The art block is one of the best I’ve seen in a school – a huge space and diverse facilities for the students to explore – and the gallery boasts high ceilings with a large glass roof exposing every nook and cranny to the light.
Placed around the floor of the gallery were Dorcas’s detailed animal head sculptures made from reclaimed textiles, and on the walls were my vibrant and colourful circles alongside Abigail’s large scale, monochrome, charcoal and ink drawings. The balance of little and large, colourful and monochrome, worked beautifully from every different level around the gallery.
At the beginning of my workshops, I showed the students around the gallery, explaining my inspirations and the processes behind each piece. I showed them various examples of my current
and past work as well as my sketchbooks to show the journey that I have taken since leaving school. As I am not long out of education, (graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2014) I thought the students would benefit from seeing how my work has developed since I was their age.
The main goal of my workshop was to give the students the freedom to experiment with different mediums and to focus on the process of making art instead of trying to replicate what is in front of them. I think it is important to know that it is okay to experiment, that there is no right or wrong way of painting and to have fun with it! I also included in the lesson plan some colour theory and the basic rules of mixing colour together.
I decided that I would demonstrate all the different techniques I use on one of my larger canvases, using the lessons to produce a piece of work alongside the children during the day. I demonstrated extracting the shapes and colours out of my own photographs as a guide and took them through each technique. There were lots of ‘ooh’s’ and ‘ahhh’s’ as I moved the ink and water around the canvas. After the demonstrations I gave them the option to work from some of my images and allowed them to choose what materials and what size paper they wanted to work on. The main aim in this class was to let the students think openly and try to engage with the reactions of
materials, thinking about what colours to use but also knowing when to stop working on a piece. This is always a tough part of any painting. It is so easy to work on something for too long, the inks mix together completely and the colours become murky.
materials, thinking about what colours to use but also knowing when to stop working on a piece. This is always a tough part of any painting. It is so easy to work on something for too long, the inks mix together completely and the colours become murky.
Teaching my practice to others gives me time to reflect on how I work and helps me clarify and focus where I want to take my practise. The students really enjoyed being able to explore unusual mediums
and have a go at abstraction without having the pressure to create something that is ‘good’. It was fantastic seeing the variety of different work the girls produced, every one being different in colour, size and texture!
and have a go at abstraction without having the pressure to create something that is ‘good’. It was fantastic seeing the variety of different work the girls produced, every one being different in colour, size and texture!
