Our World
This is the power of art: The power to transcend our own self-interest, our solipsistic zoom-lens on life, and relate to the world and each other with more integrity, more curiosity, more wholeheartedness.”
Maria Popova ~ Author and Poet
Seventeen schools share their work for the NEP Summer Show 2023
The theme for this year's show came from the children. Children's representatives, our Junior MPs at the Northwich Pupil Parliament asked that we work across the borough to raise awareness of and appreciation for the environment, especially the other species we share our town and local area with.
Children are very aware of the threats from climate change and environmental degradation caused by human activity. They know that threats to the natural world will impact on themselves and other people as much as they will other species under more imminent threat.
The exhibition asks viewers to act locally and think globally. Can we reduce car and energy use? Can we buy less single use plastic? Can choose to want for less and appreciate more the environment we have. Northwich and the wider area is blessed with wildflower planting, parks and urban forests including some ancient woodland.
Children also know that the time to act is now. Children born now and many of our younger children may still be here in 2100. Will our ancient woodland, urban forests and the other natural places still be here for our children and grandchildren to enjoy?
Lower Peover CE Primary
Plastic Whales
Acrylic, emulsion and repurposed plastic waste
Children at Lower Peover have been studying Ocean habitats and the problem of plastic waste. The whale children made shows how the plastic we throw away in Cheshire can end up in the ocean, hurting marine creatures and destroying habitats.
Children chose a whale to show us the scale of plastic pollution. The Blue Whale is the largest animal ever known to have lived, larger than any dinosaur.
Children hope their work will encourage people to rethink their use of plastic and avoid the single use plastiuc packaging that is such a big part of the problem.
Leftwich Primary Academy
Bear in the Stars
mixed media on canvas
Children at Leftwich Community Primary School have been reading The Bear in the Stars by Alexis Snell. The story charts the journey of the Great White Bear, across manyt different climate zones, as she searches for a home after hers has been destroyed by climate change. Alexis Snell said she wanted the booik to highlight that we need to show:'kindness and respect for our environment and for others who are a little different from ourselves.' Leftwich fully support these sentiments at their school.
Their work was created by a series of acrylic press prints. Children used these images to imagine our own journey for the Great White Bear. Starting on the ice cap and moving through the different zones until she finally settles as a star in the sky. They enjoyed using wax resist and the colours they could make using Brusho.
Moulton Community Primary
Seascapes
Mixed media
Moulton children worked together over time to make their works for the exhibition. Just as we will all need to do if we are to protect the natural world for future generations.
St Bede's RC Primary
Our Home
Collage
Year 4 thought about how the world is our home. Our planet provides everything we need to live well. We need to look after and protect our world soe can continue to enjoy its beauty for generations to come.
Children used a mixture of paint, paper, pastel and textiles (fabric) to make two collages of our beautiful home planet ~ Earth!
Rudheath Primary Academy and Nursery
Reuse the Past, Recycle the Present, Save the Future
Found materials
Rudheath Primary Academy and Nursery have created two art projects with the theme of recycling to save the environment:
The recycled materials were collected from staff and children from home and at lunchtimes.
All the Year 4 and 2 children contributed to the art projects and both year groups are very proud of their work.
Crowton Church of England Primary
Mixed media
Victoria Road Primary Academy
after Romero Britto
Paint on canvas and collage
Work based on the artist Romero Britto. Inspired by their recent litter pick, children made images of the environment they had noticed while our and about. The rubbish in their work was litter found on the pick to add further detail.
Hartford Manor Community Primary
Down the Back Path...
Mixed media
This work is by Kingfisher class (Y3) and Woodpecker class (Y3). It has been inspired by Marshall’s Arm Nature Reserve - Hartford Manor's local environment. Kingfisher class looked at the creatures that lived in and around the water, whilst Woodpecker class focussed on the birds that live in the woodland. Both pieces are mixed media and all the pupils have included something hiding within the environment.
Children used a combination of ink, acrylic paint, oil pastel, pencil, pencil crayons and collage to create the art pieces.
Kingsmead Community Primary
Just One Blade of Grass?
Acrylic on canvas with paper sculptures
'Come on now. Get over y'self. You're just one blade of grass on the field of humanity.'
These words of wisdom were from a loving grandparent, shared when things were worrying, or someone might be thinking their wants or needs should come above someone else’s. They were last heard back in the 1970s but have been remembered and have inspired our work for the 2023 NEP Art Project on environment.
Our field of grass is a wild meadow. Wild places may be under threat from climate change, development and pollution but our town and parish councils have been planting meadows and wild areas to encourage wildlife be it birds, bees, butterflies, other insects or plants. Biodiversity is good for the environment and nature is known to improve our own mental and physical health.
The grass looks the same but each blade is unique, a handful of fingers from someone in Year 2 or Year 4 at our school. In an age of attention grabbing media and celebrity, children have less experience of just appreciating the ordinary, including our own and rather wonderful human ordinariness.
The flowers were made by recycling magazines and papers. They remind us that the world does not give us infinite resources and to have a sustainable and happy future we should be mindful of all our consumption. The children’s beautiful flowers, made at home with their loving families remind us that things are most beautiful when they’re made with love and tread lightly on the Earth.
Our field of the grass invites the viewer to ask …
What makes me similar or different to other people?
Am I any more important or special than anyone else?
Can I live more harmoniously with the natural world?
How do I affect the lives of other people and the wildlife I share my home town with?
How might I live in harmony with my human neighbours and the natural world?
We invited all the children who wanted to, to sign the work to show that they were happy to be one blade of grass in the field of humanity. Not an ‘I Am The Artist’ signature but one small, beautifully written name...
...on just one blade of grass.
Witton Church Walk CE Primary
Saving Our Seas
Mixed media on canvas
Witton's diptych (a work on two panels) invites us to look at the world through an unusual lens. So much Art about the environment in the C21 can be warning of an apocalyptic future if we humans don't get our act together. Which is true enough. The current Turner Prize Exhibition at Tate Liverpool being a sublime example or Art as a warning to us all. But Witton children are daring to see the world differently and bring a smessage of hope. Read from left to right, they invite the viewer to imagine a cleaner, brighter future. And whether our seas have a bright, cleaner future or a more apocalyptic outcome? Well that's really down to one species. Us. Homo Sapiens.
Little Leigh Primary Academy
The Secret Sky Garden
Mixed media
Based on a book by Linda Sarah, children learned about the importance for us all of keeping the environment clean and what we can do to transform and improve it.
Children used old school newslpapers as material for flowers, using bruso (water soluble ink) to dye them interesting colours. We cut out the petals and used buttons in the centre to sew them together. Our goal was to only used reused or recycled materials so we used material from continuous provision for the background to our wildflower meadows.
Photograph of a beautiful meadow, taken on residential, which provided inspiration.
Children designed a flower to add to their own secret garden in school.
Whitegate CE Primary
The Earth Is the Lord's
Painted sculpture [Y4] and collage [Y2]
Whitegate explored the theme of environment. They discussed different environments: nature, homes, their church. Children reflected on what they can do to care for the environment by not littering, walking, cycling or scooting to school. The children's ideas were recorded as simple vibrant images to link with the notion that our environment is a precious gift for which which we should show love and respect.
Antrobus St Marks CE Primary
The Last Patch
Painted sculpture
To make their work the children first had to come up with ideas. Many came from a book they were reading The Paper Bag Prince.
Taking the theme of shrinking environments and buildings and people leaving less and less room for the natural world, all the children helped to make a thought provoking cityscape.
Sandiway Primary Academy
Collage and mixed media
Two very different interpretations of the theme Our World from the children of Sandiway.
Littered Landmarks
Children in Year 2 have been learning how to sketch famous landmarks around the world. The children's favourite sketches were then represented as prints. They printed a selection of these images of famous landmarks and collaboratively created a piece of art based on littering our world. More than two million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK every day. Litter is anything from a crisp packet to a bag of rubbish. All litter is unsightly and makes our local environment look untidy and uncared for. So please remember to take your litter away!
Wonderful Wildlife
Year 4 have created a piece of artwork focussing on the natural beauty of our world and to celebrate British wildlife particularly British birds. British birds have been in gradual decline for the last few decades, but the loss of species has dropped dramatically in recent years, with some species falling by up to 95%. Birds are losing their habitats due to the devastation to the environment caused by humans – particularly due to changes in agriculture, population growth, transport, intensive farming, and a demand for cheap mass-produced goods, all contribute to the decline of British wildlife. Children in Year 4 wanted to express how lucky we are to have so many beautiful birds on our doorstep.
Winnington Park Community Primary
Collage and mixed media
Plastic Sean and Recycling Whale
Plastic Sea tells us how it is, the problem of plastic, especially the single use packaging so much of which ends up in the ocean. Recycling Whale invites us to make decisions that will bring about a better future for our seas.
Weaverham Forest Community Primary
Collage and mixed media
from Furry Caterpillars to Beautiful Butterflies
Weaverham Forest's class topic for this half term is mini beasts. Children are currently looking after some very furry caterpillars and are waiting patiently for them to turn into beautiful butterflies. The have been many a mini beast hunt on our school field and children are going to our local woodland, Owley woods to hunt for even more creatures as well as to conduct a litter pick. Creating a butterfly life cycle for our artwork felt like the perfect link to the wonderful environment we are lucky to have around us.
The children have used a variety of art techniques to create the different elements of the final piece. The background and some leaves have been created by sponging paint to give them texture. The butterfly and other leaves were made by laying bleeding tissue paper over large paper with added pipe cleaner antennae. Children layered brown parcel paper over card to create the pupae with some gold paint to add effect. They painted bubble wrap with green paint before rolling it up to create a caterpillar. They then painted and attached pipe cleaner legs. Twisted parcel paper made a fantastic branch. Finally, some expert year 2 cutters used different types of scissors to cut the shapes and then they helped to use a hot glue gun to put our creation together.
Wincham Community Primary
Collage and drawing using found objects
3 Global Goals
The 17 Global Goals are very important to the Wincham school community. They are woven into the curriculum and children and adults at Wincham strive to play their part in making the world a better place. Their work this year is linked to three of these goals:
Responsible consumption and production; life below water and life on land.
Sea turtles are affected by plastic at every stage of their life. They crawl through plastic as hatchlings on their way to the ocean; they swim through it while migrating and confuse it for jellyfish, their favourite food. Our work considers how to reuse plastic safely and protecting our environment by disposing of it safely as global citizens.
So Much In Common
The work in our exhibition includes contributions from the variety of state school provision in the town. Some children learn in Community Schools under the Local Education Authority ~ CW&C. Some learn in faith schools under the guidance of Church of England and Roman Catholic Diocese. Others learn in Multi Academy Trusts, overseen by a board of trustees. Special Schools too are part of our partnership.
Christians and Muslims believe that two humans, Adam and Eve, were the first humans. They were tasked by God to care for the Earth, the Earth and all its living things which God had made. Care for the world is a key tenant in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and other faiths. Humanists may not have a religious faith but they also think we are trustees of the Earth, believing that humans, with our unique level of intelligence and consciousness, have responsibility to care for our planet. We hold our world in trust for those who come after us: our children, grandchildren and all the other species we share our beautiful Earth with.