The Grange School visits

I've visited the year 10 group from The Grange on two occasions now. A class of about 18 students at the beginning of their art and design GCSE course. I've joined them a little way into their first project which is self directed. They have the opportunity to create and develop a range of imagery through photography, printmaking, painting, drawing, digital media and fabric work. The outcome to this open project is a constructed fabric/paper piece or a series of manipulated digital images.

My first visit with the group involved an introduction to my work, a talk through one of my project sketchbooks, focusing on the use of materials, experimenting with surfaces and approach to photography. The students had already completed a practical session on experimental photography and produced an impressive selection of sophisticated, abstract images. Using similar methods in my own work, students had photographed objects and surfaces with directed lighting and filters. For example, one student had drawn/indented into a sheet of tin foil, marking the surface and creating a new texture. This foil was sculpted into shape and photographed with controlled lighting directed at the new surface. The results I'll post up as soon as I can. But this work is a good example of the transformation of material which can take place and most importantly, doccumented by the students.

Image of indented tin foil

I think the high level of photography has created a new challenge for these students as they have to develop and build on their imagery. Many have started by using the photography as a reference in mono type printing. Lines, shapes, colours found in the image are extracted and mimicked on paper, acetate and fabric through one off prints. The students used a printing board, coated in paint/ink, scratched through with a mixture of mark making tools eg pencil, stick, bottle top, pen lid, cork etc. I've previously recorded a mono type print demo using Adobe Breeze software, here's a link to this which is covering the same techniques the year 10s have been practicing.

Mono type print demonstration

A further stage in development, means this printed material becomes new subject matter to be photographed using the similar lighting and arranging experiments as before. The prints can also be layered up together to be photographed or scanned so work becomes digitalised. Further editing can take place using Adobe Photoshop. The students are reaching this stage when I meet them for a second time last week.

The final stages of the project include bringing all this experimental work together. How to fuse digital imagery with fabric and paper, how to deal with changing scales, making decisions on successful imagery to be developed.

We began the lesson looking at the group's sketchbooks on a central table. Reviewing together areas of interest, explanations of technique, successful and contrasting work. I had the chance to speak individually with students, looking more closely at sketchbooks, which are revealing a range of interests and styles.

One particular student had maintained a very consistent approach to her subject matter, which was a grandfather's clock. Its a positive aspect of the project I think, that students have the freedom to choose objects of personal interest and significance. This student had photographed the clock face at various angles, focusing strongly on the decorative hands of the clock, cropping the image closely around the hands, altering the understanding of the subject matter, beginning to abstract the information from its source. The resulting images were referenced in mono printing, drawing and paperwork. The next stage saw paper cut-outs of the hands, suspended on string and photographed, capturing the shadows and delicate paper edges. These hands have taken on a new dimension in this group of images, that of unusual, irregular and sculptural shapes.

I will meet some of these students online tomorrow, who have prepared questions relating to their own work and the technical issues that are arising as they conclude their project.