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The Nature of Sligo | The Nature of Sligo: Kids Own Publishing
2008-12-04
The Nature of Sligo
Week 4. 4th December 2008
The previous week I had asked the children to think about this project and for them to suggest themes, ideas, and/or materials that may have been been triggered over the last few weeks during the workshops. So as a thought generative exercise I asked each child to write a word or two that could be developed as a concrete idea or approach during the project as it unfolds. The following is a response from each child:
Connor: Draw what you see
Luke: Trees/cardboard
Lizzie: Cardboard/trees/habitats including all the things living on a tree
Dylan: Animals and landmarks
Tomas: Insects
Niall: Trees/landscape
Steven: Animals and old buildings
Rosin: Trees and colour study
Sarah: Grass/making pigments from natural found materials
Sinead: Branches/tinfoil
Joanna: Make artifical flowers
Seanen: Leaves used as patterns and shapes to make a large picture
Beatrice: Trees
Darragh: Use your imagination
Daire: Use branches, natural forms
I had prepared a presentation but the images did not project on screen so it scuppered the morning, however I continued with some aspects of the presentation which did not require the aid of visuals to expand and explain the ideas.
Last week we had used graphite and the children asked me about it as a material and if it was the same as lead, so with the help of google and Tomas, we talked about the compression of the earths surface, organic matter - trees, plants and animals, the formation of fossils, coal, limestone and carbon.
Tomas downloaded a very useful animation on what is a fossil and how it is created.
My work for them this weekend is to visit a few sites in Sligo and take photographs of fossils and with Tomas we will organise a field trip out to the coast, to study the fosils in detail and explore living waterpools.
Continuing with drawing, I set up a number of still-lifes and asked the children to develop a number of `blind-contour` drawings. From there they developed `contour` drawings: the main focus being the edge or outline of the objects. Our discussion centered on the difference between `shape` and `form`.
We took a walk down to our tree and again drew and took photographs of the area, but it was so cold we did not stay long.
After lunch, I presented the class with a colour copy of one of Klee`s work and they did a response drawing, introducing colour for the first time into tthe workshop.
The final part of the exercise for each child was to grid Klee`s work, measuring 3cm square. They then measured the copy and transferred the dimensions as a grid work into their sketchbooks.
Following on from this, they transferred the image per square into their sketchbooks.
They really enjoyed this work as it enabled them to draw a picture as they saw it and the grid sequence was a good device for detail.
As Rosin said "I looked more at the copy of Klee`s work then what I was actually drawing". A good exercise in seeing bit it also helped some children to slow down through a close and detailed study of an artists work. A good day.
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