What a wonderful start to our Arts Fortnight process this year! 5LS have been thoroughly absorbed in exploring Ancient Greek mythology and it was a treat to see their pieces exhibited in the Art Studio. 

Researching Ancient Greek clay vessels, they discovered that paintings of myths on the vases allowed these incredible tales to be passed down over thousands of years. Setting out to create their own vases and pots, they first experimented with their design and practised their coiled pot techniques using plasticine. This was challenging and led some to change their design. We were all thrilled with the outcomes and excited when it came to making them in clay.

The children had remembered the technique of adding each layer using cross hatching and slip and were able to create shaped pots with layers getting larger and smaller. 5LS really impressed us with their care and perseverance. 

Once dried, we painted the pot with acrylic paint in Burnt Sienna or Yellow Ochre acrylic paint to recreate the colours of terracotta. 

The next stage was creating a design with pictures and greek patterns and painting these onto the pots. Just like the artists from Ancient Greece, they needed great control and care with fine brushes and markers. 

Modroc torches

The children were captivated by the myth of Prometheus who stole fire from the sun to give to the people. Fire allowed humans to care for themselves with food and warmth but also to forge weapons and wage war. Zeus was so angry with Prometheus that he condemned him to be chained to a mountain for eternity where he was pecked at daily by a vulture. 

The children seemed not to mind the gory details!

Modroc was another sculpting material which was great fun but needed care and patience. The children added designs and patterns using string and then painted the torches. They look just wonderful. 

It was a special moment to ‘light’ the torches with flame (and a flickering tea light) during the Celebration afternoon and to share all our hard work with our families.