The Heart of Brymbo

I've done another mural! I'm especially proud of this one as it was my very first time using spray paint and I can't believe how well it turned out!

'The Heart of Brymbo'

This mural is at Stori Brymbo in Wrexham which is a newly opened visitor attraction and museum on the site of the old Brymbo steelworks which closed down in 1990. My mural is on the outside of an interactive walkthrough exhibition called the Story of Steel which tells the story of steel production and the steelworkers themselves.

Brymbo steelworks produced some of the best steel in the world and although still profitable the site was closed down in 1990 and production moved to China. Almost every family in Brymbo had someone who worked at the steelworks and it's closure left a big hole, the impact of which is still felt today. 

I knew very little about the steelworks before starting this mural; I knew about the closure and the impact it had but I didn't have a real understanding of just how much the place meant to people.

I wanted this mural to be something that depicted what it was like to work at the steelworks and so the original design was much darker and grittier as I assumed that it would be an arduous and unforgiving place to work. However after speaking to people who use to work there and reading people's stories and memories on Facebook groups I had to change my mind! Every story I came across was positive - yes the work was hard but nobody complained about that, instead they enjoyed working with their friends and family, having a laugh and being part of the community. It was amazing to see how even today the former employees still get together for reunions and social events, and this sense of friendship, community and joy reshaped the entire mural.

I knew from the beginning I wanted to put real people in it, like I did with my Markets mural, but instead of depicting them grinding away in the heat and steam I changed it so instead it would show the friendship and happiness that radiated out of every story I came across. I wanted the mural to have movement and energy so I decided to have the people walking to work, as my uncle told me they looked forward to going to work each day. 

The steelworks was known as the heart of Brymbo, and I found a really moving poem with that title that someone had written about the closure and what the place meant to the community and so I based the main motif around that concept. I still wanted to show the production of steel, and the image of a large vat of molten steel pouring out was always part of the plan, so I decided that the flow of steel would create a heart to visually represent the steelworks as the heart of the community and the workers emerging from the steam as the heart of the steelworks.

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I asked former workers to nominate people they would like to see in it, as I wanted the mural to be significant to them. I knew that some people would be disappointed that I didn't include their family members but I tried to pick a mix of people from across the generations and from different parts of the steelworks. Some of the people I picked because they seemed to be significant figures within the community, some because of how long they worked there, some are family members which adds a personal connection for me, and some I picked because they captured the spirit of friendship that seemed to be the essence of the place.

The people on the mural

A saga in spray paint!

Just like a pro!

This mural had a lot of first for me: first time painting a metal shipping container; first time painting a mural in the summer; and the first time I've ever painted with spray paint!

Spray paint is a completely new medium for me and I did a lot research before I started to make sure I bought the right stuff. I used Flame to do the background and Molotow for the rest of it. I also bought a wide range of caps that would do different spray widths, and to make sure I used the right ones I wrote on each cap what they did -  just like the pros do!

The first thing I learned about using spray paint is that it's so much quicker than using a brush, and the second is that it does not go as far as you think it does!

I ran out of spray paint several times! Overall I think the mural took 6 days to do, but it probably would have gone quicker if I knew what I was doing and had enough paint from the start.

The other thing I learned was don't point the cap towards yourself 
when putting it on or you'll get a facefull of paint!

Ooops!

The first time I ran out of paint (but not the last!)

Not too shabby for my first time!

I decided to do the biggest part of the mural first which was the bucket, as it had less fine detail and would be a good way to practice with the spray paint. I also figured this would be a good gage for how the rest of the mural would look, good or bad, and I have to say, when I finished this and stepped back to look at it I was very proud of myself! I don't often big myself up but for my first ever spray painted image even I had to admit that this was awesome! Go me!

This also gave me more confidence going forward as I had more of a handle on how to get the paint to do what I wanted (for the most part anyway, there were definitely some parts that I had to fight with to get them right!)

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The response to this mural has been amazing, and I'm so glad people like it as I was very aware when doing it how much the steelworks means to people, and as an outsider I wanted to make sure it was something that would hold meaning for the former steelworkers and would represent them. 

Creating this mural was a wonderful way to learn about the history of the steelworks and the community around it and if this mural makes people smile and remember the good old days then I've done my job!

If you'd like to see the mural in person visit Stori Brymbo, it's a fascinating day out - not only can you learn about the steelworks but they also discovered Europe's only fossil forest on the site! It's 314 million years old and you can visit the dig as they uncover ancient species of flora and fauna!