Match the Paintings

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Photos from my workshops at Cunningham Hill Infant School in St Albans last week. Each of the five classes were studying famous paintings from the National Gallery (including one of my all-time favourites). The children produced their own 3D versions of the paintings over the two days, as well doing their own personal pop-up designs. The 3D paintings aren’t finished yet, so more pictures to follow when I get them from the school.

This was a return visit to this school and it was very gratifying to see that, not only did many of the children remember me, but that they were able to build on what they had previously learnt. They even used some of these previously-learnt techniques when producing their cards last Christmas.

Fat Larry’s Fruit and Veg Shop

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I recently changed my facebook banner to a picture of the fruit and vegetable shop from Detective Paws. The images below show some of the stages during the development of the spread from initial rough through to finished artwork.
The sequence is one I often use in my school talks. Recently, on a return visit to a school, I was told how they had picked up on something I had said on my previous visit. I don’t remember this, but apparently I had told one child that his work wasn’t ‘wrong’ as he claimed, it was just ‘not finished’. By this I meant that all those not-quite-right roughs aren’t wrong, but stepping stones or guides to help you get to where you want to go. I constantly try to emphasise to the children that my work doesn’t come out fully formed but that there is a developmental process behind it all.

Detective Paws and the Case of the Golden Cat – Tango Books

Pop-ups in Croughton Primary

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croughton primary 01

I was working with the children at Croughton All Saints Primary School yesterday for the start of an art and books project. The aim was to give the children enough skills to finish the pop-up books in their own time, combining text, illustrations and paper-engineering. This is a beautiful school, situated in a rural village near Banbury, with a warm, friendly atmosphere. I found the children to be very open and enthusiastic about pop-up design and I was able to teach them quite a number of techniques in a relatively short space of time.


croughton primary 02

Golden Cat

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golden cat
golden cat 1

I was really thrilled to get another package from Prep 2 at Truro High School just before Christmas.
I had constructed a ‘magnifying’ box as a thank you for letting me see their wonderful project and they liked this enough to send me something in return (see below).

I was very impressed by the range of skills and techniques they used to make their version of the Golden Cat from Detective Paws and by what a well-observed, collaborative piece of work it was.

Look out Gathers Momentum

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Work is gathering momentum on the Look out art trail. The project, which is funded by St Georges Ward local initiatives fund, involves three artists – Hinchee Hung, Nigel Goldie and myself – working with groups from the local community to produce pieces that will be positioned at various locations throughout the area. The final works will be attached to trees in early December and it is hoped, by doing so, residents will be tempted to explore unfamiliar parts of their neighbourhood.

My piece, Insectum, consists of two large-scale, pop-up constructions which have their roots in book-making and paper engineering and are made from recycled, heavy cardboard, strengthened and sealed to withstand the elements. The works are intended to be of a playful nature using materials not normally associated with outdoor public art.

I am working with two groups – two Year 3 classes from Hungerford Primnary School and the children from the Hilldrop after-school club. Some of the sessions are taking place at the John Barnes Library Hall – Cuneyt Yilmaz, the chief librarian at John Barnes has kindly given me the use of the hall for for these –  thus reinforcing the feeling that this is a true community project.