Day 3 Holocaust Memorial Day . 1st day second school

The start to the morning was crisp and some defrosting of my trusty van was needed before I set off.
Dawn was beginning to break on a rosey sky that developed into a rising phoenix of colour. As I approached the village of the school I was working in today, a skien of geese flew through the firey red and seemed to point me to a new beginning in a very purposeful way.

The delightful school today were so helpful unloading and a refreshing cup of tea started my day brilliantly.
With such kindness shown by the staff it was little wonder the children themselves were a delight.
Todays idea was very different from the previous two days and having the two days with the class over the two weeks , the planning was different. Flowers as a theme may seem distant from the topic of the holocaust but because the composite of the group were over three years ( P5-P7 ) a softer approach was needed.
We began by 'bridging the gap ' between me as the 'incoming artist ' and the children as unknown personalities to me. Reaching across the bridge by communicating was the great suggestion by the children and they each told me their names and favourite flower.

The group had some experience of World War 2 as a class topic but were just beginning to touch on the Holocaust . No fears with this bright bunch, they soon saw the connection between the occupied countries native flowers and our idea of creating a bridge of flowers.

So through art and textiles we delved into the botanical lesson and learned why their favourite flowers were the shape they were and then looking at basic shapes they drew their flower. This was the first step and the development of this idea into a plant form of their own creation was a delight to see. All sorts of defences were used and the flowers developed personalities and their names.

 

These pictures were then focused to a small section of most interest to be the inspiration for their felted flower. Colour played a large part and toning and shading was achieved by hand blending the colours needed into little piles of colours , ready to paint with.


Some flowers defiantly had personalities and fun was had making the felt ( sorry I can't show you the grinning happy children's faces )

These last two photos show what the image and the finished piece looked like.
Not everybody liked the way they had limited control over the finished shape but everyone is keen to make more next week armed with the knowledge of 'how it all works'
Thanks everyone for a great day and it defiantly made the 3 1/2 hour drive home easier...