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collaborative terracotta barn owl sat on a terracotta tree stump encrusted with bugs made by school children

collaborative terracotta barn owl sat on a terracotta tree stump encrusted with bugs made by school childrenAll this week Sculpture at Kingham Lodge has welcomed 3000 local school children for a sneak preview of the exhibits – some of which have been made by themselves.

Kingham Lodge has an ambitious vision to put art back on the school curriculum. As well as supporting artists’ residencies in local schools, they fund art clubs, art competitions, art materials, teacher training in 23 North Cotswold settings.  They reckon to give over 3,500 local children the opportunity to engage with art…which we think is pretty amazing!

As part of their artist residency program, Jon took the Flying Potter mobile studio into x4 schools, building  a collaborative terracotta sculpture with each. The results have been fired and delivered to Kingham Lodge where they can be viewed alongside the work of National and Internationally renowned artists.

The Exhibition runs 20 – 29 May 2023 and we definitely recommend a visit. Admission is FREE, but you will need to book your visit online.

Jon thoroughly enjoyed working with:

Bourton-on-the-Water Primary Academy

made these lovely air, sea and land themed collaborative plant pots.

 

Chadlington Primary School

made bees, bugs, butterflies and bee hive.

terracotta bee hive covered in bees made by primary school childrencollaborative terracotta butterfly made by primary school children

Enstone Primary School

made sculptural bird baths encrusted with garden birds.

three terracotta bird baths covered in garden birds made by school children

Stow-on-the-Wold Primary School

made the fabulous barn owl sat on a tree stump.

collaborative terracotta barn owl sat on a terracotta tree stump encrusted with bugs made by school children

clay crown made by a primary school student at madresfield primary school decorated in red white and blue slip

clay crown made by a primary school student at madresfield primary school decorated in red white and blue slip

One of one hundred Commemorative crowns made by the talented young makers at Madresfield Primary School earlier this week.

The school have been doing a week’s worth of Coronation activities leading up to the big day. Cream teas, coronation bunting..and on Wednesday it was pottery.

Jon the potter worked with the whole school, a class at a time, encouraging the children to each make a terracotta crown decorated in red, white and blue slip. Once they have been dried, fired and glazed, the crowns will be returned to the children to remind them of this historic moment.

pottery tiles made by school children arranged in the shape of an oak tree

pottery tiles made by school children arranged in the shape of an oak tree

As new leaves unfurl, we are reminded of all the lovely tree tile panels we’ve made with school children all over the West Midlands and beyond. This multi-coloured beauty was made with Cheltenham College Pre-Prep in the Autumn term of last year.

Collaborative Coil Pot made with Eastnor Pottery and St. Joseph's Primary School

 

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A lot of our educational work takes place in schools. We travel all over the West Midlands and beyond working with children and young people, sharing the myriad of benefits of working with clay and pottery.

Once in a while a school is able and motivated to visit us here in Herefordshire. We love a home fixture, particularly when the learners are as enthusiastic and turned onto clay as Winterfold House School.

Yr1 made terracotta coil pots which will be fired in time for Mother’s Day.

There was also a bit of time at the end of the session for a potter’s wheel demonstration.

 

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pear tree tile panel made by bromsgrove first school in worcestershire with the help of herefordshire artist jon the potter williams

jon the potter assembling school project tile panel made with the orchards school in worcestershire

The Flying Potter Jon Williams from Eastnor Pottery worked with every single child at The Orchards School, Bromsgrove to make this fantastic pear tree tile panel.

On it’s website the school aims to: “develop a love of learning and the opportunity for each individual to achieve their full potential and to develop and explore their own interests in a secure and challenging environment” We reckon the clay project certainly fulfilled this aim!  Every child hand modeled either a fruit, leaf or branch covered in clay decoration depicting an aspect of school life they enjoyed or excelled at.

The tiles, all 268 of them were mounted on to painted and cut MDF boards and delivered to School ready for installation in the Autumn term. The panel will be hung near the reception area to be admired by children, staff and visitors forever more – a permanent reminder of what can be achieved when we all work together.

close up of orchards school project will herefordshire artist jon the potter williams