The Big Draw with Christopher le Brun - Autumn 2009
Eight A level pupils spent an afternoon working at Roche
Court Sculpture Park with internationally renowned artist Christopher
le Brun as part of the Big Draw campaign.
They worked in the park looking at the placement of sculptures in the
landscape. Le Brun talked about the sketchbooks of Turner and how space
and atmosphere can be described through drawing. We are grateful to
Roche Court for allowing us to work once again with artists of the
caliber of le Brun.
Cornwall Study Trip - Easter 2009
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For four days over Easter a group of nineteen A level pupils went to Cornwall on an art study trip. The Cornish peninsular has been a haven for artists for many years and the current generation of artists are building on that reputation. The course was mainly practical with drawing trips to Cape Cornwall, Levant Mine, Sennen Cove and the Minnack Theatre. The highlights, however, were the studio visits. These visits allowed the students to see the daily workings of artists and to question them about influences, materials, interests and subject matter. Artists included Louise McClary, Ashley Hanson and Naomi Frears. Naomi allowed pupils to make decisions about the directions of her painting whilst working on it which was a valuable and challenging experience.
The balance between exciting practical explorations and an understanding of the history of Cornish led to a highly successful trip, with fantastic weather and exemplary attitudes from all pupils making it all the better.
GCSE Visit to Michael Shaw Exhibition
All the 5th form artists braved the snow to see the Virtually Sculpture exhibition at the Study Gallery of Modern Art on February 6th 2009. The impressive inflatable pieces were produced by the sculptor Michael Shaw as a result of his 3 year residency at Loughborough University. The large pieces soured into the glass atrium at the gallery and showed the potential of how artists can use Computer Aided Design in their work.
Oil Painting Workshop
Head of Art Dylan Lloyd ran a day workshop for a group of 24 GCSE and A level artists on painting processes on Saturday 7th Feburary. In his own work he uses combinations of acrylic and oil paint to produce burred photographic style images and these were shown in a talk prior to the practical element.
Demonstrations about surfaces, painting mediums and applications were shown after lunch followed by the students working on a series of paintings in the afternoon. For many of the younger pupils this was their first chance to work with oil paint but the resulting pieces showed real potential for future development.
Textiles Workshop
Fifth and Sixth Form pupils recently had to opportunity to benefit from the expertise of textile specialist, Georgie Jefferies. The art department at Canford works in a wide range of media and, to enhance the pupils’ experience, runs an exciting programme where visiting contemporary artists discuss their work and run practical workshops. These engaging events promote diverse and sophisticated responses.
“Exciting, trendy and cool” were some of the reactions to Georgie’s portfolio which provided inspiration for the pupils as they learnt to translate their drawings into stitching using a free foot on sewing machines. Felt making provided a great opportunity to produce material that could be used in collages and the session ended with some batik work. The workshop has given the pupils confidence to carry on exploring the medium for themselves.
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| Georgie (right) demonstrates a felt making technique |
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