UPDATE – this book signing has been cancelled. Signed copies of her new book will be available for purchase from Saturday 23rd October 2021 for RRP £8.99. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
In 1990, Rosie was commissioned by North Somerset’s predecessor Woodspring Council to create five large ceramic tile paintings for the new conference centre extension at the Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare. The hall and the meeting rooms were named after Weston’s public parks: the Prince Consort Hall with The Grove, Clarence and Ashcombe suites.
Rosie’s brief was to reflect the particular atmosphere of each of the parks, together with tile signs for each suite.
The book describes and illustrates the original commission. It also covers the later removal of the tiles when the ownership of the buildings was transferred to Weston College (University Centre Weston) in 2016.
The tiles were professionally cut from the walls, cleaned, labelled, packed in boxes and delivered to Somerset Heritage Centre, Norton Fitzwarren, Taunton for safe keeping.
At the time of writing several new sites have been identified in Weston for the tile paintings.
Rosie says: “It is my earnest hope that these pictorial tiles, which form part of the town’s architectural and social history, will one day return to Weston where they belong.”