We have started our new project at Strandtown with a new group of children.
Our theme for this project is Text – Space – Place.
See images for our first session based upon ‘text as object’!
This week we worked on developing a map of our local area. This will be used to locate our buried shards. In the studio I started with some images taken from google and also some images of old maps. The were layered together using collage to build up my design.
This session explored the shard and how it is used by archaeologists and historians to construct history. Due to the physical properties of ceramic the material is hard to destroy and as a consequence pieces are often found during excavations of the earth. Within the session we began by drawing a ceramic pot, which was then smashed and divided out as shards. These were then drawn upon with self portraits and painted. The finished shards will be buried for future generations to find.
Exploring clay as printed image.
The two recent sessions have been focussed on the the butterfly – it was chosen for its short life span and yet the preserved butterfly appears in museums and collections and appears in the work of many artists. We started the sessions by exploring some artists that use the butterfly within their work, some of these can be seen in the images following. The artists include, Amorales, Twomey and Hirst. Firstly we drew and coloured butterflies – in the second session we then created ceramic butterflies which will be fired to make an installation somewhere in the school.
This work once again examines ‘permanence’ and ‘impermanence’ and the duration of time – with regards to the butterfly – that something lives for such a short time and yet can be preserved for much longer.
Follow the link for a short video clip of the head beginning to dissolve.
In the studio and classroom this week we created miniature portraits in clay which were then placed with glass jars and plastic bottles – these were then covered with water and the process is being documented by myself and the children through the duration of the project. It was exciting pouring the water onto the finished work and begin to watch the features of the head disintegrate. The work uses the processes of clay due to its breakdown in water to capture deterioration and change within the clay heads. Within an historical context this is known as ‘slaking’ – there are also many contemporary artists using unfired clay in time-based artwork – these include contemporary artists David Cushway, Clare Twomey and Pheobe Cummings. The following images show the development of the artwork and some still images show the beginnings of the changes, be sure to follow the blog to watch the progression of the deterioration.
Images of pupils work
We all learnt a new word today! Transmogrification ‘To change into a different shape or form’. We all started with a clay cube which was drawn and shaded on paper. The clay cube was then slowly deconstructed and each pinch of clay taken away was recorded with an eraser which was used to rub away the same mark on the drawing. When the clay cube had been deconstructed the small pieces were used to construct a sphere.
