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‘Do you draw it first?’
Lynsted and Norton Primary School help design a sculpture for the Community Orchard. (See pictures at bottom of this page)
On 5th October local artist Will Glanfield arrived at Lynsted and Norton Primary School to start a project aimed at creating a central feature in the new parish Community Orchard at Park Farm. Before an enthralled young audience he showed pictures of his previous work: large outdoor pieces in oak, carved to reflect a theme. One pupil asked: ‘Do you draw it first?’ The answer became clear later in the day!
We all marched off on a ‘cross country’ route to the orchard. Here everyone joined hands to form a huge circle in the open space between the rows of magnificent old cherry trees. School governor and senior parishioner Frank Champion explained some points of village history, and parish Tree Warden Bob Baxter stressed how important it was to hold on to our traditional cherry orchard in the face of the general loss of such orchards across England. The children then formed groups with their teachers, and, under a clear blue sky, explored the orchard, looking for themes and images that reflected the essence of the place.
It was then time to return to school and a well-earned lunch. Pencils, crayons and paper were produced, and, under the gentle guidance of Will, thoughts and ideas were converted to drawings. Will was most impressed by the wide range of ideas that the young minds could produce. Headteacher Carol Wakelin declared it a most successful day.
The subsequent work involved the selection of the most appropriate ideas, an exhibition of the drawings, some hands-on woodcarving for the children, and finally the production of the sculpture. Now that phase is complete and you can read more here...... or enter a competition to name the seat here....
This art project is one part of the programme, funded by the Heritage Lottery through the Local Heritage Initiative, allowing Lynsted with Kingsdown Parish Council to develop an attractive community space at Park Farm Cherry Orchard.
Bob Baxter, 11.10.04
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