NEWPORT'S newest public artwork was unveiled at the city's smallest arts and culture venue yesterday - as a weekend of Art On The Hill events got underway.

The result of several months of work involving city-based artist Andy O'Rourke and children from Clytha and St Woolos Primary Schools, the Cwtsh Mandala is a vivid celebration of life, nature and creativity.

Pupils from Clytha created painted wooden leaves forming the work's centrepiece, having experimented with digital kaleidoscopes and radial collages. Meanwhile, pupils from St Woolos made mandala designs and faux stained glass art, before creating the plaster casts on a botanical theme, that radiate from the central leaf designs.

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The artwork, unveiled by Newport West AM Jane Bryant, is on the entrance porch wall at Cwtsh, which is in the former branch library at the top of Stow Hill, near the Handpost pub.

"The children have been inspired by this project, which has been months in the making, but the result is wonderful," said Cwtsh chairman Alan Roderick.

An exhibition of work by the children who worked on the project is showing at Cwtsh until Sunday January 5.