Whether it is their grandmother’s Yorkshire puddings on a Sunday lunchtime or the Spitfire fighter plane, students at Stockton Riverside College have been tasked with summing up what Thornaby really means to them.
And the young creatives wasted no time in heading straight to the heart of the town in an effort to capture its beauty in their work.
The art and design students are part of a large-scale community project driven by Thornaby Town Council, inviting the community to capture the essence of the town through art, photography and words.
“We are trying to bring the beauty and heritage of the Thornaby Town Hall back to life,” said Community Heritage Co-ordinator Tracy Roberts.
The creative project is part of an initiative to get the community involved and recognise what makes their hometown special as the town hall undergoes a major Heritage Lottery funded renovation.
All of the pictures will ultimately be brought together to create a banner to be displayed on the scaffolding as work continues on the Grade 2 listed building.
Tracy said: “People often see scaffolding on a building and they think, what’s going on, is it going to be demolished? We want to create a positive image, something that makes people remember that it is not just an old forgotten building and that something is happening.”
Producing a variety of paintwork, graphics and photography, the students tested their individual creativity to produce work that is unique but also captures the real heritage of the town.
Among the young artists is 18-year-old Katie Shaw from County Durham. She said: “Living outside of the area it was challenging for me but during the process I have learnt a lot, not just about Thornaby, but the whole of Teesside.”
She added: “Being part of a live brief has been good because you know that you have to push yourself.”
Fellow student Hayley Syson, 20, of Ingleby Barwick, said: “The project has been good but also challenging. I sometimes cycle to college and pass Thornaby so there are certain images that stand out for me such as the Spitfire.
“It is good to know you are creating something for someone else and that your work will go on to be part of something much bigger.”