Eden Project Competition
Our "Art for Eden" Primary School competition has now closed and we are delighted to announce the winners. Many of the entries were outstanding and we had a really difficult task choosing between them. Full details of the competition can be found below the lists of winners. If you are a parent of a winning pupil please see our special offers for purchasing your child's art (download pdf).
On Tuesday 27th April we met the class from Oldway Primary School in Paignton, Devon who had been given free entrance to the Eden Project for the day (courtesy of Sam Kendall at Eden) to see the winning competition art on display in the Spiral Garden. The school chose to have their prize of an A0 metal picture showing all the entries they submitted and we have a photo (left) of Libby Mitchell, overall 1st winner, Chloe Thompson (3rd) Chloe Wright and Jay Gales (both Highly Commended) receiving their award from Sue Hext Head of Picture It Schools. Sam Kendall, Education Officer at Eden and Claire Hill their teacher are also in the photo.
The group photo (right) shows the whole class in front of the art with the prizewinners in the foreground.
We were also delighted to visit Treverbyn County Primary School to present Krystal Berry (1st KS1) and Josh Clemow (3rd KS1) with their awards and metal pictures for displaying in their school playground (above right). This school is situated close to the Eden Project and so we hope that many of the children and parents will get chance to visit Eden and see the winning pictures.
Our winning art from Picture It Schools “Art for Eden” competition is now on display in the Spiral Garden. If you are in Cornwall over the next few weeks why not visit the Eden Project and see the display for yourself?
The Brief
We had two different categories, selected by Sam Kendall, Educational Officer at the Eden Project:
- Plants and Me - We use plants daily; our morning cup of coffee, oats and wheat in our cereal, cotton in our clothes, aspirin for headaches, mint in toothpaste and wood for the chairs we sit on. Plants provide us with all of life’s essentials. They are the vital link that captures the sun’s energy and enables life to exist on planet earth.
- Patterns in Nature - The Eden Project has used nature's patterns to inspire and inform their architecture. The Biome design was based on the hexagon – nature's most efficient building block and just perfect for a bee looking to build a home fit for a Queen. Plants grow from a central point so can't use hexagons, they prefer nature's other superstructure; opposing spirals. Symmetry is everywhere in nature and a magnifying glass will reveal some amazing patterns. Both Plants and Nature provide endless opportunity for inspiring artwork
Results
The competition was divided into Foundation, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 entries. Here are the results.
Foundation - We didn't have enough entries for our Foundation section which met the briefs. We decided therefore to award a HIGHLY COMMENDED to Newton St Cyres School for their Caterpillar entry which we are sure they had great fun finger painting!
Key Stage 1 Winners - Some great entries here and our winners were:
1st - Krystal Berry, Treverbyn Primary, St Austell
2nd - Class 2, Newton St Cyres, Exeter
3rd - Joshua Clemow, Treverbyn Primary, St Austell
Highly Commended - Isaac Ogden, Plymtree C of E Primary, Cullompton
Keystage 2 Winners
1st - Libby Mitchell, Oldway Primary School, Paignton
2nd - Year 4, Senacre Wood Primary, Maidstone
3rd - Chloe Thompson, Oldway Primary
Highly Commended - Chloe Wright, Oldway Primary
Highly Commended - Kiona Davies, St Swithins RC Primary, Southsea
Highly Commended - Jay Gales, Oldway Primary School
Also two schools which really impressed us with the way they had thought about how they could meet our briefs, "Patterns in Nature" and "Plants and Me" deserve a special mention.
Oldway Primary School - Patterns in Nature
Libby Mitchell from Oldway Primary School in Paignton won 1st prize in Key Stage 2, and also was our overall winner. Class 7, under the tutorage of Mrs Claire Hill produced some extremely well thought out and detailed work. They had been studying the designs of William Morris, and his use of plants and nature to produce his patterns which were then repeated over and over again. The class noted how there are so many patterns which occur naturally in nature; feathers on a bird, patterns on leaves and petals; and decided to base their entries around this. The children then drew one or two pictures and then photocopied them and arranged four copies together before making a final copy which they then coloured. The four parts were also linked together with a spiral design. The fact that we have awarded 1st, 3rd and two Highly Commended (KS1) to Class 7 reflects not only how difficult it was to choose the winners, but the fact that all of their 25 entries impressed us!
Senacre Wood Primary School - Plants and Me
Senacre Wood Primary in Maidstone submitted group work by Year 4 based on the flower designs on the Ardabil carpet which is in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Their teacher, Julieanne Long explains how the picture came about......
"The children looked at how plant designs have been used on textiles throughout the ages in clothing and on furnishings, and then focused on the Ardabil carpet. They copied some of the flower designs on the carpet, next they created their own flower designs in a similar style. When they finished making their collage flowers and sticking them on small pieces of card, the class arranged them to create their own carpet".
The judges felt that many of the individual flower designs were beautiful, and when they were all put together as a carpet the overall effect was stunning! If we could have awarded two 1st prizes in the KS1 group, then this would have been joint 1st!
The Prizes
- All these pictures will be on display at the Eden Project, Cornwall for at least six weeks commencing at the start of the Easter Holidays. You will be able to find them in the Spiral Garden which is behind the Core.
- Oldway Primary School will be presented with an A0 metal picture of the winning art which they can display inside or outdoors in the playground.
- Treverbyn Primary School, St Austell will also have an A0 metal picture of their winning entry.
- All winners will be sent a certificate printed on metal for display at school or for the artist to keep.
- As overall winner of the competition, Libby Mitchell and her class will be given a day's free entry to the Eden Project (courtesy of Eden) where not only can they see the winning art on display but they will be presented with their certificates and picture to take back to the school. We hope to get some photographs of their day at Eden on our website in due course.
Thank you to everyone who entered
We hope that the children and teachers enjoyed the project as much as we enjoyed opening our mail and studying the entries. Art plays such an important part in our lives and it's value in helping children to express themselves when they can't always find the right words, is universally recognised. Picture It Schools hopes to encourage schools to nurture this ability to explore art in all its diversity from an early age and the sense of achievement and ownership a child feels when their art is displayed publically.
Picture It Schools would like to thank Sam Kendall, Education Officer at the Eden Project for her help and support with this competition, and for allowing us to display the winning pictures at Eden and we would encourage you to visit and see all that Eden has to offer.
The Eden Project - www.edenproject.com
The Eden Project calls itself a ‘global garden’ existing to help people rediscover their connection to the nature world. It is an unforgettable experience, to use their own words, Eden is…about simple pleasures; enjoying tasty food, rediscovering what puts the great into the great outdoors, imaginative play for children, taking time to stop and smell the flowers, having a good time. The Eden Project believes that the world we live in faces a change and that we have the unique opportunity to remake our world. They have made it their aim to help build a positive future. Through exhibits, events, ‘rock and roll horticulture’, educational programs, art, music and storytelling they exist to explore our dependency on the natural world and aim to rebuild an understanding of the natural world lost from many people’s lives today. Eden’s Education Centre, the Core, is the centre for events, exhibitions and learning for all ages. It is a building that encapsulates all Eden’s aims of sustainability to provide a space for both the public and educational groups to learn, to play, to be entertained and to discover. The winning art will be displayed outside the Core in the Spiral Garden which will provide a unique exhibition space for the winning entries.
Competition for Primary Schools in partnership with the Eden Project
Our art competition in conjunction with Eden will be closing in February. You can download the Eden project competition application form and full information here (PDF 1MB). Remember the closing date for entries is 5pm 11th February 2010!
The Eden Project
The Eden Project calls itself a ‘global garden’ existing to help people rediscover their connection to the nature world. It is an unforgettable experience, to use their own words, Eden is…about simple pleasures; enjoying tasty food, rediscovering what puts the great into the great outdoors, imaginative play for children, taking time to stop and smell the flowers, having a good time.
The Eden Project believes that the world we live in faces a change and that we have the unique opportunity to remake our world. They have made it their aim to help build a positive future. Through exhibits, events, ‘rock and roll horticulture’, educational programs, art, music and storytelling they exist to explore our dependency on the natural world and aim to rebuild an understanding of the natural world lost from many people’s lives today. Eden’s Education Centre, the Core, is the centre for events, exhibitions and learning for all ages. It is a building that encapsulates all Eden’s aims of sustainability to provide a space for both the public and educational groups to learn, to play, to be entertained and to discover. The winning art will be displayed outside the Core in the Spiral Garden which will provide a unique exhibition space for the winning entries.
The Competition
Divided into 3 age groups: Foundation, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 Competition Judges will include Sue Hext (Head of Creative Design Picture It PhotoArt and Picture It Schools) and Sam Kendall (Eden Project)
The Brief: Patterns in Nature or Plants and Me
Individual Art entries must be 2D and on A4 paper. Composite entries by more than one artist may be up to A0 in size but also 2D and on paper. Pictures should be based on either of these themes. Below Sam Kendall from the Eden Project gives some guidelines for teachers to consider.
Patterns in Nature
At the Eden Project we've used nature's patterns to inspire and inform our architecture. The Biome design was based on the hexagon – nature's most efficient building block and just perfect for a bee looking to build a home fit for a Queen. Plants grow from a central point so can't use hexagons, they prefer nature's other superstructure; opposing spirals.
Opposing spirals? Check out the number of spirals in a sunflower head, or a pinecone or a pineapple. They will go in two directions and the number of spirals in each direction will correspond to a consecutive pair in the following sequence, where each number is the sum of the previous two…
0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144
It's called the Fibonacci sequence, named for the 13th Century Italian mathematician who first identified it. Ron Knott of Surrey University has produced a fantastically comprehensive website all about the Fibonacci Sequence, www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibnat.html.
Symmetry is everywhere in nature too and a google image search on patterns in nature or symmetry in nature will bring up loads of inspiring images. Even better, equip your students with cameras and magnifiers and get out into your local green space to seek out your own natural patterns.
Plants and me
How many plants have you used today? That morning cup of coffee, oats and wheat in your breakfast cereal, cotton in your clothes, aspirin for your headache, mint in your toothpaste and wood for the chair you're sitting on – plants provide us with all of life's essentials. They are the vital link that captures the sun's energy and enables life to exist on planet earth.
Plants connect us to people and places around the globe. Where does chocolate grow, and who grows it? You can find out all about chocolate and trade here www.papapaa.org.
Plants inspire us; think poetry and Wordsworth's daffodils, language – are you a hard nut to crack or a wallflower, and customs – Christmas trees and kissing under the mistletoe.
Plants provide endless opportunity for inspiring artwork, and there's nothing better than first hand experience. Every primary school in the UK has received a Great Plant Hunt box, www.greatplanthunt.org, and both this and www.plantscafe.net are great places to start your investigation of the plant world to inspire your students' artwork.
Terms & Conditions
- There is no cost to enter the competition
- Each school that enters will receive a voucher for 10% discount on any art they order through Picture It Schools within 12 months of the competition closing date
- There is NO obligation to purchase any art from us
- Entries can be group projects or individual work. This must be clearly marked on the reverse of the entry. We are unable to accept entries from individual children not entering through their school. All entries must be submitted by a school on our official entry form
- The standard of children’s art currently on display at Eden is extremely high and the judges reserve the right to not award prizes if the entries do not reach the current standard. Judges’ decisions will be final. (Mosaic shown on the next page is by Doubletrees Special School with the aid of local mosaic artist Michelle O’Connor. This is shown as an example of the current standard of art at Eden)
- Whilst the mosaic shown here was created with help from an artist, all entries for this competition must be the work of the school children.
- Unfortunately we are unable to return any competition entries
- Press coverage – Picture It PhotoArt, Picture It Schools and the Eden Project reserve the right to use photographs of the winning art in situ in their printed and online publicity material and to promote their organisations through the advertising of this competition
- Full terms and conditions will be on the reverse of the entry form which will be available shortly for downloading
Prizes
- The school winning 1st prize in each age group will be given an A0 size metal picture of their winning entry for indoor or outdoor display
- The winning art will be displayed at the Eden Project in an outdoor setting (for a period of not less than four weeks) along with a composite panel of 9 runners up (3 from each age group)
- An overall winner will be chosen from the three 1st prize winners and the Eden Project will give free entry to Eden to one class or group from that school (t&c apply – details to follow)
There will be an opportunity for all schools entering to order their pictures reproduced on any of our products at discounted prices to sell to parents/friends/guardians under our fundraising scheme and raise money for the school.
Important Dates
Closing date will be 5pm Thursday 11th February 2010 – winning schools will be notified by mid March. Winning entries will be displayed at the Eden Project for four weeks over the Easter School Holidays 2010. Full details and entry forms are available to download:
We reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions at any time up to the date of publication of entry forms.
