For art we had to make Kilmainham Gaol out of recycled things. For the cells we had to use old shoeboxes. Before we started making them we learned what else was in a cell back then and then used recycled items to make them.
First we got divided into two and then used fist sized sponges to paint the shoe boxes. We mixed black and white paint to make grey and then used the sponges to lightly paint the cells. After the cells were painted and dried, we used items that were brought in from home, such as egg cartons, tin foil, matchboxes, paper, old bits of fabric etc. Back then there wasn't a lot of furniture in the cells. There was only a candle that was supposed to last two weeks, a pine bed, a chair, a bucket and a barred window. Some people used items to make prisoners as well.
While we were doing that two other boys were making stairs for the gaol. They used a cardboard tube and then glued tinfoil to the tube and then stuck matchsticks, the size of a toothpick, for the steps.
Afterwards we got a huge sheet of card and painted it grey and black to make it look dirty. While it was drying we got two big shoeboxes for the top of the gaol and stuck them together and put the stairs in the middle. We did the same to the other cells.
Finally we found a lid, painted it black, put it on top for the roof and then we were finished.
This is how we made our recylcable gaol.
By Liam Turner
Room 17
Ms. A. Hodnett
