Model Town!

Miles 142
carbon footprint 40kg
Expenses 7 euro food 25 euro materials






Today was the last day of my schools programme. I had decided to spend all day in the school in an effort to create a model of the main street. We had taken photographs of the main street on our walk a couple of weeks ago and Eamonn had drawn the children's attention to some of the architectural details.

It was a bit of an undertaking to try and do it with 32 kids in the space of 5 hours; on more than one occassion I found myself thinking I must have completely lost my mind, as we had done no sculptural work up to that point.

Still, the room was full of boxes and egg cartons of every conveivable shape and size so off we went. By lunchtime we had a series of 'buildings' that were covered in masking tape and wet wallpaper paste; it looked like disaster for sure.


And yet - by 2.30 with the application of paint, the whole thing had really come together! I breathed a sigh of relief and remembered that I planned it for a number of reasons

1) to really focus the attention of the children (and the local audience for the work) on the character of the buildings which are not architecturally thrilling but seen as models have a compelling visual interest!
2) to create something of public interest from the schools programme that could become part of an 'exhibit'
3) NOT UNIMPORTANTLY! to generate goodwill through my work with the kids so that it will be less strange and threataning when I arrive in town creating this odd exhibit.

When I got home I had an e-mail from the Arts Office enclosing the positive planning report regarding the Space Shuttle; all that remins now is for the Director of Services to call a special meeting of Councillors to approve the decision.

The wheels of bureaucracy.