A LOT of hard work – and a little bit of glitter – has clinched eight pupils from Alveston School the top prize in Stratford’s Guild Chapel’s very first art competition.
The competition which launched in spring, challenged children to create their own guardian angel, taking inspiration from the chapel’s angels.
Entries were welcomed from individuals or school groups, using any material they liked.
The youngsters from Alveston, aged seven and eight, worked together in their after-school arts club to create their winning entry. They won a half-day art workshop for the whole of their year, delivered by Escape Arts.
The winning collective included Amelie Morris, Cooper Cullimore, Blue Cullimore, Amelie Stafford, Eleanor Pemberton, Iris Stannard, Hannah Payne and Charlotte Davies.
Their gold, glittery design clearly impressed the judges.
Pippa Brook, Volunteer Coordinator for the Guild Chapel said: “We could see just how much time they had spent designing and creating their angel, and it looks wonderful.”
Timea Farkas from Wilmcote Primary School was runner-up, with Beatrice John third.
All three of the angels will go on display in the chapel over the summer, along with other artwork created by local schoolchildren.
The Guild Chapel’s wall paintings are among the finest surviving in Europe. Included in them is a depiction of the Archangel Michael, who is at the centre of the recently conserved Allegory of Death painting.
Painted in the late 15th Century, Archangel Michael was defaced when the chapel’s paintings were limewashed in 1563 following the Reformation – on orders given to the bard’s father John Shakespeare.
Conservation work – supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund – began last year, with a programme of education now continuing.
The Guild Chapel is open to visitors daily. Visit guildchapel.org.uk to find out more.
