Pupils from St Nicholas Church in Wales have visited their neighbouring development, Cae Newydd, to see the results of their creative workshops immortalised in one of the play areas by a local artist.
17 Year 6 pupils visited the development with our south Wales division’s Jodie Woodman and artist David Mackie to cut the ribbon on bespoke seating crafted from natural stone and decorated with his designs inspired by their own drawings.
The children had taken part in workshops with David over three years ago when in Year 4, along with the then-Year 5 and Year 6 pupils. They explored the area’s history, geography and natural history to inspire their designs which incorporated early Bronze Age artefacts found locally and Celtic-inspired patterns as well as local animals and plants.
These then formed the basis of the artist’s designs now immortalised in etched imagery and cast bronze laid into the stone seating areas for the community of Cae Newydd and beyond to enjoy.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is only now that the children have been able to view the seating, and they cut a ribbon to mark the occasion.
“It is really important to us to work with local communities and reflect the local area in our developments – and who better to help us here than local schoolchildren working with a local artist?” said Jodie.
“St Nicholas is such a historic village, we wanted to create a lasting legacy that echoed local natural and historical heritage and for future generations to enjoy.
“We’re really grateful for the children’s participation in the project with David: they are truly beautiful designs that we hope they will one day proudly show their children and maybe even their grandchildren!”
The ribbon was cut by pupil, Harleigh, who lives with her family at Cae Newydd. As they explored the work, she and her classmates commented that the seating is “amazing, epic and beautiful” and that they liked both the simple and more intricate designs, the texture and the detail.
“It was a wonderful experience for the children to be involved in a project based on the historical significance that is literally on their doorstep,” said deputy headteacher Rhys Jones.
“It’s been great for them to be able to see the results of their work brought to fruition by Redrow and David here today.”
Artist David was delighted to see the children’s reactions.
“It was brilliant to see the children again, how enthusiastic they were about seeing the results of their work and exploring the designs, as well as how pleased their teachers were that we had focused on the rich heritage of the local area to create something enduring,” he said.
