Published at 09:17, Friday, 27 May 2011

Hundreds of tiny windmills are bringing a splash of colour to the village of Wreay, near Carlisle.

Lucy Hannen-Gaughy, Coren Lamb and Madison Russell in the windmills meadow

• Video: In the windmills meadow

The meadow beside the village school has been transformed thanks to the talents of its 75 pupils with a bit of help from Kirkby Stephen artist Steve Messam.

Many of the windmills have been hand-made by the children, some as young as four, as part of the government-funded art project Creative Futures.

Steve has been working with Wreay School since January but it has been more intensive since May.

He said: “We were doing work in 3D and outside and we wanted it to link loosely with what each of the year groups was doing as part of the curriculum.

“One group, for instance, has been doing about toys and so windmills came in very easily, while reception have been looking at bugs so they’ve made little bugs that have been slotted in between the windmills.

“But the main aim has been for them to have fun and we also wanted to give the children the experience of being part of such a big art installation and get a taste of what I do. We wanted them to work on a silly scale.”

He added: “They’ve called the installation Wooshy Spinny and as a spinney is a little wooded area it is a nice play on words.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever worked with a school like this before where they’ve devised everything and I’ve just been able to pass on some of my knowledge and skills.

“Usually I have a good idea in my mind how something is going to look and how I’m going to get there, but not in this case.”

Steve is well known for his large art installations, including 3,500 sandcastles on St Bees beach and a large inflatable sculpture in the form of a raindrop in the Lake District.

Wreay headteacher Claire Render said: “This has been absolutely brilliant for the children. They’ve had a fantastic time, you can tell by all the noise and the smiles on their faces when they see it.

“It is great to have Steve here, an artist of his calibre and getting the children to think in a different way. That has been invaluable.”

Government funding for Creative Futures is coming to an end after seven years because of public spending cuts. It will continue in Cumbria but charges for schools are likely to apply.

Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk