Flying Minpin Birds
Eilis Hanson is a primary school teacher who loves to get art into the curriculum, wherever and whenever she can! She has a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Newcastle University and studied at Universität für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna during her third year there. More recently, she has studied watercolour painting in Verona. Eilis has taught children in Indonesia, Japan and Italy and now lives and works in Cambridge. She has exhibited sculptures, prints and installations in Newcastle, Vienna and Istanbul.
‘
Watch the birds as they fly above your heads and, who knows, you might well spy a tiny creature riding
high on the back of a swallow or a raven… And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world
around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t
believe in magic will never find it.’
Roald Dahl – The Minpins
Roald Dahl’s incredible book The Minpins (1991) was our year 3 class reader for four weeks and linked to our Geography, English and Art lessons as we explored the idea of imaginary worlds. The story inspired us to design and make our own birds for a tiny Minpin to ride upon. Alongside this project, the class drew their own maps of imaginary worlds and imagining themselves as Minpins, wrote about their flights and adventures through them.
The children began by looking carefully at photos of British garden birds. They then designed their own bird for a Minpin to ride on, taking inspiration from the photos and illustrations in Roald Dahl’s book.
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Jo T
October 29, 2020 @ 9:15 am
What a great project and a beautiful quote!
Did you attach the wings when the clay was drying or did you glue the wings on once the clay had dried?
Great work, well done!
Jo
Jo W
July 19, 2023 @ 10:25 am
Hiya, Can you recommend an artist that might link to this?
Rachel
July 19, 2023 @ 10:52 am
Hi Jo, you might want to look at our two ‘Talking Points’ on birds and choose an artist or project from there to support the Minpn Birds project. You can find both talking points here:
https://www.accessart.org.uk/talking-points-inspired-by-birds/
and
https://www.accessart.org.uk/talking-points-what-can-we-learn-from-birds/
I hope this helps!
Frankie L
June 24, 2024 @ 2:18 pm
Anyone know where you can find template’s similar to this?
Rachel
June 24, 2024 @ 4:19 pm
Hi Frankie, we don’t have a specific template but you can based yours on the one shown in the resource, or you may find an alternative through an internet search? Hope this helps!
Zoe T
July 25, 2024 @ 11:53 am
Is it possible to stick the wings and decorations on to wet clay?
Rachel
August 5, 2024 @ 9:51 am
Hi Zoe, we would recommend waiting for the clay to dry and adding the additions with glue then. Hope that helps!
Nikki S
October 8, 2024 @ 8:14 am
Hello,
Does PVA glue work for sticking or do you need something stronger?
Thanks,
Nikki
Rachel
October 8, 2024 @ 10:17 am
Hi Nikki, PVA is pretty strong glue if the correct amount is used. The children may need guidance on not using so much everything moves around too much – but also not being too sparing so nothing sticks! Stronger glues will probably be a bit smelly and costly. Hope this helps!