1. Gypsy Art
Wagon Art

2. Aim of the lesson
To appreciate the art and designs of the Gypsy and Traveller community.
To understand how the designs have been developed through the history and culture of the Gypsy and Traveller community.
To produce a piece of Gypsy Traveller art.

3. Who are Gypsies or Travellers? Think –pair-share

4. There are lots of different groups of Gypsies and Travellers
Some Travellers lives in houses
Some live on sites like this:
Some live ‘roadside’
because they don’t have a
site to go to.
Some travel with the Fairground or Circus
Remember - Gypsies have lived in England for
hundreds of years!
Play the video.
Video lasts 5 minutes

5. Gypsy History
The Gypsy people were originally from India. Their journey to Britain took them over 1000 years. The first Gypsies were record in England over 500 years ago. Gypsies were incorrectly thought to be Egyptians because of their darker complexion and foreign language.

6. Gypsy Lifestyle
At first Gypsies lived in tents called Bender tents. The trades for the men was mainly seasonal work. This could be harvesting crops, mending pots and pans and general labouring. The trades for women could be telling fortunes, selling lucky heather or picking wild flowers to sell. Women and children would also help with summer work like picking fruits.

7. Bender Tent

8. Travelling
Gypsies put their belongings on an open or flat cart. However by the 1880’s the flat cart had been developed into a wooden wagon called a vardo. These wagons were pulled by horses. Inside there would be a double bed and underneath that a single bed. The single bed would be for the youngest child. The other children would sleep outside under tarpaulin.

9. Gypsy ‘Vardo’ – the name for a bow topped wagon.

10. Inside a vardo
What do you notice?
Describe what you see…..

11. Gypsy Flat Cart

12. Designs
The designs used by Gypsies reflected the countryside they travelled through. Each design was unique to that family. Each family designed their own. Family horses were a particular favourite. The families also liked carvings of birds, flowers, fruit and animals. Some Gypsy families liked designs from Ancient Rome that included grapes, lions, classical lines and scrolls.

13. Fruit Design

15. Birds

16. Horse Design

17. Flower Design What can you see here that is connected to nature?
What colours have been used? How much detail has been included?
What do you think this was for? Why do Gypsies use these designs? What is their symbolism?

18. Lion Design What can you see here that is connected to nature?
What colours have been used? How much detail has been included?
What do you think this was for? Why do Gypsies use these designs? What is their symbolism?

19. Scroll work and fruit design

20. Lined Out

21. More designs
All vardos would have lines painted on them. The Gypsies called the line design “lined out.” The status of the Gypsy family could be seen by the decorations on their vardo. The more intricate the design the richer the family were. Gold leaf was also used as part of the decoration. A highly painted gold leaf vardo would cost today well over £20,000.

22. Cherry Design

23. Scrolls

24. Activities Use one of the traditional Gypsy/Traveller
art designs designs as inspiration and
design your own fruit/flowers/animals design
for your own wagon. Make sure you have
lots of detail in your piece. Have you used scrolls?
Colour it carefully and beautifully using
coloured pencils.
Life in a wagon:

25. Assessment Compare and contrast your work to that of the sample pieces
What symbolism have you used?
What colours have you used?
How have you worked in the style of GRT artists?
What can you tell me about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people?