BAL has lent its backing to a mosaic artist taking part in a fundraising art project in Birmingham.

The Big Sleuth is a fundraising initiative organised by Wild in Art and Birmingham Children’s Hospital. More than 200 large and small fibreglass bears are currently being decorated by artists, schools and community groups across the West Midlands.

Caroline Jariwala, a member of the British Association for Modern Mosiac (BAMM), has created “Sweet William Bear” – inspired by flowers quoted in Shakespeare’s writings.
After attending two mosaic mural training courses at BAL – Caroline has fixed the mosaics with BAL Max Flex Fibre tile adhesive and has grouted the bear with BAL Micromax2 Ebony donated by the company.

Sweet William Bear will be displayed in front of Birmingham Cathedral from 11th July as part of an art trail throughout the city. Each bear will be sold off in a charity auction in the autumn to raise money for the children’s hospital.

The Big Sleuth follows on from The Big Hoot in 2015, where 85 large owl sculptures were auctioned off, raising more than £5 million for the hospital.

Caroline said: “The mosaic features ceramic tiles, porcelain and broken vintage crockery and draws inspiration from Shakespeare’s love of flowers used in his plays and sonnets. The Sweet William flower is said to been named after the Bard himself! A fitting name for a flora related bear! I have I have been using BAL Max Flex Fibre which has been wonderful to use and BAL Micromax2 Ebony grout. The texture, durability and true black finish of the grout is perfect to complete the project.

“I am hoping that Sweet William will have a real “wow” factor, especially as it is located in front of Birmingham Cathedral.

“Thank you to BAL for supporting me on this project and their support for mosaic artists with their training courses and technical advice.”

Alex Underwood, Head of Marketing at BAL, said: “Caroline only had the ‘bear’ necessities to complete this project, so we were all too pleased to donate our Micromax2 Ebony grout.

“Sweet William looks absolutely stunning and I’m sure it will create tremendous interest on the art trail. We can’t wait to see it proudly on display in front of the cathedral!”

www.thebigsleuth.co.uk