'Poppy'

Poppy
30 x 30 cm (12 x 12 inches)
polymer clay mosaic

This mosaic was one of my entries in the 2017 International Polymer Clay Awards, the results are yet to be announced, on 16 August 2017 (USA time). This year, the competition had the theme ‘To Boldly Go’ and I have interpreted it in terms of war. In the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, artificial poppies are worn on Remembrance Day or ANZAC Day, to commemorate those who bravely died in war. Poppies bloomed in between trench lines and ‘No Man’s Land’ on the Western Front, due to the extreme ground disturbance in warfare during World War 1. This is because the poppy is a coloniser, an annual plant that boldly goes forward, spreading itself by growing on disturbed ground.