A POETRY book and the sculptor who made wire statues on Rugby’s roundabouts have inspired children at a primary school to celebrate nature.
Tony Davies – who worked on the sculptures of Rugby players which were unveiled at junctions around the town in 2015 – visited Bilton C of E Junior School to help pupils produce their own five foot tall statue of a hare.
The pupils have taken inspiration from The Lost Words – a book which celebrates words of the natural world which are falling out of use – to explore their use of language and imagery linked to nature, with a specific focus on the hare.
Tony – whose latest works were recently unveiled at the former Mr Kipling roundabout in Leicester Road – joined them during Art Week to help them complete the sculpture, which now takes pride of place in the school’s meadow area.
He said: “After sculpting so many figures to go on the roundabouts in Rugby, it has been a pleasure to create something with children in Rugby at Bilton Junior School who have been inspired by them.
“I hope they enjoy having their own sculpture at the school that they have all helped to make. Thank you to all the staff and the children for making me feel so welcome.”
Year 4 pupil Fatimah said: “Art Week has been fabulous! Tony has made a structure of a hare out of wire, which we helped with, and we made birds out of paper mache.
“We went out in the shade and helped Tony with the hare. We had to weave the wire. We also asked him some questions. It was amazing!”
The school’s art leader Faye McKee said: “The Lost Words is such a beautiful book with so much meaning and lends itself beautifully to art work. I didn’t want these words that are linked to our natural environment to disappear forever from our pupil’s vocabulary.
“I wanted to immortalise these lost words in some way so I came across Tony Davies’ recent work on the traffic islands in town and was sure that he could help.
“Our hare is looking amazing and standing proud. Tony and our pupils have done an excellent job of wire weaving. I’m sure this week is one to remember in many ways for the pupils.”
Head teacher Alexandra Norton said: “The children have been totally captivated by the activities. They have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to translate their thoughts about nature into an artistic form.
“Art Week has given the children chance to actively celebrate the role of the creatures and plants in our everyday lives.
“We are incredibly thankful to Tony, who has been an inspiration for our youngsters, and encouraged them to think about and develop their artistic skills.”
