Waddesdon Year 13 Tutorial

Screenshot from web meeting

At the end of February I met with two year 12 students from Waddesdon School. Both are completing a project towards their coursework for A Level Art on the theme of altered images, a variation on the term abstraction and possibly easier to digest as a starting point.

I have met these students online and through visits to the school over the last few months. They have been developing their own subject matter within sketchbooks, fabric and larger paintings. Each student talked through their project so far, holding up their work to the webcam. The purpose of this meeting was to provide another viewpoint for the student, outside the school environment, suggesting other techniques, materials, artists relating to their project.

The first student has been concentrating on various perspectives and enlargements of flowers, particularly roses. The centre of the flower becoming the focus , magnifying the area to fill a composition. Lots of experimenting with layers of papers, painted surfaces torn and collaged, fabric prints,combing textures together. Its interesting how this student has been concentrating on the structure and texture of the flower more so than colour, creating quite a sculptural feel to the project. This is leading to a very personal and unique interpretation of familiar subject matter. In fact constructions of the flower have been made and photographed and the results used to direct painting compositions. This continuous development of process informing the next is something informing my own practice. Building and understanding subject matter by testing a variety of viewpoints and dimensions, repeatedly.




This work reminded me of an artist Junko Mori, who creates series of small scale metal constructions, who has exhibited at Crafts Council. Both student's work relate well to the techniques and materials being used by artists from the 'Out of Ordinary' exhibiiton held at the V and A museum recently.

Junko Mori's website

Out of the Ordinary exhibition

The second student is looking at altered images of the body. Researching artists like Christopher Townsend and Bill Brant. Arranging her own compositions, concentrating on various body parts like feet, hands and back. Again a good variation of style. These tonal black and white images are well contrasted with other painterly, colourful compositions. The challenge will be to combine these approaches together in the final piece.

Waddesdon 2nd Visit

I made my second visit to Waddesdon Year 12 group a couple of weeks ago. Having met the class as a group both online and on my first visit, this session I was able to talk to students individually about their current project. With self directed briefs such as urban environments, students have been building up sketchbooks and starting to move onto large scale work in paint, fabric, collage and photography.

I was able to follow up in depth and in person, a dialogue started online with two of the students from the group. Both have been looking at urban environments and researching a variety of 20th century artists such as Hopper and Blake. Research also includes their own documentation of urban life through photography and drawing. This is where a clear distinction takes place of interpretation and personal perspective of a theme, scattering sketchbooks styles far and wide.

One student was looking at how to fuse visually, urban and rural scenes, trying to suggest a gradual/subtle move between the two. This student had begun to work with fabric and paper and stitch, taking references from research from my own textile work. Looking at how to use a variety of surface, mixing hand dyed/washed fabric and painted fabric. We talked about using stitch to combine these layers as well adding detail to the surface to suggest shape and texture. Also being aware of the use of materials, maybe natural, rough fabrics like hessian and wool for rural depiction and lighter, shiner, smoother fabrics to suggest modern architectural details.

Another student taking a big influence from atmospheric painter Edward Hopper, had experimented with ink washes, flood lit city scenes, areas of light and dark, city perspectives and solitary figures. I liked how this student was using contrast in medium. Watery backdrops were combined with graphic, sketchy, outlined, illustrative figures.

Having the opportunity to support students in their work in progress, I become aware of the clear recall I have from my own tutorials while at art college. There are were a few, impacting comments made years ago, which always spring up when reviewing my own or other's work.

-the importance of unique, original use of colour, mix every time. Being careful where colour is sourced from, creating where possible my own coloured surfaces and combinations rather than relying on ready-mades, (from coloured paper to bottled paint). This can mean building up to decisions on colour rather than dictating from the start. Through the use of layers, (paint, ink, transparent papers, fabrics, types of fabric eg, synthetic dyes differently to natural), adding and removing colour, mask out areas, paste over the top, white wash and build up again.

-perfecting a new technique. Don't settle for first attempts at a new process. Learn through doing, over and over. For example, one of the students I met from the year 12 group was trying ink washes for the first time on a large scale. The results were great, bold and confident with some interesting effects. Even if this quality is achieved on first attempts, its essential to go back do more of the same. The learning curve is enormous as you teach yourself, and can begin to predict results rather than simply test.

And one thing of many I'm taking away with me from meeting all these students is annotating sketchbooks! Something I've relied on my memory for, looking back at old sketchbooks, I can recall methods but never in precise detail, This group explain themselves on every page and will have precious, lasting resources as a result.

Waddesdon meeting with Year 12

I met with the year 12 class from Waddesdon School online last week. This is the same group I have been in contact with since the beginning of the project. The computer at the schools end has the web cam embedded into the top of the screen, which was positioned facing the class. Students had gathered into a group to ask questions and have a look around my studio space, their first view of the space as a group.

The main theme to be discussed, in relation to the student's own project work, was abstraction. How is abstraction used in my work? How do I develop work through abstraction. A question very relevant to the way I handle imagery, extracting information in the form of shapes, textures and colour of interest. Selecting areas from a range of imagery and fusing together on a new surface, using fabric, dye, print and stitch-at the moment. This can change. Often I extract detail from digital files using Adobe Photoshop. I can copy and paste areas onto a new file, creating a new composition. This can be printed and Incorporated into my other fabric constructions.

Other questions from the students revolved around actively making work, what inspires a piece of work, how much time is spent on each piece, what price do I sell work for. How do i make a living? What career advice would I offer new artists? Getting tricky, these questions.

I'll meet a few students from the group this week, to view and discuss their work in progress.

Waddesdon School 1st Visit

My next visit was a return to Waddesdon Church of England Secondary School. This school had been the home to my first studio space since leaving college, as part of the Arts Council South East Setting Up Scheme. I arrived at the start of a year 13 art lesson with Head of Art, Mr Berrett. Listening at the back of the class I was struck by the air of calm and professionalism about the room. The 20 or so students listening intently to a talk about researching artists and relating information towards individual work, finding links, inspiration, ideas to try. Actively delving into an artist's work selected by students themselves, to aid own visual responses, taking responsibility for their own art learning.

With this introduction, I came over to the class with my sketchbooks, fabric samples and slides to explain my own approach as an artist. I talked through my journey from college to now, examples of finished work, for commission, exhibition and for ongoing development. The students were keen to look through sketchbooks and ask questions about method and use of material. I shared experimental techniques, using back lighting, continuous surface embellishment, using low tech materials, encouraging a sense of play with these familiar materials, eg newspaper, clingfilm, bubble wrap. Creating own subject matter, from scratch, to photograph, to scan, to draw from, to deconstruct.

These discussions continued into the afternoon as I was able to meet students individually, and talk through their current work. This term sees the start of their self directed project, a daunting task allowing a freedom of subject matter, medium and scale. The students individuality was already very clear, demonstrating influences form a whole range of styles and techniques. What struck me most was the ease at which these students were merging ideas from new media artists and old masters.

It's an area which stimulates my own practice greatly. This merging of new and traditional media, combining painting, drawing, photography with digital imaging, animation and sound. The scope which exists for students to visualise their ideas is enormous. Because of this great choice, the level of research and development must run deep to secure a strong and consistent visual identity.