The Saviour

I wanted to make the bonfire because it saved prince Prahlad. The scrunched up tissue paper looks bumpy and colourful like a real fire. The gold is like yellow and it is a very happy colour and a colour of spring. The paint is colourful and bright and I used the paintbrush to make it look like flames. The fire killed the king’s bad sister Holika and in the Holi festival the people celebrate prince Prahlad being saved. They think about God who is very happy and powerful like the fire. Purple reminds me of winter because it is dark. 

Hindus have a bonfire because they are celebrating prince Prahlad. When I have seen a bonfire it has made me feel happy and a little bit scared because it was big and hot. I am very brave now so I would feel excited.

I want people to see my picture and think of bonfires and have happy thoughts.

Alice Wisson, age 5

The Flaming Bonfire

Holika tried to kill Prahlad by asking him to sit in the bonfire with her. She had a special cloak. Prahlad kept on believing that God would save him and God did.  Prahlad is important to learn about because he is brave and intelligent and prays to God.  The fire shows God’s love.

I used blue Plasticine to go around the fire. Blue is the colour of some of the Hindu Gods. Shiva is the master of destruction and he has blue skin which makes him look scary because I have never seen blue skin before.

Edward Kauffman, age 6

Colouring Calming Us Down

The title I have chosen is Colour Calming Us Down.

I’ve been investigating how and why Hindus celebrate Holi.

The most interesting thing I have learnt is that they throw paint at everyone to make the world more colourful and thank God for creating our world.

I think Holi is an important festival because it is fun and having fun makes the world feel better.

I drew around some big leaves and then splatted very big drops of paint on them. I wanted to make it colourful. I thought blue means power. In Hinduism, Shiva has blue skin to show his power.  Red means love, yellow is the colour that Ganesh was made from (turmeric) and yellow could mean never stopping when you have a promise to keep (he promised to guard Parvati’s door), green means new life like the colour of plants growing. The last leaf could be difficult things in life like losing someone. Most of the picture is colourful which shows that most of life isn’t difficult. When life is difficult you could walk where there is nice nature and a place to calm down. I included some leaf rubbings in the dark tree as well to show how they calm the difficult things in life down.  They are my favourite part because they are beautiful.

Giovi Allen, age 8

Victory With Flames

I have been exploring the festival of Purim and the tremendous struggle Esther went through. Esther was courageous and had to stand up to big figures in the community in order to protect her beliefs and people. I think she found her strength by remembering others before her who had faced difficulties and from knowing how much her people needed her.  I try to stand up for what I believe in and not just go along with what other people want me to do.  I think that is an important message for me as a Year 6 pupil because in secondary school I will be surrounded by people who are bigger, stronger and better (kind of) so I will need to remember to be myself.

The base of my structure is modelled on magic/incantation bowls that in 300-600 C.E were used in various cultures, including Jewish, to protect and shield people from evil spirits.  I made it out of papier mache and painted it blue and white.  Blue is a special colour suggesting magnificence and symbolises God in Judaism. Blue is a unique, primary colour and shows that God cannot be created. The cracks are to show how ancient this idea is and how precious such an item might be. This is the base of my model showing that God is at the foundation of everything.

The flames also represent God, his power and energy. In Judaism an ever-burning flame or light reminds Jews of God’s presence.  Esther would have found courage from her belief that God would always stay with her and is more powerful than people like Haman.  Esther was a fiery character herself.

The flower shows new life and new beginnings. Esther fought for a new future for her people.  It is also like an eye seeing different perspectives. 

I chose the title Victory With Flames because I believe that in times of difficulty God provide support and a way forward.  It is important that we believe in our own inner light as well.

Jessica Hather, age 11

The Glittery Grogger

Our piece of art is inspired by Purim and the noise that is made when Jewish people hear Haman’s name. We make lots of noise on our birthdays to show that it is a special day. We think that Haman would be angry and it shows that he isn’t being listened to.

Our favourite part is the massive grogger (shaker) that we chalked on the playground. People were amazed.  It was as wide as we are tall! The coloured circles are the beads inside the grogger that make the noise. We stuck photos of our chalk drawing on the box. We added glitter to get people’s attention.

Sometimes the past is really interesting. Esther was a nice, kind person so she is important to learn about.

Katie Rabbett and Evelyn Semerene, both age 7

Doorway to Equality

The different petals on my flower represent different people. They are different colours to show all different personalities and they are all different shapes and sizes. They all come together as one whole thing.  We should all come together no matter what we look like and what colour we are. I used a door because it is showing we should all make a new beginning where no one is treated unfairly. My style is a bit messy to show that no one is perfect.

At Purim, Jews remember how Esther stood up for what she believed in and she made sure that her people were not treated differently. At Holi, Hindus throw paint and are free and have fun.  Everyone is allowed to throw paint at whoever they want (but not pick on people) which shows that everyone is equal.  I threw the paint on my creation to remember what they do at Holi.  The glitter shows that everyone is special and great.

Doors represent new beginnings. Both the festivals I studied happen in Spring which is colourful and full of new starts.  Esther gave her people the chance of a new start and, at Holi, God protected the young boy, Prahlad, which let him enjoy an even better relationship with his God because he stood up and said he would only worship God and not the king.

I try to relax and be myself.  I don’t want to act like someone I’m not.  I want to be my own person and make my own decisions. I don’t want anyone to control my mind. These festivals appeal to me because they are about standing up and being individual.

Lily Poulter, age 9

Overcoming the Evil

The mountain represents Holika. She was evil. The mountain is in black and white because colour shows goodness at Holi. The sun shows Prahlad because he was good and so he is a bright part of the drawing.  Blue is the colour of power and so it is at the centre of the sun.  In Hinduism, gods like Shiva and Krishna have blue skin to show that they are not like normal, not like humans. There is a bit of blue in Prahlad which shows that even though he is a little boy, inside him is greatness from God.  He refused to worship the king and stayed loyal to his God and therefore God saved him from Holika.

The sun is coming over the mountain.  It is higher than the mountain which shows that Prahlad is overcoming Holika, good is winning over evil. Hindus think that God is shown in fire which is like the sun. 

If you look closely at the mountain you can see people going different ways, up and down. The people going down are making bad choices and the people going up are making good choices like being kind, involved, sensible and honest.  The people going up are becoming more like Prahlad who was very strong in his mind-set.

Don’t be scared just because people are bigger than you. Don’t just do something because people are more popular than you.  Don’t care about what they are going to say. I try to trust my instincts like Prahlad and most of the time it comes out right.

Magnus Kristensen, age 8

Wave of Colour

My piece is called Wave of Colour because at Holi and Purim I think it must feel like a wave of colour is crashing over you and relieving you from stress. At Holi, Hindus throw coloured paint or water because it shows that everybody is equal and can enjoy God’s colourful world. At Purim, Jewish people dress up in bright costumes to celebrate their freedom.

Water is often used to show making a new start. At Holi Hindus are thanking God for Spring and new crops and at Purim Jews are thinking about Queen Esther who saved their ancestors and gave them a new start and freedom.

I did a wave that curves and crashes because God is strong. God will always be able to help. There is a tunnel of light in the centre of the wave which shows that there will always be light. Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but … let your requests be made known to God.”  This means God is the strongest and can never be taken down by the bad so you should give your worries to God.

I have created spray by rubbing my finger on a brush and letting go. This reminds me that you never get good results if you don’t try but you cannot stress too much about things either otherwise you don’t get it done.

I started with blue and green for the sea and then added other colours. Just like at Holi, the colours have meanings. The orange symbolizes God because orange is the colour of fire which for Hindus is the symbol of God that you can see. The pink shows the sweetness of God and the purple is the royalty of God.

When I am by the sea I find the “chuusssssh” sound of the sea very calming. I have been surfing and gliding along the waves was just the best feeling.

Mylo Humphries, age 10

Explosions of Colour

The title I chose is Explosions of Colour because at Holi, especially in Hindu communities, there are explosions of colour everywhere. It symbolises people forgiving because they are letting go of what they have held inside and are enjoying time with everyone in their community.

The deepest thing about my work is the lightbulbs. These represent fire/light that shows the presence of God in Hinduism. The lightbulbs contain light like people contain the love of God; citizens of this religion believe that the spirit of God is in everything.

The two lightbulbs on the left hand side of my artwork enclose coloured fizzy water to signify the ‘buzz’ that people experience at Holi.

I chose the colours specifically because that have very special and important meanings. The lightbulb in the top left corner contains purple liquid because purple is the colour of supreme peace and wisdom. The one to the right of it encloses pink liquid because pink is the colour of youth, good health and playfulness. The last hanging lightbulb holds green colour explosions because green is the colour of nature, spring and new beginnings.

The smashed lightbulb once enveloped a blue powder because it is the colour of calm and otherworldliness (the colour of Krishna’s skin). Many of the Hindu Gods have blue skin because it is so unhuman, they illustrate them like this to explain that they are superior and nobody can be equal to them. It also enveloped a multi-colour powder, I used this to demonstrate that everyone is unique and covered in a different coloured powder. The lightbulb is smashed to give the powder, God and the uniqueness God gives us, the chance to burst out into the world.

The messages of this festival are important to me because I am about to become part of a bigger community at secondary school also moving to a new village. I hope to enjoy becoming part of these new groups whilst letting my own light shine.

Rosie Adelman, age 11

The Other Side

The religious festival I based my artwork on is Holi because it is about forgiving, coming together and letting go of bad feelings.  I think Holi is an important festival to celebrate because of all it stands for.

The title I chose is The Other Side because the side with the newspaper is the side you feel you need to be, for example when you meet someone better than you and you try to beat them. You feel you need to win, but you have to be yourself if you want to at least be unique.

The other side is blue because in Hinduism represents God, for example, Shiva and Krishna are often shown with blue skin to show that they are not like us, that they are more important and to show anything is possible. I also did peeling newspaper because it shows the made-up side of you peeling away.  It also represents that God would not let us be alone.  God stops us from being alone by creating a beautiful world and all the things in it have a part of him.

For the background I chose red, green and blue cloth with fairy lights. The multicoloured cloth represents some of the colours thrown at Holi, for example, the colour red represents love and fertility, green represents new beginnings and blue represents God.  I did the fairy lights because that is God shining through you.

Sara, age 10