AN extraordinary detailed piece of artwork will be revealed in Milnthorpe next week to mark the opening of the new Booths store.

The sculpture has been created to reflect the geography and history of the village and root the store into the local community.

It has been produced by artist Katie Edwards, who was educated locally at Dallam School and Leeds Metropolitan University, gaining First Class honours in Graphic Art and Illustration.

Katie, who has produced work for Sunday Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Delta Airline, as well as a number of exhibitions, is presently working on projects in Whistler, Canada.

The sculpture, produced for Booths supermarkets to mark the opening of a Milnthorpe store, has been created to reflect the geography and history of the village and root the store into the local community.

The artwork depicts the historic Arnside and Storth Viaduct, constructed in 1857 to carry the Furness Railway over the Kent estuary, which has transported locals from Arnside to Grange.

Graham Booth, Property Director at Booths, said; “Booths is a family run business committed to its northern roots and heritage and it’s of the utmost importance to us that our buildings reflect the surroundings in which we trade. “This artwork will stand proud outside the store and we hope it will be enjoyed by shoppers for years to come. Every Booths store is architect designed to be unique to the region.”

The triptych sculpture designed by Katie Edwards, was transcribed into a digital representation by her partner, David Houghton.

Following this, further work was undertaken by the design team at Houghton Parkhouse Ltd, the specialist designers and manufacturer of livestock transporters’ based on the adjoining site next to the newly-opened Milnthorpe Booths.

It was here that they produced this unique piece of art using a specialist laser cutter to precisely create Katie’s detailed work of art in Alloy metals. The work has been painted in a powder coated finish.

Pam Houghton, Director at Houghton Parkhouse, who has managed the project and manufacturing of the large scale artwork, said; “We wanted to create a piece of art that offered a reflection of Milnthorpe, its history and its beautiful surrounding area. Katie took our initial ideas and transformed them into something very special, she has certainly captured the detail in such an imaginative way and we are delighted with the results.

“Our business is more accustomed to designing and manufacturing large multi-deck livestock transporters, however using the talents of the design team to produce such a creative piece of art has been a joy. Working together we have created something rather special that our community, no matter what age, can enjoy every time they visit Booths.”

The sculpture will be revealed at the official opening of Booths Milnthorpe next Wednesday (November 14).