I made a real visit to work with P2/3 and Mrs Crummy to finalise our work to be displayed along the school corridor. The children had decided at the last session that they would compose a letter to Mr. Madine and that I should also write a letter! Today was a bringing together of all the work and finding a way to present it to everyone.

Our discussions began with remembering all the things we had done so far…..

Mrs Crummy printed out some photographs of our explorations and journey and the children each wrote something to go along with the image for the display.

We discussed what order these should all go in and so the children laid their work out in a line along the floor of the classroom in order to get everything correctly positioned in relation to what we did and when during the process. It was a great way of revisiting  and remembering all the hard work and fun we had along the way!

 

I had remembered to bring along the books on Christo and these were scrutinised by the children in great detail….

 

          

Mary reads out the P2/3 letter to Mr Madine to the rest of the class and to me!

 

Here is the letter I wrote to Mr. Madine:

 

Dear Mr Madine

 

As you know I have been working with P2 / P3 and Mrs Crummy on the latest phase of the Virtually There project. We have been exploring ideas around the theme of ‘Pattern’. Our explorations have come a long way and in order to conclude our project we have worked towards the idea of wrapping the playground that the children use.

We would like the opportunity to explain to you what we are doing and show you all the work and research undertaken which has led us to this idea. It would take a long time to explain to you, fully in this letter, so we would like you to visit our display that will provide you with the background to this project and further details.

We have been inspired in particular by two artists called Christo and Jeanne-Claude. They were a husband and wife team who proposed and created some of the most wonderful public art projects of the last decades. They were internationally known for such projects as the wrapping of a whole coast in Australia in 1968/9 and the wrapping of the Reichstag in Berlin 1995.

 

All of these projects took a lot of planning and sometimes the projects were not realized because the authorities did not grant permission. We are therefore presenting you with our ideas in the hope that you might grant us permission to wrap the school playground.

 

Some of the reasons why we believe you should support our proposal are summarized below:

• The wrapping of the playground would provide an interesting means by which we could collect patterns of movement of those who use it. This relates to our explorations about pattern. We would be able to see footprints and marks of movement and weathering patterns.

• We are very excited about the idea of doing something very unique and spectacular. We believe that the playground would look amazing and would create a lot of interest particularly in the whole school community and beyond.

• In 1976 Christo proposed to wrap the walkways in St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin, but this idea was never realised. Eventually Christo brought this idea to fruition in Loose Park, Kansas City, Missouri, USA in 1978. We therefore like the link to the proposed Irish project and as a follow up to that unrealized project, we wish to re-ignite a similar idea by wrapping the school playground.

• You may recently have seen the images of the Temple of Hope in Derry – a public art event in which a beautiful wooden structure was built and finally burned. Such a project involves a huge team effort and the value of a project such as this, lies in its collaborative nature, as well as the potential to create a memorable experience. In wrapping the playground – a project that the children have imagined, and researched – it has the possibility to create a rich experience and retain an after-image and positive memories, long after the project itself ends.

We all look forward to welcoming you to the display and P2/3 classroom to discuss the project. I know you have a busy schedule but hope you can take some time to consider this proposal positively.

 

Very best wishes

 

Sharon Kelly

IMAGES OF OUR DISPLAY