fast-print-wearable-sculpture

My brief was to create an activity that could accommodate 300 participants a day, reference Hodgkin and Hepworth and result in something wearable within 20 minutes of making! This workshop was the result. Run during the Summer Bazaar weekend at the Hepworth Wakefield, our visitor total was 611 happy people - phew! With thanks to staff and volunteers Hilary, Lesley, Rachael and Haleema, also Sandra for help moving tables!

 Thoughtful layering of colour and texture

 Mr Happy

 Lefty

 Print head

Inventive child

 Our home for the weekend

outdoor play

Myself and Gillian Brent got our heads together in her Sheffield studio and invented this drop-in workshop for families in response to Howard Hodgkin: Painting India. Rain and wind meant our Outdoor Play workshop became indoor play in the bright and roomy learning studios at the gallery. We had a few utterances of 'wow' as children stepped into the space, one child calling the installation a laundry painting, which I loved! 

Our idea evolved from a sense of being able to walk into Hodgkin's paintings. Throughout the days, our walk-in painting altered, evolved and began again as 230+ participants pegged, tied and draped fabric, ribbons and drawings within the structure. They did this after exploring the gallery using an inventive pack containing questions, prompts, ribbons, fabric, a black card frame and bags containing cloves, cardamon, cinnamon and coriander seeds - connecting scent and painting in their own personal way.

As always, we couldn't do this without the support of the learning team and generous volunteers - a BIG thank you to them. 

 Ribbon response to Howard Hodgkin

 Dressed for the occasion!

 Walk-in-painting

 'Painting' with fabric

 Laundry painting

Small artist

colourscape

300+ participants got involved with Colourscape, inspired by Howard Hodgkin: Painting India at The Hepworth Wakefield. A weekend of outdoor drop-in workshops for families, arranging fabric and play equipment in response to Hodgkin's bold, gestural paintings.

 Concentration & focus

 Mother & child (hidden under the fabric)

 Play equipment Hodgkin

 Flying colour

 Team work

I like pink

magnetic

We had a steady morning and a busy afternoon in the learning studios this Sunday. As I meet and greet folk I'm near to the cutting & sticking table and get to observe children's fascination with our magnetic wall - this tot was happily moving magnets from one piece of paper to the other.

Was delighted that a couple of adults without children got to 'have a go' with the felt making process. One woman thanked me, saying 'We don't have a family so never get to participate in these activities'. Couldn't agree more, was so happy that adults without children could expand their learning with us, with me. 

dinosaur

Family felt making at The Hepworth Wakefield last Sunday, no photos of felt this time BUT this little lad created a picture on our magnetic wall - a dinosaur! He was one of the politest and clearest children I've ever met. Great boundaries wee one!

inner child

Back in London after running a weekend workshop for families at The Hepworth Wakefield. I love setting out the cutting and sticking table, a riot of wondrous Lyra Colour Giant pencils, hole punches, tape, wool, paper and card. It's a do-what-you-like-invent-create-stuff corner where eggs, roaring dinosaurs, butterflies and flowers emerged today. Adults were crammed round it too, their inner children demanding a bit of ME time!

This drawing is by a 4 year old who explored Gallery 5 which is full of small and enormous Hepworth working models. At the bottom of the page she drew the rope barrier with no opinion about it, just that it was there. Her sense of perspective intrigued me, as well as the people included in her gallery scene. A wonderful representation.

richard long

On the opening weekend of Richard Long's exhibition I ran drop-in workshops for families using pebbles, cobbles and slate to create spirals, circles and sinuous lines that traversed the learning studio floor. The seriousness with which the children took in decision making, arranging and careful positioning of stone next to stone delighted me and led to interesting conversations with parents sharing our own memories of absorbing childhood play. 

The particularly wet June meant we worked indoors but I dearly hope we can use the marvellous outdoor green space that runs the length of the gallery (near to Long's grass work) in future drop-ins.