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Primary ArticleKNIGHTScont.Ages and the development ofknights, their armour, weapons andculture.Part of each session was to keep asmall diary on progress made, as wellas with information learnt about theknights.A wide selection of photocopy images wasavailable at all times with childrenencouraged to use them as areference to achieve realisticfeatures on their knights.The making: A basic framewas created using armaturewire padded with lengthsof wadding. A stuffedstocking head wasthen attachedto the body.Hair and drawnfacial featureswere also added,although these wouldnot be seen on thefinished product. Achallenge was placedwhen all children wereexpected to hand sewan undergarment fortheir knight. It isamazing how fewchildren experiencesewing at home. Acotton undershirtand trousers helpedkeep all the paddingcontained.Embossing Foil wasintroduced with the makingof the breastplate and was a huge success.Although a range of different materials:corrugated cardboard, various fabrics,Tyvec, contact, Wireform and metallicpapers were available for use, EmbossingFoil was by far the most popularmaterial used by the children fortheir armour. The use of paperribbon makers made thedecoration on the armourreasonably easy. The childrenfound that by feeding lengths of foilthrough these tools several times arealistic looking embossing effectwas created. Only a few chose the“corrugated water tank” look.One girl found that Wireform (afine mesh material) whencrimped several times made veryrealistic chain mail. Elbowand knee sectionswere effectivelycreated with thePaper RibbonMakers.The helmet was formed over a foamball then transferred to the headfor detailing.Boots and gauntlets completed the totalencasing of the original frame.The children were able to create theirweapons at home if they wished, sosome interesting resultsreturned thanks tosome clever dads. Thosemade at school again usedfoil, dowel, cardboard etc.The detail some childrenworked into their knightswas quite amazing withcrusaders, Teutonic knights and alittle touch of fantasy all lining up forbattle.Final presentation was on a mountingblock. Extra support for the knight wasprovided by a flagstaff on which wasdisplayed their individual coat of arms.Finials and tassels added special effects.The variety in the Knights final stance wasalso quiteinteresting:attacking,defending,charging,wieldingweapons,resting andsome simplysurviving.One girl overcame adifference in herknight’s leg length bystanding her knightwith one foot on topof an enemy’shead... ghoulish,but effective.The stunning endresult, a memorable visual artspiece to be displayed proudly, made the timetaken in completion all worthwhile. Theenthusiastic response from the boys in particularwas very encouraging. All the children agreedthey had enjoyed the process and are delightedwith the final product.Pam BarryAltona PrimarySchoolPage 8Zart extraTerm 1 2003 Edition