9 minute read
Trips & Workshops
KEW GARDENS - ART & PHOTOGRAPHY
At the beginning of the A Level courses for Art and Photography, the staff organised a trip to give pupils a starting point for their initial projects. In Michaelmas term, we chose to take the Lower Sixth to Kew Gardens, so that they could take photographs and make sketches.
Some chose to focus on the plant life, whereas others were drawn to structural features such as the glass houses, the pagoda, statues or ‘The Hive’ installation by Wolfgang Buttress.
The day provided an excellent opportunity to gather firsthand source material, which fed into some fabulous artwork on the return to School and gave the pupils a taste of what was to come during their A Level.
Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Head of Art
NEWLAND'S GALLERY & PETWORTH HOUSE
On 6 February, Mrs Jones and I took some of the Art Award holders to Newland’s House Gallery in Petworth. The invite came from Amanda McKee (DH Alumna), who was in Tedworth House some years ago. She was keen for us to experience what she felt was the best exhibition that the gallery had every held, entitled ‘Julian Opie, Collected Works/Works Collected’.
This extensive exhibition comprised his collection of artworks and artifacts (ranging from prehistoric to contemporary) alongside his own work, so our pupils could see how these pieces had informed his own practice. Another member of the gallery gave a captivating talk, then our award holders had the opportunity to sketch from the exhibits.
After lunch at the café everyone proceeded to Petworth House, which is owned by the National Trust. The group were treated to a fascinating tour of the extensive art collection by Sue Rhodes, following which there was an opportunity for more note taking and sketching.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day and we are extremely grateful to Amanda at Newland’s House for the invitation and for organising the schedule. We hope to maintain an ongoing relationship with Amanda and her outstanding gallery!
Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Head of Art
Ian Murphy Workshop
In October, Lower Fifth to Upper Sixth Art award holders were very privileged to take part in a workshop with the renowned artist, Ian Murphy. We were incredibly lucky to see so much of Ian’s work in person, from large canvases of cityscapes to sketchbooks filled with drawings.
The day commenced with everyone producing backgrounds made up of torn newspaper and tissue paper, which were later sanded down and brushed with graphite powder to create an eroded and antiquated effect. Using either their own or Ian’s photographs for reference, the award holders then began to draw on top of their backgrounds, attempting to follow Ian’s technique, working from the lightest tone all the way up to the darkest.
Later in the day, Ian demonstrated some of his other methods, including ink and bleach, as well as how to transfer text or imagery onto pieces of work. Everyone produced an array of experimental studies showcasing how much they had learnt from analysing Ian’s work and process.
Alicia
The Base Art Centre Workshop
In the Summer term, Lower Fifth GCSE Art pupils took part in a day of creative workshops at The Base Art Centre just outside Newbury.
Local artist Gemma Kirby led one of the two practical sessions, in which pupils responded directly to the exhibition of screen prints by Pop artist, Eduardo Paolozzi. Collages were created using photography that related to individual project themes and were combined with magazine cuttings and coloured paper to form a composition inspired by Paolozzi’s work.
The second workshop was led by talented portrait artist, Ellie Kerr Smiley, whom the Lower Fifth studied in class, in preparation for their visit. Ellie gave a talk about her work, as well as a demonstration on how she applies paint. After this the pupils had the opportunity to put what they had learned into practice by applying colour to pre-prepared portrait drawings of their own.
The day provided a fantastic opportunity to work with successful local practicing artists and to strengthen our link with this nearby creative establishment.
Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Head of Art
Sixth Form Pottery Workshop
The Sixth Form took part in weekend pottery workshops over the Lent and Summer terms. They enjoyed learning how to throw on the potter’s wheels, as well as learning various techniques to hand-build a variety of creations. It was so popular that Mrs Keeling will be running further workshops next year for the Sixth Form pupils.
Radley Art Collaboration Workshop
On Monday 23 May, the Textiles and Fine Art LVI A Level pupils had the pleasure of spending the day at Radley College, working together with their Fine Art students on two large-scale charcoal drawings of the Elgin Marbles.
To kick the day off, we were treated to a talk about the Marbles by one of Radley’s Classics teachers. It was a very interesting discussion which posed the question of ‘Should the Elgin Marbles be returned to Athens?’, which sparked a few different opinions around the room.
Following this we got started on the foundations of our drawings and began mapping out simple charcoal contour lines to create the base, ready for the next steps to strengthen our studies. We then took a little break, having some tea and biscuits whilst admiring each other’s sketchbooks – it was very interesting to observe the different approaches.
Before dashing off to lunch, we worked into the drawings with heavier strokes of charcoal and toned the piece by rubbing and spreading charcoal powder, effectively replicating the shadows observed across the carvings. We had a long break, preparing ourselves for the finishing of the studies, and were treated to four performances at Radley’s Lunchtime Concert.
In the afternoon, we refined the pieces further by using erasers to accurately represent the highlights. At the end of the day, we had a coin toss with the boys to decide which drawing we would be able to take back with us, which we then worked on back at School to add refinement and a background using ink.
It was a wonderful experience and the boys were very welcoming and kind. Hopefully, we will be able to do another collaboration with them again soon!
Screen Printing Workshop
Just before we broke up for the Christmas holiday, the Upper Sixth Art and Photography pupils came together to take part in a screen printing workshop in the Art department.
Screen printing involves photographically exposing imagery onto a coated mesh that has been stretched tightly over a frame. Once the screen has passed through a number of processes it becomes a stencil through which ink can be pushed with a squeegee to produce an image on the surface below.
In advance of the session, we each created a range of backgrounds on paper using spray paint, marbled ink, acrylic ink, posca pens and collage. Once we had set up our workstations, we printed onto our backgrounds using a variety of inks to collectively generate well over a hundred prints.
We thoroughly enjoyed experiencing this new technique and now feel that we can confidently use what we have learned in the future. The day also enabled us to produce some fantastic work for our A Level and Art College application portfolios.
Study Trip To St Ives
From Saturday 26 February to Wednesday 2 March, Mrs Lamont and I took the Art Award holders from the Upper Fourth, Lower Fifth and Sixth Form to St Ives in Cornwall for several days of creative enrichment.
During the first day, the group went to the Tate St Ives where they met with land artist, Greg Humphries. Greg discussed abstraction and rendering the invisible visible. The girls participated in several practical exercises in their sketchbooks in response to the concepts addressed in some of the works on display.
On Porthgwidden beach the girls explored what they had learned about Barbara Hepworth’s ideas regarding truth to materials. In groups, they sketched and created sculptures with found objects and sand.
The second day started with a trip to Porthmeor studios where we visited Studio 5, a space that has been used by several famous artists, including Ben Nicholson and Patrick Heron. Clare Wardman is currently working in the Studio, and she kindly explained the history of the building as well as her own work.
The award holders were treated to a practical workshop called ‘Exploring Abstraction’ with the artist Simon Williams, where the girls experimented with a range of exciting new media such as Yupo paper and spider spray to generate vibrant abstract compositions. As well as being a fine artist, Simon has made costumes and props for major films, such as Harry Potter, Star Wars and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The girls were fascinated to hear how he had constructed and operated well-known characters such as Dobby, Buckbeak and Chewbacca.
On the final day, we met with Greg Humphries again, this time at the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden. Greg talked about Hepworth’s work and encouraged discussions, then the girls sketched and made small sculptures in response to the works.
The afternoon was spent in a practical cyanotype workshop with photographer, Josie Purcell. The girls applied a light sensitive coating to sheets of paper before masking areas off with natural objects such as leaves and feathers as well as cut paper shapes, threads and photo negatives. The compositions were exposed to light, which developed the areas that remained exposed. When the items were removed, the papers were washed to reveal imagery that appeared white where the stencils had blocked the light and blue where the light had set the coating.
It was an action-packed trip where everyone learned a lot about artists, creative concepts and practical approaches, and all the work produced on the visit served to enhance the pupil’s GCSE and A Level sketchbooks. The girls involved really were a credit to the School, which was remarked upon by all the artists. The Art department are very proud of the way in which everyone embraced the activities.
Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Head of Art
ALETHEA INGS-CHAMBERS
The colourful laser cut boxes were produced by the Lower School. The project was designed to get the pupils independently using the new laser cutter that was installed at the beginning of last year. The pupils were encouraged to pick a theme and then design a scene using tech soft and the new laser cutter. Each box also has a hidden window that can only be seen when held up to the light.
The insects were made by UIV. The project was designed to get pupils using workshop equipment and simple modelling tools. The pupils had a lot of fun coming up with creative designs. They were also given the opportunity to independently use the new laser cutter to improve the complexity of their work.
The sculptures made from bottles were made by the Scholars’ Club on a Monday evening. Pupils had the opportunity to produce a number of creative designs that would help improve their design skills. The plastic bottle sculptures were made from recycled bottles and were bent by the pupils with heat guns.
The tables and chairs were created in the Upper School. We encourage pupils to produce furniture as this is a good way to challenge them and for them to demonstrate their excellent design skills. This year we have installed a new Arc welder which the pupils used with considerable ease to produce a range of exceptionally high-quality products.
The flying creatures were made by Remove pupils. The project gives pupils an introduction on how to use workshop tools and equipment. All pupils very much enjoyed coming up with their own designs and seeing them through to fruition. They learnt a number of wood working processes including plywood bending and had fun problem solving how to make the extension extras on the wooden animals.
Remove
The Remove created a range of hand printed fabrics using the Batik and Block printing methods. These were then assembled and stitched together using the sewing machine to form a patchwork that is cut into a heart shape. Once the patchwork was complete, pupils created rows of different coloured decorative machine stitches and learned how to hand embroider with traditional methods of fly and cross stitches. The hearts were then filled with lavender ready for hanging.
Lower Fourth
The LIV studied the British contemporary artist Kurt Jackson, specifically researching his seascape paintings to make their own response to his work. They created an expressive, colourful painted background using a variety of painting techniques such as wet-in-wet, splattering and rolling, adding textural surface embellishment using methods such as soldering, free machine stitching and hole punching. These components were added to the painted canvas to form the final piece.
Upper Fourth
In the UIV Art Textiles rotation, the objective is to introduce the pupils to what the GCSE Art and Design Textiles course would entail. Pupils began by analysing the work of Josh Blackwell, an artist who embroiders and stitches onto items such as plastic bags (known as ‘Never Uses’) transforming commonplace objects into visionary sculptures. He uses plastic bags as his canvas and uses these to create geometrically abstract compositions.
Once the pupils had researched the artist, they were then introduced to drawing exercises that included Contour Drawing to create abstract and quirky portraits using a continuous line. These were then developed by adding colour and pattern to create bold illustrative portraits informed by the work of Natasa Kekanovic.
The next stage included the use of the free motion setting on the sewing machine; pupils transferred their portraits onto a plastic bag canvas using the machines, which created an outline for them to follow. They could then add colourful marks and patterns using various yarns and stitch types. The outcomes were unique to each pupil, an abundance of colour and pattern in the form of pupil portraits, they transformed everyday items into artwork that can now be mounted in a box frame.
