mmg.com.au

Students from Numurkah Primary School will be among the esteemed artists on display when Shepparton Art Museum reopens this weekend.

Years 5 and 6 students participated in a 20-week ceramic art project which culminated in the opening on their Little Treasures exhibition at Numurkah Primary School in December.

Shepparton Art Museum partnered with professional artists and the school to deliver the clay-making project during semester two, and about 50 students benefited from two-day workshops with visiting artists, including Trentham’s Tina Lee, Nathalia’s Eric Brown and Vipoo Srivilas and Ann Ferguson from Melbourne.

Each student made five ceramic pieces, including teapots, houses, collaborative large-scale temples and their own ‘‘inner monster’’.

SAM’s Angie Russi and Rhonda Chrisanthou also worked with the children and helped them select a single piece for exhibition.

Art teacher Suzy Turton said the Arts Victoria-funded project had wider aims than just teaching clay-making skills.

‘‘Children learn that clay is changeable - if you don’t like something, you just roll it up and start again,’’ she said.

‘‘This shows you can change at any time - and that what you see on the outside may not be what is happening on the inside.

‘‘It also shows there are many options open to you, in life as well as clay.’’

Little Treasures will be featured at the opening of the new Shepparton Art Museum on Saturday, when Numurkah Primary School students will run tours of the museum for the general public.