, said: “As part of Catalan tradition, crafts made from papier-mache appear heavily in parades or where there is a celebration.

“The students really have produced some fantastic pieces that are equally as good as our Catalan counterparts’ efforts.