Archive for June 5, 2009

Tenbury Totems

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Native American Art week at Tenbury Wells Primary School provided the challenge of producing a ceramic totem pole with year’s 5 & 6.

As part of my research, Google revealed a mass of information and facts about totem pole and why they were made – fascinating stuff about shaming bad debtors, commemorating significant occurrences and celebrating an individual or clan.
I encouraged the children to consider their own animal totem by asking a range of questions. After much fun and debate, the children created their own stylised totem in clay.

All the tiles and cladding will be fired before the end of term and stand guard at the entrance of the school’s forest school area.
Check out the school’s website: http://www.tenburyprimary.co.uk/
Posted in key stage 1&2, schools tagged with ,

Hay Fever ’09

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Last year at the Hay Literary Festival, we created our first storytelling mud sofa and armchair. It rained and rained all week, though the participating families enjoyed sloshing around in the thick mud (think chocolate smoothie!) modelling and adding their favourite children’s book characters.

This year I was booked to work with older children and young people, exploring the delights of the potter’s wheel and ‘coiling techniques’.

Ned proudly exhibits his coiled clay dalek, as sister Dorothy works on her coil pot.

Posted in festivals and events tagged with

Spider in the Bath

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The theme for our children’s workshops in half term was inspired by those eight legged, generally unwelcome, bathroom guests. The participants all made a bath on the potter’s wheel, then filled it with giant spiders and other creepy crawlies.

Izzy makes her bath on the potter’s wheel – (we decided to break with tradition and use chocolate instead of clay!…It could be though, couldn’t it?)

Insy winsy spider!

The next children’s workshops take place in the summer holidays – 28 &29 July 2009. They are suitable for ages 4-12yrs and places can be booked by emailing : admin@eastnorpottery.co.uk, or telephoning 01531 633886.

Posted in children, school holiday tagged with ,
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