To commemorate the centenary of the end of World War One ceramicist Celia Irwin has hand made and painted 2000 clay poppies and put them on display.
She approached St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Abington Park, Northampton, about hosting the installation and they were happy to oblige.
Celia, who runs Art-ified, has also made ceramic wreaths for the 12 Commonwealth graves in the church in the park.
The poppies were planted at the end of October and will remain in place until November 11.
You can buy a large poppy for £10 or a small poppy for £7 from the Art-ified website or by filling in a sheet available inside the church at lunchtimes.
Half the money from each sale goes to the Royal British Legion and St Peter and St Paul’s.
You can choose to add a dedication to your poppy when you buy it.
Celia, who is a former headteacher at Blisworth Primary School, tells the story of how the project came into being on Arti-fied website.
On the site she says:
Staff at the school where I was Headteacher often hid, wondering what was coming next when they heard the words, ‘I’ve got a really good idea’, but this time it was only my husband who groaned when the latest plan involved a space in his workshop and help to find a kiln.Â
So Poppy Project Mark 2 was born! I approached ‘The Church in the Park’, the Church of St Peter and St Paul, and asked if I could work with them and display the poppies in the grounds, and they were very helpful and supportive of the idea. They were keen to mark the eleven Commonwealth graves in the cemetery and a ceramic poppy wreath has been made for each.
Making, firing, painting and constructing 2,000 poppies has been a mammoth task. Each poppy really is ‘hand-made’ and no two are exactly the same. Every poppy head is literally hand-painted with a paintbrush.
