A North Berwick artist has turned her work into a collaborative community project by allowing the public to colour in and reinterpret her art.

Rachel Marshall, who trades under Bonzo-Art, created a 3D display that celebrated North Berwick’s connection with the sea by depicting an RNLI lifeboat, a lobster fishing vessel and a container ship.

The project was carried out thanks to funding from pARTicipate, a group working under the umbrella of North Berwick Environment and Heritage Trust to make art accessible and at the heart of the community.

The group’s public art displays vary in theme and sit within the former phone boxes area on the town’s Westgate.

Now, the artist has made the project a collective effort, providing black and white copies of her design for people to take away and colour in, reinterpreting her work as their own piece of art.

Rachel said: “I was delighted to have the chance to make art for the tiny pARTicipate gallery space and also devise a way in which members of the community could get involved.

“Colouring has always been popular for children but has developed a new following among adults in recent years.

“I wanted to create a colouring design that was inspired by my paintings but has shapes and forms that enable people to reimagine the colours in their own way.”

Geraldine Prince, director for pARTicipate, was amazed at the community engagement and was glad to see so many people making the space unique.

She said: “We stapled up large copies of Rachel’s design with a selection of felt tip pens for people to borrow to colour them in.

“We left smaller copies of the design if people thought they would like to take one away.

“By next morning, virtually all the colouring sheets – and all the pens – had gone!

“It was a fantastic outcome. Each time we replace the sheets, they are snapped up, and there are now more people adding their own bit of colour to the large images.

“Some young people have also been selecting a colour to write their name and – in some cases – a message, or ‘from Tranent’, so it’s good to see people visiting the town and taking part.

“One can tell that some quite young children are adding colours, as well as some experienced adult hands.”

The piece is the second time the art space has been used for a collaborative exercise, with the Covid-19 remembrance display having brought people together through art previously.

Olwyn Owen, chair of North Berwick Environment and Heritage Trust, said: “A huge number of people contributed inscriptions to the Covid remembrance project, which showed that people don’t want just to look, but also to do something, and be actively involved and engaged.

“This offers the chance to be creative in a way that is multi-generational, not just for one age group.”