Another brick in the wall as Telford artist up for national award

The sculpture, the creation of artist Rodney Harris, is on the side of the house in Linden Homes' new 1779 development in Lightmoor.

Mr Harris worked from old pictures to create the sculpture, which pays homage to the brick-working heritage of the site the homes stand on.

It was formerly home to the Ibstock brickwork factory.

He also created another piece of Ibstock brick art on the Brick Kiln Bank-based site – a 3ft cart and brick workshop – and both have been nominated for this year's national Brick Awards.

Mr Harris said the sculptures had taken eight months to complete.

Judging will be undertaken throughout the summer and finalists will be announced in November.

Speaking about the nomination, Mr Harris said: "I feel honoured that my work is being put forward for a national industry award.

"It was a delight to take part in the project and it was interesting to work from old photographs and develop our own interpretation of artwork which we knew would work well on site."

Kate Huntington, marketing manager for Linden Homes, said: "We are really hoping for success in the forthcoming awards and that the sculptures gain the recognition they truly deserve.

"Paying homage to the region and its brick-work heritage, the sculptures are a wonderful addition to our development and, we hope, will become a real talking point amongst our new home owners.

"The project was undertaken to honour the Ibstock brickwork factory that was once in existence on the land which the development now occupies and we are pleased to be able to remember and recognise the importance that this factory had on the region.

"The heritage of 1779 is unique and we are pleased that we can pay tribute to it in this way and even better, to be able to use what we hope will be award-winning Ibstock bricks to create the art."