Key Stage

KS3 (ENG), KS3 (NI), CfE L3 (SCO), KS3 (WAL)
Art term
Created by

Art UK
Topics

Animals, domestic, Horses, Creatures, Myths and fables

Andy Scott (b.1964) and SH Structures Ltd

Helix Park, Falkirk

About this resource

How and why do we represent old myths and folklore in contemporary art? This resource explores this question through the Scottish myth of the kelpies – shape-shifting water creatures – reinterpreted in 2013 in The Kelpies, a monumental steel sculpture by artist Andy Scott.

These lesson ideas can be used to:

evaluate and analyse a creative work by the artist Andy Scott
learn about folklore in art
discuss and explore the relevance of myths and folklore to the present day
research and create a sculpture inspired by a local myth

This Art and Design resource offers a series of activities that can be used together as a lesson plan or as individual components to integrate into your own scheme of work. It was devised for Key Stage 3/Level 3 but may also suit Key Stage 4/Level 4.

National Curriculum for England

Art and design
- Produce creative work, explore ideas
- Become proficient in sculpture and design techniques
- Evaluate and analyse creative works
- Know about great artists and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms

Northern Ireland Curriculum

Art and design
- Researching, gathering and interpreting information from digital sources
- Developing creative thinking skills and personal creative outcomes through investigating, realising, designing and making

Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence

Art and design
- I have experimented with a range of media and technologies to create images and objects, using my understanding of their properties (EXA 3-02a)
- While working through a design process in response to a design brief, I can develop and communicate imaginative design solutions (EXA 3-06a)
- I can respond to the work of artists and designers by discussing my thoughts and feelings. I can give and accept constructive comment on my own and others' work (EXA 3-07a)

National Curriculum for Wales (2008)

Art and design
- Students use their knowledge about the work of other artists to enrich and inform their work
- Students are stimulated and inspired by local and Welsh art and images and artefacts from a variety of historical and contemporary cultures and contexts
- Students explore, experiment with and apply the visual, tactile and sensory language of art

New Curriculum for Wales (2022)

Expressive Arts

Exploring the expressive arts is essential to developing artistic skills and knowledge and it enables learners to become curious and creative individuals.

Progression step 4:

I can explore creative work, understanding the personal, social, cultural and historical context, including the conventions of the period in which it was created.

I can investigate and understand how meaning is communicated through the ideas of other artists and performers.

Responding and reflecting, both as artist and audience, is a fundamental part of learning in the expressive arts.

Progression step 4:

I can effectively evaluate my own creative work and that of others showing increasing confidence to recognise and articulate strengths, and to demonstrate resilience and determination to improve.

I can apply knowledge and understanding of context when evaluating my own creative work and creative work by other people and from other places and times.

I can evaluate the effectiveness of a wide range of artistic techniques in producing meaning.

Kelpies

In Scottish folklore, a kelpie is a dangerous shape-shifting water creature that can appear on land as a horse. The kelpie appears to their human victims as a grey or white horse, entices them to ride on their back, then carries them down to a watery grave. If caught using a magic bridle, however, the kelpie's immense strength can be used to safely carry passengers or to haul vast loads.

According to some folk tales the kelpie can also shape-shift into human form, usually a man, with tell-tale seaweed in his hair or hooves instead of hands.

The myth

The myth of the kelpies is certainly an old one. This short video discusses the possibility that kelpies appear in stone carvings made in the seventh century.

Robert Burns mentions kelpies in his poem Address to the Deil, written in 1786:

When thowes dissolve the snawy hoord,
An' float the jinglan icy boord,
Then, Water-kelpies haunt the foord,
By your direction,
An' nighted Trav'llers are allur'd
To their destruction.

Around the beginning of the twentieth century, kelpies became a somewhat popular theme for artists. Kelpies are also frequently mentioned in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series.

'The Kelpies' sculpture

At 30 metres high, The Kelpies is the largest equine sculpture in the world. The two steel horse heads rear up by the Forth and Clyde Canal near Falkirk in central Scotland. It opened to the public in April 2014. Sculptor Andy Scott was inspired both by the myth of the kelpies and by the Clydesdale horses that once powered Scottish industry by pulling barges transporting goods and materials for manufacture.

Creating 'The Kelpies'

To create the sculpture, Andy Scott first sketched his ideas based on how the sculptures would fit into their surroundings. From these sketches, he then made small development models known as maquettes, by welding together 9,115 flat steel plates over a steel frame. Andy Scott then worked with engineers who used laser scans and 3D computer modelling to translate the maquettes into sculptures ten times their size. Innovative techniques were used to create strong, rigid, steel structures with flowing curves that appeared – almost – to be moving.

Whole class activity: watch and discuss

A group of young people made a video reviewing The Kelpies.

Why does this artwork refer to the myth of the kelpies?
In the video, the young people discuss whether The Kelpies is a symbol of modern Scotland. Which point of view convinced you? Why?
How does the sculpture combine the old and the new?

Whole class activity: what would you ask the artist?

Make a list of questions and discuss the responses you feel Andy Scott might give.

Sculpting 'The Kelpies' – Andy's story

Creating 'The Kelpies'

Sculptor Andy Scott talks about his inspiration

'The Kelpies' timelapse construction

Magical creatures
Myths, legends and stories
Spirits, and characters of legend

Discussion questions

What makes legends and mythical creatures appealing to artists?
Why do some artists incorporate local myths in public sculptures?
Why might an artist want to update old myths?

Individual activity: create a mythic sculpture

Research a myth connected to your local area. The links below provide some useful starting points.

You may also want to research artistic depictions of myths on Art UK, for example by searching for artworks that tell the legend of Dick Whittington or unicorns in painting and sculpture.

Legend of Dick Whittington and His Cat (triptych, left wing) 1977

Ray Walker (1945–1984)

Whittington Health

Combine the old and the new

Draw a design for a public sculpture that depicts the myth you have chosen.

Think of ways you can bring modernity into the design. For example, by:

mixing in present day themes, ideas or stories
using modern materials
using new techniques or innovative technology to create the sculpture

For example, the clothes, cars and buildings in this painting modernise the legend of Dick Whittington.

Fire (Robin of Pegswood) 2009

Tom Maley (b.1962)

Pegswood Roundabout, Pegswood, Northumberland

Consider the location

Make sure your sculpture is right for your local area.

Think about how your sculpture can show the connections to local myths, ideas and people.

Could you choose materials that are from your locality, or important to local people?
Decide where the sculpture will be displayed and make sure its design is sensitive to the location
Is location important in your chosen myth? For example, The Kelpies' location by a canal gave it a strong connection with water, important to the kelpie myth

For example, this sculpture combines the town of Pegswood's history of coal mining with its links to Nottingham by reinventing the image of Robin Hood.

Mary's Shell 2013 or before

Stephen Broadbent (b.1961) and Chris Brammall (b.1973)

North Promenade, Cleveleys, Lancashire

Think about scale

Decide the size and scale of your sculpture. Think about:

whether size is important to the myth
how the sculpture will fit into its surroundings
the impact you want the sculpture to have, and how you want them to behave around it; perhaps you'll want it to surprise people or comfort them or amaze them

Think about the scale of your sculpture and the materials it will be made from. Are there any elements of your design that you might need to simplify or enhance?

For example, this enormous seashell sculpture refers to the story of a girl who saves her town from a giant sea ogre by capturing a golden shell from his cave.

Extension activities

Develop your design further by creating a small maquette version like Andy Scott did for The Kelpies. A maquette is often not made from the same material that the final sculpture will be, but instead from cheaper materials that quick and easy to work with. You could create using:

air-dry clay and an armature made from modelling wire and tinfoil
small wooden sticks and an adhesive (glue guns; tape; plaster)

British Library: Myths, monsters and the imagination

Ulster Folk Museum: Halloween traditions

Irish literature, mythology, folklore and drama

National Museum Wales: A collection of folk tales

The Folklore Society

Kist o Riches, Scottish stories and poetry

Andy Scott: artist website

Andy Scott on Art UK

Mermaids: a queer twist in the tail 14 August 2018, Sacha Coward
Mythstories: using art to tell tales 26 January 2018, Molly Tresadern
Art UK Home School: who's on the pedestal? 30 July 2020, Sam Ayre
Monuments, statues and street furniture: the wonderful world of public sculpture 18 February 2019, Anthony McIntosh
Mapping cultural memory through public monuments 8 September 2017, Anthony McIntosh
Art Matters podcast: the art history of witches 22 October 2019, Ferren Gipson
Witches: the Pre-Raphaelite femme fatale 31 October 2016, Victoria Ibbett
Under the sea: monsters and mythical creatures of the deep 6 October 2020, Victoria Rodrigues O'Donnell
Art Matters podcast: mermaids and mythical creatures in art and the queer community 7 August 2018, Ferren Gipson
Art Matters podcast: the magic of fairy tales in art 7 May 2019, Ferren Gipson
Alfred Munnings: the delight of painting horses 2 December 2016, Lisa Moravec
Ten reasons to love Rosa Bonheur 28 February 2019, Jade King
James Ward: animal painter 31 August 2018, Pat Hardy