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Bursting from the Slumber

April 2022

Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park

Grewelthorpe, North Yorkshire

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Contributors:

Harrogate College/ Roundhay St John's Primary, Leeds/ Outwood Academy, Ripon/ The Arts Collective, Rural Arts, Thirsk/ Pottery Pals, Harrogate/ Public workshops, Harrogate/ Don Olliff, Chris & Lynn Thomerson, USA/ Staff & family from Himalayan Garden & Sculpture Park

Watch our interview with the Yorkshire Post

In 2019 I was asked to create a cascading installation of ceramic Meconopsis (Himalayan Blue Poppies) for the Himalayan Garden & Sculpture Park in North Yorkshire. The work was delayed by the Covid Pandemic, so in January 2022 we brushed off the designs and dived straight in!

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27 workshops

450 people

Youngest 3

Eldest 91

Half a tonne of clay

1.3km of steel rods

80m² installation

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The poppies were handmade through free to access workshop sessions at local schools, colleges and community centres, allowing each poppy to be unique; from the different sized and shaped hands that formed the clay to the mark making used to personalise their creations.

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Designing this project in 2019, the idea of a global pandemic shutting down the world was still only to be found in the pages of a sci fi novel. As such, the sculpture has taken on a greater meaning than I could have ever imagined. A symbol of re-emergence and the power of community, with tactile clay workshops providing space for people to relax and socialise again. Each poppy has been personalised by its maker; messages of freedom, names of family and friends, and those they have lost. As an artist, to be able to facilitate such a positive and healing experience is humbling.

"We are more than excited to be seeing this project come to fruition after a

2-year delay due to Covid. Anna has done the most amazing job designing, creating and coordinating this large installation and we want to say a huge thank you to all those who contributed to deliver such an incredible piece of art.

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The Himalayan Poppies we grow in the garden are always well received, with this new installation reminding us of their mystical blue beauty throughout the year."

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Will Roberts, owner of the Himalayan Garden & Sculpture Park

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© 2025 Anna Whitehouse

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