THE Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) has launched a new piece of public art, created by a Bradford on Avon artist to show people in residential care, how ageing can be illustrated on a canvas.

In partnership with New Brewery Arts (NBA), OSJCT applied for funding from The Baring Foundation's 'Late Style Programme' and after being awarded the grant, the charity commissioned Robert Race to engage and involve older people through artwork.

Working at OSJCT's Millbrook Lodge care home in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, Mr Mace has, over the past six months, inspired and assisted participants to print, cut, fold and craft to create their own small automata, making something new each week. He has used this experience, and his own thoughts on ageing to shape and inspire his final piece.

Jayne Mann, activities co-ordinator at Millbrook Lodge, said: "The residents have really enjoyed the making. It has been lovely that everyone who wanted to was supported and enabled to join in, and fantastic that family members have also been able to take part. It has been a really positive experience for the home and the residents."

The artwork was launched at a celebratory tea party held at Millbrook Lodge on Saturday, 4 July. From there, it will go "on tour", visiting Gloucester Cathedral and national and international symposia on ageing and dementia, as well as several OSJCT care homes across Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Lincolnshire.

Robert Race said: "This commission for the Late Style Programme has been an exciting opportunity to use my skills and experience to explore my own feelings about growing older. Automata have wide appeal to people of all ages - powerful and enigmatic objects. The idea of machines as animate objects, animate beings as machines evokes deep responses. Looking at ageing, an automaton might be an effective means of communicating difficult ideas and feeling with clarity and humour. I like working with reused and recycled materials because they retain traces of their previous uses - like us older people they have a back-story and a continuing potential."