John Graham Primary School teachers learnt how to create movable bird puppets from newspaper and masking tape at the Flight of Dreams Flying Puppets workshop at the school on Saturday August 12.
The workshop was presented by Liesl Hartman and Fabian Hartzenburg from the Peter Clarke Art Centre and the Ibhabhathane Project, and was funded through the Princess Vlei Forum.
Introducing the workshop, Bridget Pitt from the Princess Vlei Forum explained the philosophy behind the Flight of Dreams Project. “Too often, environmental education is about rules. We want to awaken a sense of wonder in children when contemplating nature, and nurture a love of wildlife and natural spaces. We have found that celebrating nature through art creation is one of the best ways of getting kids to really observe nature and to appreciate it. If they love it, they don’t need rules to tell them how to respect it and protect it,” she said.
Liesl Hartman, principal at the Peter Clarke Art Centre, demonstrated how the birds can be constructed with scrap paper and tape, along the way teaching many lessons about art, design, and natural science.
The workshop forms part of the Princess Vlei Forum’s Flight of Dreams project, which includes a parade and children’s concert to be held at Princess Vlei on Saturday September 23. Any teachers keen to hold workshops at their school, or participate in the event, can contact Bridget Pitt at imagine@princessvlei.org