Mercy Sensory Garden

Wall installation at ‘Our Lady of Mercy’ Primary School Sensory Garden, Sligo

In April 2022, I was asked to design a wall piece for a sensory garden at the Mercy Primary school. The sensory garden was the brainchild of Una Fitzpatrick and the late Mary Carty whose love of nature and growth were key elements of inspiration for the project.

The butterflies are significant to Mary’s memory and so they became the canvas for me to work with. It was important that the ceramic incorporated ‘touch’ specifically as one of the senses to explore as part of the garden.

The largest butterfly on the right hand side represents ‘Sunrise’ and ‘Sunset’. One side shows the light colours of the day while the other shows the colours of the evening sky. The ‘sunrise’ has a relief finger maze in both spiral and squares.

There are three smaller butterflies, one of which is filled with tiny butterflies made by the staff and students. If you look closely, you can see marks made referencing nature and sky. Another of the smaller pieces shows bunches of grapes to represent Mary’s sense of fun and her diligence in the polytunnel adjacent to the sensory garden. The third butterfly shows more on the theme of gardening and being out in nature.

Lastly, the fifth butterfly is the most three dimensional for the exploration of touch with many different shapes and textures to find. It is based on the idea of a flower garden with similar shades of colour so as not to overwhelm the senses.

The wall piece was only one area of the amazing sensory garden. There are beautiful flowers, a textured path and wall piece, a water feature, more artwork and musical instruments to explore. It’s an amazing facility for the staff and students to really enjoy. The garden was opened officially on 17th November 2022.