projects
St Wilfrid’s Primary School
Mandala Raga - Heaven and Earth
The Year 3 visit to Mandala Raga at Drumcroon was first discussed in the Autumn term 2003, and involved several meetings, both at the gallery and in school, exploring possible directions, and aiming to link the gallery experience with the creation of a large scale installation in school which explored and investigated pattern.
Year 3 spent a day in the gallery, looking at the work on display and working in sketchbooks to collect a variety of ideas. The main focus was the sense that a mandala is a circular form, symbolising the universe. During the day, the children were encouraged to respond to the quite abstract notion that the symbol of the circle can contain an infinite range of imagery and symbols because of the infinite range of symbols, ideas, religions and values that exist in our universe.
The work of all the artists in Mandala Raga demonstrates a great diversity of experience and religious belief. We focused very closely upon the work of Nikki Parmenter and the chakra paintings of Caroline Jariwala. Both artists are creating their own personal symbolism, drawing on a variety of references.
Caroline’s fascination with the chakra, an ancient Hindu form of yoga, led to discussions about finding inner peace and calm, and the understanding that everyone has different energy points in their body, and different colours which can have personal significance. The children were able to discover their own chakra and colour which was documented in their sketchbooks.
Nikki Parmenter’s mixed media structures are highly decorative and jewelled works which communicate her fascination with different cultures and ideas from all over the world. She creates fantastical mythological creatures which fired the children’s imagination. The children chose animals and birds that they felt they might like to be, that somehow matched their own personality. We looked closely at two works, ‘Bird Box’ and ‘I walk a path of beauty’, where we began to develop ideas about creating a piece of work in school which could show heaven and earth. Their sketchbook drawings combined with their chakra patternings formed the basis of the development of work in school.
In school, we reinforced the understanding that a pattern is a repetition of a motif, and the first activity was to create a personal pattern, drawing from the variety of shapes and designs gathered in the gallery. We then went on to their creature, their symbol of themselves, and in keeping with the fantastical mythological sense of a journey through the universe, between earth and heaven, we encouraged the children to work ‘off the page’ and to add to the feeling of freedom, to give their creature, themselves, wings.
Their personal patternings were then used for the decoration of their creature, with much discussion about how to use collage, building up rich layers of papers and colours and incorporating shiny surfaces as symbols of protection. We worked together as a class to reflect on the process and ideas that we were working with, drawing out language which suggested more ideas exploring the journey. The children begin to envision an idea of themselves as a beautiful form which represents the earth and in their installation, their fantastical creature will link the earth to the heavens. Poetry and collage explores different ideas about the heavens - is it a place, a hope, a dream or a belief.
Heaven and Earth
Heaven
is all around
An everlasting place,
Where soft candyfloss clouds
Whisper and float up above.
Colours follow a journey, in our imagination.
The sky is a world,
A dream that we will remember
Filled with soft coconut ice,
Of birds with all kinds of colours.
Together from paradise to oceans.
Earth
is all around
Shimmering arches with
Dreams that drift underneath,
Creatures fly up to the stars
That glitter and shimmer
Where the heavens lie softly.
Songs of birds with sweet voices,
In the oceans dolphins frolic and leap
Up to the burning sunset sky.
By Danielle Mcnally
Heaven and Earth
Heaven is all around
in the perfect place where dreams
spread all around
the softness of the world.
It spreads gently but quickly.
The gentle touch from heaven.
Heaven is a place in my mind
Earth is all around
The rolling of white waves
go and come from many miles.
The oceans sway all day and night
rushing everywhere.
In the forest when the trees rustle
and the leaves tumble to the ground.
Earth can be tough or comforting.
By Aiden