Take One Picture

Year three from Moss Park Junior School, Manchester Moss Park Junior School in Manchester have been very busy creating lots of exciting work based on a painting from the Walker Art Gallery. The painting they chose to look at was 'Venus and Anchises' by the artist William Blake Richmond. Lead teacher for the arts Mrs Richardson and pupils from the school tell us more about the project:

This year's Take One Picture project based on the painting 'Venus and Anchises' was brilliant! Every year group looked at the painting differently and produced amazing art work that they then shared with their parents and the local community through a final exhibition:

Year 3 looked at the animals in the painting, designed and made lion masks and also created their own lion dance which they performed and recorded.
Year 4 looked at the flowers in the painting. They wrote poems describing the scene and produced detailed watercolour paintings. They also made wire flowers, creating petals out of their paintings.
Year 5 were interested in the doves in the painting and produced colourful pieces using their own stylised versions of the dove in flight and the nature around them.
Year 6 looked at the transition of spring to autumn as Venus walks through the painting and used a number of techniques to create this.

The children felt very proud of their pieces of work and their exhibition. They also really enjoyed exploring other subjects through the painting. Omolola in year 4 said:

I especially enjoyed making the wire flowers because although it was tricky and challenging, we all thought they looked amazing when they had been finished.

Ziyaad in year 4 said:

Everyone really enjoyed Take one Picture week and we would definitely do it again if we could.

Dion in year 6 said:

I had so much fun, learned a lot and mainly it looked awesome.

The children in year 5 were lucky enough to have their work displayed at the Walker and were incredibly proud to visit and see their work exhibited in a national gallery. Take One Picture captured the imagination and creativity of the children and teachers and we will definitely be taking part again next year!

The Walker Art Gallery runs Take One Picture each year. An exhibition of work created by schools involved this years project is on display at the Walker until Aug 30. Take One Picture promotes cross-curricular learning and the use of a painting as a starting point for teaching and learning. To find out more contact christina.waugh@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk