Gorgeous poems from children at Marsden Infant and Nursery School for Our Darkness and Light Animation were created with poet Louise Fazackerley. Louise said: “Marsden Y2 thought about Marsden by moonlight and Marsden on a sunny day and shared stories of sheep creating havoc!”
Cool Day by Year 2
We wake up on weekends in Marsden.
We see the sun, circular like a doughnut, shining spotlessly down.
Water sparkles like sugar.
Houses are chocolate and caramel.
In the morning the moors are rolling.
Sheep shimmying, deer dancing,
horses and hares galloping and prancing
like trees at a party.
Kids with dogs running round fields
and swimming in the water
Farmers at the Co-op, eating ice cream
Musicians drumming in the Jazz Festival
“What a pretty place.”
“I’m quite tired after all this.”
I imagine crocodiles splashing and snapping in the green moss
Night Moon by Year 2
At night in Marsden I see lampposts humming
At first scared, then bored, then excited
I imagine Moon smiling at their reflection
The lights are on
Aeroplanes outside the window
Red, black and white.
Cars headlights- their wheels drowelling
Muddy sheep wiping feet on mats
Baaing in streets, munching and nuzzling
‘Mum! There’s a sheep in the garden!’
Mum is snoring…
Mini-beasts escaping from magic dens
I imagine shiny Moon sad in the millpond
I wish I lived in Marsden
…and “Y1 children thought about the idea of light and dark in terms of good and bad and we made some super monsters using silly sounds as inspiration.”
The Crazy Creature in the Canal by year 1
I was walking my dog,
about to go fishing when
a crazy creature came out of the canal.
Octin Schoolbird had a rainbow tongue
which was long and evilly scary.
She had three mouths
and snakes growing from her cheeks.
She was holding a hammer, a shield and a bat person.
She was ultra-mega tall with a thousand tentacles.
My dog had a diamond collar.
She said, ‘Give it to me or I’ll throw my pet megladon at you.’
My dog said, ‘No way!’
Octin disappeared as my dog chased her away.
The Monster of Marsden Moors by Year 1
Poppy Fogslug had flamingo pink hair.
It was wet like fog.
She had five, blue eyes like icy fire.
Her clothes were witch clothes.
Her pointy hat was black.
In a creepy voice she says, ‘I can see you
with your chocolate and vanilla ice cream.
I really love those jelly beans.
Stealing from you is a perfect dream.’
Another monster came to save me
She had a half cat and half Super Baby face.
Her body was like a Transformer
That changed into a car.
Poppy drives away on her zebra motorbike.
The backdrops created with the children at Marsden Infants and Nursery were based on the landscape around Marsden in both day light and at night and included a dip where cut out waves were to be animated to create a reservoir.
“The children loved the process of making the giant mono-printed backdrops with the exciting reveal creating a ‘wow’ moment every time!” says Chloe Williams of The Children’s Art School.
“As at Birkby Junior School, each child also created a puppet of themselves using continuous line drawing, encouraging them to treasure the unexpected character that emerged and leading them to understand that they all have the potential to be artists. These year 1 and 2 children were so open to the idea of using a continuous line and were delighted by the results. What really impressed me was the mindful concentration that these young children showed whilst drawing and the really thoughtful attention to detail.”
Thank you to Year 1 and 2 for all your creativity and hard work!
Catch the world premiere of Our Darkness and Light Animation at Our Biennale’s Big Draw and Play Day on Saturday 10th November at Huddersfield Library.