St. Thomas' S.N.S. | Artist Journal

We had a plan we were building on the idea of a visit to the sea to explore in real terms the smell the sound the space the colour the texture the vastness the imagination. So we did. Senior infants on the bus to Bray!

http://youtu.be/u954DaAo3qg

The first think to do was to run and embrace the waves, to run and be chased by the sea, to get caught and get wet and to run again and not be caught. The screams were not louder than the crashing waves. Discovery of rocks, rocks with holes, rocks that spell your name that talked back to you when you whispered into its craggy surface.

http://youtu.be/m-Njw0I-An8

http://youtu.be/gRIKtzz7MBM

Digging and building and digging deeper. Finding your own space and building and feeling the texture that was on offer. It was a day of embracing the sea and finding a space for the discovery and slowing it down.

Then it was time for home and sleepy journeys and dreams.

Today First Class joined us to experience our virtual journey into the Kingdom. We are quite the must see destination hot spot!

Textiles, Fabric, Cloth we explored the qualities and expanded our language. First class and senior infants worked together through this exploratory journey to complete the flags of the kingdom

At the end of each session the photographs that senior infants and Meadhbh have taken are streamed to my I phone staight after the session. Now there are a lot of photographs to edit and process but this image in particular describes how the technical side of our virtual experience works so well. Sean has the ipad and is bringing me on tour chatting away taking photos and interviewing his class mates.

Week 7 it has flown. So where we and what are are we. We are opening ourselves to working with a range of materials and visually building on a story that week after week prompts storytelling, crossing borders, colouring the skies, building an identity, expressing journey and learning about different culture, song and cultural identity. This visual journey is keeping alive my visit to Lesotho. Last week we launched the hanging of Imram which was made by Sesotho designs and designed by the Transition Year students in Pobal Scoil Chorca Dhuibhne.

What has happened just by chance is invitation to join our virtual journey and access to our newly formed kingdom has been given to other classes in St. Thomas Junior School. Last week it first class and their teachers. They worked in partnership with senior infants. It was an exhilarating virtual experience! It has prompted an interest and inquiry from other classes and second class are waiting for an invite! We will look at the weeks ahead and decide on a week that suits the flow and process.

Today our invitee was Mark. Mark who is a sculptor and featured in the video and your of the studio and caused all the frustration because he would not answer back.

Just when I was thinking I haven’t had a frustrating moment! I have been working in Pobal Scoil Chorca Dhuibhne for the last few days and was doing my virtual session from the school. I had invited Josie and Anna who had traveled with me to Lesotho in February to join in on the session.

In rural Dingle the internet connection is very slow. Bernie and Josh as I froze thought by shaking the I pad might release me from my frozen state. I drifted in and out of paralyzes my voice delaying in transmission. I felt sea sick from the vigorous shaking as Bernie and Josh tried to rescue me… Next time I will have to take sea sickness remedy!

It was really frustrating.. I didn’t think to question the Internet connection as I had worked virtually with the students of Chorca Dhuibhne before.

In fairness to Meadhbh we worked around it and used the phone in-between bouts of adequate connection.

Birds, clouds and visiting birds. What makes the sky blue? What makes the sky purple? Today we made backgrounds for our flock of birds. We mixed delicious colour for the kingdoms sky. We had visitors so this week’s border police stamped our visitors page and dressed them with our own traditional costume!

The virtual tour of the studio prompted great interest. It really gives the children a sense of place and involves them in the work I am doing currently. It prompts direction and interaction. I must get Mark to drop in to the kingdom.

The bird drawings were intuitive free and uninhibited. I was wondering about developing the drawings into 3 dimensions and using a similar approach to my method of drawing.