Inspiration from local artist
Local Artist inspires with felt-making Year 6 pupils were recently treated to a fun felt-making workshop. The Yorkshire based “fibre artist” Emma Fountain came to teach her craft of needle felting and how to make fabulous creatures from wool fibres. Emma started by showing the pupils the techniques required to create the various components of a sculpture and discussed the qualities of the materials and of course the Health and Safety considerations of working with a sharp, barbed needle! The pupils were then free to create their own versions of an Owl, which was great fun. At the end of the day we had an array of colourful birds, some with their own accessories. Many thanks to Emma for sharing her skills. See examples of Emma’s work here www.etsy.com/uk/shop/EmFountainFelt
GCSE Art students find inspiration in London
GCSE London Art Tour This year’s GCSE art trip was a very action-packed two days. On day one, the students discovered that The Natural History museum, Science Museum and V&A are treasure troves and the groups split to make the most of the time to sketch and take photographs for their sketchbooks. After a few hours of intense exploration and a spot of lunch, they explored the more contemporary works of the Saatchi museum. The current exhibition features a number of up and coming artists whose varied and experimental ways of working gave the students lots of ideas. The evening was spent singing along to Abba songs at the internationally acclaimed production of Mamma Mia at the Novello theatre. Day two started with a hearty breakfast followed by Mr Vale’s magical mystery tour of the City and its iconic buildings. The group climbed the 311 steps of Monument Tower to be met at the top by gale force winds! Next was the Tate Modern via Borough market and the Cutty Sark to see the Alexander Calder exhibition, a fantastic collection of the late Kinetic artist’s sculptures. The permanent collections gave the opportunity to see a wide variety of artists’ works. The river boat to Embankment gave students the opportunity to rest their legs and view the city from the water. After lunch, a busy afternoon was spent viewing the amazing collections at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Seeing so many famous works reaffirmed the point that there really is no substitute for seeing works of art “in the flesh”. The students returned with heads spinning full of ideas and hundreds of photos and sketches to process. The results of the students’ work will be exhibited for all to see at the annual Summer Art exhibition in June, we hope to see you there!
Going Dotty at Emma Bridgewater Pottery!
Emma Bridgewater Potteries trip 2016 Last week the whole of Year 7 enjoyed a day trip to Stoke on Trent – the home of British pottery production. First stop was the Potteries Museum, which houses a world class collection of Staffordshire pottery, allowing pupils to engage with the history behind the industry. The children toured the galleries sketching their favourite pots and exhibits. Next stop was the Emma Bridgewater factory where the slip cast ceramics are still produced using traditional techniques. The children toured the factory to learn about the production of our favourite mugs, plates and jugs. It was fascinating to see that they are still hand-made and decorated, each pot passing through thirty processes and sets of hands. The pupils decorated their own piece of Emma Bridgewater ware in the decorating studio. They used cut sponges and underglazes to create their own designs. The glazed pieces will arrive in school shortly and will be displayed in the school office. Mrs Pearson would like to thanks Mr Vale, Ms Poulton and Mrs Massey for help on the day.