A LARGE Percy Kelly themed artwork was unveiled at Ewanrigg Junior School on June 29.

The art installation will be a permanent fixture and it is hoped that it will last for the next 50 years. Special tricoya board and stainless steel screws were used so that the artwork will remain rust proof.

Mrs Chilton, assistant head, co-ordinated the project, with support from Allerdale Community Learning and Skills Family Learning team, who funded the project.

The family learning art group created the piece. Six Ewanrigg Junior School children, aged seven-to-11 years, along with a family member working with local artist Patricia Parker.

The group met every Friday for two hours for 15 weeks to complete the task.

Children working on the piece said: "I found it interesting matching up the coloured bottle tops in different sizes to match the paint on the boards, painting was fun too! It was good to recycle bottle tops in a useful way. I feel proud I was part of this."

Another said: "I enjoyed drilling the bottle tops to the boards with my dad."

It was Pat's idea to go with the Percy Kelly theme and to recycle bottle tops. Soon mums, dads, grand parents, aunties, friends and neighbours were busy collecting tops of all sizes for the installation.

One of Kelly's images can still be seen today in Maryport, so this was the one that the group chose to create.

"It was my first project of this type, so it was a learning curve for me and everyone concerned. We problem solved together. The kids were better at putting the screws in because they had small hands and plenty of dexterity", said Pat.

The artist said it was a good way of raising environmental issues as well as art through the Percy Kelly connection to Maryport, and she thanked Cumbria Waste for their help.

Maureen James, who worked on the project with grandson Callum Harrogate, said:

"I didn't know anything about Percy Kelly until this project, I've learned how to see things from a different perspective.

"There were 4000 bottle tops and specially treated wood, paint and rust resistant screws."

Julie Moir, parent and admin officer at the school helped with the project and felt inspired to make her own installation at home:

"It makes me inspired to make a flower with proper wood and bottle tops and do my own art project," she said.

The project was not without its teething problems however, when bottle tops were glued on there was lots of pings as some refused to stay adhered. The group decided to drill them to the artwork.

It was also so large and heavy that Mr Hope, from the school, had to use a car jack to manoeuvre the installation into place.

Sited on the outside wall of the back of the playground area, the artwork can even be seen from the road.