Brilliant idea, Queens Road Residents will definitely be interested, put us down for a couple of pieces, as long as we can do Queens Road;-). It will be great liaising with the adjoining pieces so we get a good overall link-up.

The jigsaw's number of pieces will depend on the number of people coming forward as core movers for larger groups.
From  looking at the map of Wivenhoe it appears we should be thinking of a portrait shaped object.
2x4 or 3x4 would probably do it, so 8 or 12 groups should be enough.

The preference is to have different groups cover  different areas. Liaising with adjoining pieces may well be necessary Dazzer, this is the sort of discussion the working group would be having - want to volunteer for it?

While I know I'll have time to work on the pieces, I'm not able to commit to joining the working group too.

Fair enough...
Just to clarify one aspect: the intention is that any group will be taking on no more than one piece of the jigsaw.
That way it will become a whole town effort while keeping the work down to reasonable proportions.

The Golden Ratio is 1.618 so the width would be 2.43 metres.Your second post talks of 2x4 or 3x4 which is a bit different to the ratio, roughly 5x8.

Ah, that's the wrong way round then! So it could be 2.43m high and 1.50m wide- that would still be the correct dimensions?

Indeed. I was forgetting, and as you pointed out above,  Wivenhoe is more a portrait than a landscape shape.

I did a very rough measurement of Wivenhoe on an OS map comparing widest to tallest dimensions, and the height/width ratio is 1.613. That's a bit weird!!

I take your word for the 'weirdness' of this - maths was never my strongest suit ;)
Does this finding effect the proposed W and H dimensions?

Placement of the finished jigsaw was briefly discussed at the meeting. The wall opposite Jardine's, or the one alongside Wivenhoe Folly a little further down the High Street would both be attractive locations except for the fact you cannot stand back from it because the pavement is narrow.

Any suggestions for suitable locations are welcome.

How about the shelter down by the Quay, close to where the ferry departs? Not the most central of locations, but it could do with a little brightening up. Not sure who is responsible for the management of this. Maybe it is needed for displaying WTC statutory notices, etc?

Not a bad place, but I wonder if it would fit?
I'm not sure there's 2.4m available above the bench but I'll have a look when I next walk the dog - now with tape measure :D
It would be protected there, that's a consideration.

I like the idea of putting it on the wall opposite Jardine. It could be enjoyed by a lot of people in that location.

The ferry shelter is too small

Another possible site might be the wall of the Co-op where they are building the new pedestrian crossing. There is plenty of room to step back and admire the skills of the contributors, bus passengers would see it, as well people waiting at the bus stop, and as so many of us at one point or another visit the Co-op it will be seen by many. Obviously this would rely on the Co-op giving permission, but if they did they might even be persuaded to make a financial contribution.

Good thinking!

Oh hay, DisgustedofWivenhoe, I think I just twigged it: 1.618 is the Golden Ratio and the Wivenhoe map measures out at 1.613 - does that mean we have reached NEAR PERFECTION AS A TOWN??!!

Letter to the East of England Coop been written, asking about allowing their wall to be used as a possible display site.

Queens Road are so far the only group to have responded to the idea of taking a jigsaw piece for their account. How about BRA - Mottza?
Also, any 'interest' groups in the town? Broomgrove and Millfields PTAs? Pubs? Artists (- Daisy)? Scouts/Guides? Church groups? The Hub? Off the Rails? WBA?
Ideally we would have people from all corners of Wivenhoe, so the pieces would have been done by groups actually living/having an interest in those parts.
Not everybody reads the Forum. Spread the word and help those who are not on line to become aware of the project.

We're now talking about something 2.50m high and 1.50m wide.
It's going to be quite spectacular as an item.

If anyone is worried about not being able to draw - don't be. This is supposed to be a town full of artists - technical issues can be overcome; it's the willingness to take part that's important!

I'd love to be involved Marika - I enjoyed painting a mural for Brighlingsea in the summer just a bit smaller than this piece; my profile photo shows part of it (I'm on the right).

Not sure how the group per piece approach will work - 2.5m x 1.5m split into 12 gives fairly smallish pieces, but please count me in anyway.

Also, my wife works at the Broomgrove Junior School, so I'll ask her to mention it to the Head teacher.

Splendid! This is 'work in progress' and the number and configuration of the pieces will to an extent depend on the interest shown.Thanks Philmstar3, you're on the list :)

Fingers crossed that the Co-op agrees Marika.

Marika - I'm sure BRA might be able to help. If not my 5yr old son like painting lol!

I did a mosiac that stood in the Romford shopping centre for about 10yrs before they refurbed it.

Mottza, sounds cool! Any pictures of the mosaic?
Great that BRA may be coming on board, looking forward to hearing more.

Marika. I have been speaking to The Police Community Support Officers who were here yesterday as part of the Community Action day in Wivenhoe. They are committed to leaving a legacy that will remain in the town after the venture has been wound up in 3 months time. I have suggested the Community Jig Saw to PCSO Daniel Potts and he likes the idea. Needless to say, such ideas have to pass through a range of approving authorities, but there seems to be a warmth to us obtaining funding for the Jig Saw.....

Things are looking better and better!
The Co-op may or may not be able to help with (or entirely take for their account) the costs involved in mounting the finished work; I've included that request in my letter. The idea has the local manager's full support.

With more funding perhaps coming our way we would be able to pay for the materials as well.

We also need to think about locations where the work can be done.
These could be close to the individual groups and could for instance be in someone's garage or shed.
Or we might organise a weekly paint-in at a central point, where everyone comes together.

Any ideas...?

I'm so pleased the Co-op are behind the idea... at branch level anyway. I've always found the manager to be a very friendly and helpful chap so I'm not in the least bit surprised that the project has his support.

Keep us up to date on the forum with how the project is getting along as I'd like to put a piece about it in m'mag at some point.

Marika, re the mosaic, unfortunately not, I was only about 11-12 at the time and never thought to take a photo.

The St John's Ambulance Building could be a possible place to work on the project? The concept seems to fit the remit that the Trust has put forward as the way ahead. Early days, and legally the building is still owned by St John's.

What about the white boat loft along Hamilton Road? This is a privately owned building, but the owner very generously allowed the panto folk to use the considerable space to work on the scenery last weekend. Mr Linley will know more.

Plus now is a good time to tap into Broomgrove whilst they have their artistic hats on.

I'm hoping the connections with Broomgrove school will happen through Philmstar3's wife - would be good to hear if she had a positive response from the head.

I'm hearing that Admirals Walk neighbours are quite an exceptional bunch - any chance of a group forming there?

No update on Broomgrove Junior School yet I'm afraid. I've sown the seed by printing out and passing on two of your posts Marika - ones that described the project and mentioned groups such as Broomgrove - which the Head Teacher has been given, and I gather read. However, there's a lot going on there at the moment, what with the Industrial Action looming, so I expect it's low on the agenda.

I'm happy to pick this up directly with her after Wednesday... but is it more than "do you want to paint a piece of the jigsaw?"

It's probably going to be a bit more than just painting a piece...
Plans are still evolving and I haven't yet had a chance to discuss it with a core work group - as one does not yet exist!

My feeling is that the project needs to be 'steered' by a group of 3, so I'm basically looking for two people who'd like to help in thinking it through its various stages.
If anyone is interested please let me know.

I know that Millfields school have an after school art club that meets for an hour each Wednesday. The pupils who attend could maybe do a piece of the jigsaw together. I could put you in touch with the lady who runs it if you'd like?

It is definitely in the plan to involve children where possible and it would be useful to have the sort of contact within the schools that you mention, Snowrae, so yes please.
The project is not yet at the stage where we're talking about allocating pieces so no-one needs to worry that they would be committing to anything in particular on behalf of a school - I'm aware how full the curricula are.

More prep work done today. Talking to artists Julia and Michael and getting down to the nitty gritty of design and mechanics.
Keep the interest coming - you won't be faced with a blank sheet if you're thinking of taking part.

Update: early morning call from Melvin White, Membership Relations officer I wrote to at the Co-op.
He thinks its a great project and has passed the letter on to the property manager for a decision.

It probably wouldn't hurt at this stage if anyone who has been following this thread and has not yet got round to registering support, would do so at some point soon. The Forum will quite possibly be looked at by the Co-op people...

Good news on the Broomgrove Junior School front; they're interested in joining in the project. The contact there is Melanie Andrews who can be contacted via admin@broomgrove-jun.essex.sch.uk.

Marika, let me know if the planning team need another person to help - I'd be happy to get involved. Phil.

That IS good news, thanks philmstar3.
I've emailed you.

Broomgrove Infant School would love to be involved if possible! We have worked with several local artists over the last few years and have links with the university art department.  If you are still in need, please contact the head teacher on admin@broomgrove-inf.essex.sch.uk

We'll be displaying a Christmas tree at the tree festival this weekend too - just hoping that all the 170 children's decorations will somehow fit on the regulation 4 ft tree!!!

Thanks for that, Kerry, I've added the Infant School's interest to the growing list of organisations that have reacted positively to the idea.
It's great to see local support building.

UPDATE
Things obviously slowed down over the Christmas period but this morning I received a letter from the Co-op Property Dept. After my initial letter to them they had asked for additional information which I have given, and they will now be discussing the request. This all sounds positive.

A work space has been secured: it was generously made available by the same chap who facilitated the panto scenery painting. This is a great space because it means we can have communal painting sessions and also have somewhere to leave the pieces to dry.

A colour scheme has been decided on with the help of Michael and Julia; it is necessary to stick to the same colours for all the pieces so as to preserve the unity of the piece.
There are 11 pieces and their shape is different from a traditional jigsaw; the pieces will be too large to allow the usual tongued shape as it would make them vulnerable to damage. So the final(ish!) design looks more like a mosaic or leaded glass window - each piece will be edged with dark green to avoid a visual clash between one and the next.

Paper templates will be made available to the various groups to draw significant features of their area. The idea is a bit like the mediaeval maps: important features can be shown larger than scale. Plenty of opportunity for artistic expression here!
The drawings will be transferred to the cut pieces of wood after that and the painting start, hopefully sometime early in April.
One amazing find in the preparation of this has been the emergence of a local chap who used to be the cutter for the National Jigsaw library - and he still has his saw!!

I have contacted the schools but not heard anything in reply- yet. I'm never quite sure about email for individual staff members, they may not have received them. Perhaps SnowRae, Philmstar3 and Kerry wouldn't mind using their good offices to help in trying to get a definite commitment from the schools? That would be very helpful.

I have attached a picture with lettered pieces. C and K are reserved for the schools if they decide to take part. If any other group wants to claim a piece- it's there for the taking!
(Sailing Club Ahoy!? Cricket Club? WAGA?)

J would be good for BRA. Just a issue of who would do it.

How big are the pieces and what kind of painting is it to be. I liked the idea of a photo collage.

Well Mottza, I hope you'll be interested in organising the BRA group!
The overall dimensions of the jigsaw are given so at a guess J would be roughly 80x80cm.

Initially we were thinking of yacht varnish for the paint but that's expensive because it's only available in largish quantities.
I'm now thinking enamel paint from Humbrol, as used in model making.

Trouble with BRA is that its not even really set up yet. There's a meeting in a few weeks so will mention it then.

Excellent! All you need is a discussion about what features in your area, and someone's kitchen table and a few pencils.

CALLING LOCAL ARTISTS.
There is one thing that could hold back area group participation in this project. The community spirit is palpably there but not everyone is confident in their drawing abilities.
I can see how this obstacle might be overcome: this place is crawling with artists and I'm now looking in that direction to help realise this project.
If you have drawing or graphic design skills, or know of someone who has, please get in touch to provide the skills base that's needed. This could be lending a hand at the groups' design effort, or to help translate the group designs from paper to wood before the painting starts.

The finished piece is likely to be with us for a long time; your input (or lack of it) now could make the difference between something enjoyable and worthwhile for all -or be the reason for you wanting to leave the town name off your business card...

I've copied the above and will take it to work tomorrow. All sounds very promising...

Hi, I've just spoken to the Headteacher and the Infant school would definitely like to take part. What do we need to do now? The e-mail about the jigsaw doesn't appear to have arrived, although we often find multiple e-mails go into spam. The school number is 01206 822141 - Paula Wiltshire is the Head. Would it be possible for someone to contact us with further details? Thanks, Kerry.

This is great news, thank you Kerry. I'll try to speak to Paula today.

Marika,

We have and AGM for WBA coming up on the 25th January and we have a very talented artist as one of our regular members.  I have sent her this link to have a read through in the hope she may agree the WBA can collectively take a piece.

Will let you know how it goes.

Brilliant! Thank you.

The idea of artist involvement is that they would be able to assist on the technical side. The community group will have the ideas for content and, hopefully, will be able to produce something of a sketch.
The skilled draftsmanship would ensure that final images (which then will be painted by the community groups) are of a standard that we will look on with pleasure in years to come.

We're probably talking hours rather than days for the artists.

Hi Marika

I am a graphic artist and illustrator and would be willing to help if I can. Keep us all updated to whats happening.

Thank you, Jax, you're most welcome!
Alison Stockmarr has also offered help as has Bill Heslop, who besides gave me names of about a dozen people to contact.
Things are looking good :)
Watch this space.