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Much of the artwork that Debbie creates, has been made in collaboration with communities or schools. In this way, the saying 'many hands make light work' is true. Such as local residents consulted during early design stages for public art sculpture and place-making projects. Or artwork designs informed from the input of drawings by primary school pupils. More often than not, participants may even create art which is embedded into the surface of an artwork.

There are many reasons why an artwork may change during creative processes or during site specific art projects. Some artwork ideas may never be completed in their initially conceived form or design.  More rather, the design process is a series of tweaks and multiple adjustments. Sometimes, when making artwork for the public realm things may change based on safety, functionality or simply to ease maintenance or reduce the risk of vandalism. So a lot of information is needed to inform design and the process of a project or artwork commission.
 

Often a lot of my socially engaged artwork is a response to local history, public consultation, or creative design sessions. Here, participants may get to show their visions, concepts, or preferences for an artwork to be made for a place-making project for example. I view this collaborative process as an essential element of any project. Rather than just placing in an artist's singular idea for a place.
 

Additionally, there are often a variety of partner organisations working to support a project. Such as schools or voluntary groups. Or other creatives and skilled workers applying their specialist skillset to help see a project or artwork completed. I am indebted to the wonderful folk that get involved and help make things happen. So here are some photos of hands at work and ideas in motion.