words and print

Poetry and prints made by the wonderfully creative Year 4 class at St. Mary's Church of England Primary School, Walthamstow, will be exhibited at Walthamstow Library from the 31st May - 30th June during this years E17 Arts Trail. It was a pleasure to work alongside the class in responding to LOGO. No 112, a new public art work for Walthamstow Town Square by Richard Woods. Go see! Take family and friends!

LOGO No.112

Today I ran a workshop with Year 4 children at St Mary's C of E Primary School in Walthamstow, London. I've been commissioned to develop sessions that enable local children to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of public art, specifically Richard Woods work in Walthamstow Town Square. 

One element of the session was asking the children to work in groups to form word responses to particular questions and these developed into the poems below. Felt compelled to share as it was a special moment when the groups took turns to stand before their class and read aloud their work.

 Richard Woods LOGO No.112 in Walthamstow Town Square

Sunny yellow like lemon
Silky luxurious like my mums summer dress
Smooth, you can touch it and your finger slides down
The paint shines like the sun
The art makes me feel happy for the amazing textures



Olive green, apple burst with a hint of raspberry crush and something called eco
Bumpy like the detailed soil in my garden
Splodge, the paint falls on my eyes
Happy colourful fields of corn and stain glass windows
Reminds me of the fields in sunny Devon
Makes me feel joyful like I am in a free field



The greenest grassy grass in my back yard
Bumpy feeling when you touch it
Splatters me with blossom
Spring reminds me of the colourful birds in the sky
Strange confusion of colour



Spring fields with corn as golden as the sun
Slippery smooth surface
Shiny as the moon with shine of the amazing sun
Spring when everything's blooming and colour
Happy is fun, fun is great, great is amazing and amazing is me!
Multicoloured as a new sun put in the sky 

not in education, employment or training

Disappointed to report that my project with young people not in education, employment or training at The Hepworth Wakefield has been cancelled due to low attendance. We are now planning to deliver the three week course in March 2014 - so fingers crossed for a creative spring.

38 hoe street

Back to my old haunt of Walthamstow for an exciting project engaging local primary school children with a new artwork in Walthamstow Town Square by Richard Woods. Woods work seeks to extend the legacy of William Morris's ideology and practice through his hand (or foot made!) printing methods and is perfectly located with the William Morris Gallery a 15 minute walk away from the Town Square.

This commission is part of a wider project showcasing a series of improvements for Walthamstow Town Square and Hoe Street. 

NEET

I'm very excited about working on the first Level 2 Integrated Youth Programme at The Hepworth Wakefield this December. Using the exhibition programme as inspiration our three week course will introduce young people to creative processes and ways of looking, thinking and making. Participants will work together to develop an idea from initial concept through to completion and benefit from an increased sense of self-worth as they set goals, develop and manage their own workload.

high light

Interpretation text and exhibition images below from last nights celebration event at The Hepworth Wakefield, an amazing finale to our Unitas Summer Arts College. All young people achieved their Bronze Arts Award, all are going onto further education, all have improved their social skills and 7 out of the 8 have improved their literacy and numeracy skills. I'm very proud of their achievements.

Thank you to Gillian, Reuben, Andrew, Joe, Siobhan, Vikki, April, Nat, Vic, Kate and everyone else at The Hepworth Wakefield and Wakefield YOT who supported this project. Thank you to the young peoples friends and families who crowded the learning studios last night and took a keen interest in the learning and achievements of the young people. It was the most celebratory celebration I've ever attended!

High Light

bright   exciting   awesome   fantastic   absolutely amazing

dark and funny   geometric shapes   massive big commitment

An exhibition created and curated by eight young people from the Wakefield District. The artworks are inspired by the artist Haroon Mirza, whose work is on display in Galleries 1 and 10.

We invite you to explore the space and expereince some of the sights and sounds of the Summer Arts College, captured by the young people using a variety of media during an intensive three weeks of creative activities.

The young people visited:

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

The balls of gas burned bright as televisions, the stars

were as bright as the moon

Chantry Chapel

The shadows of darkness are like caves

no longer feeling down as we bring music

Emley Moor Transmitting Station (with a special ascent of 330 meters to the top)

We traveled the sky, we squeezed up tight to see the light

The lift going down sounded like a marching band

They also visited an artist's studio in Sheffield where they made steel sculpture.

The young people have worked with sculptor Gillian Brent, visual artist Karen Logan, DJ and producer Reuben Griffiths and poet Andrew McMillan. Each young person has achieved a bronze level Arts Award qualification.

Stay in the light   Keep it right   Stomp my buildings

 Film - sound -  structure - light

Showcasing the young peoples achievements

Our journey in pictures

 Intervention in Haroon Mirza's exhibition

Another viewpoint...

welding + words

Its hard to believe that the Unitas Summer Arts College at The Hepworth Wakefield is almost over. The third week has passed in a flash with the young people welding steel structures in Sculptor Gillian Brent's Sheffield studio and forming interpretation and poetic responses with the positive energy and nurture of Andrew McMillan.

This week has been challenging in terms of behaviour and testing boundaries. The SAC is an intensive process requiring high levels of attendance, commitment and participation for young people who may not have engaged in education for some time and have added challenges around literacy and numeracy. It was hard to judge what the group were thinking as frequent comments of 'this is shit' were accompanied by daily attendance. I've since learnt that their attendance is a great achievement and at a basic level 'this is shit' is a response, which is no bad thing...

The group have all passed their Bronze Arts Awards this week, a fantastic achievement and for some their first qualification. We are also striving for improvements in literacy, numeracy and social skills and will find out the results of their tests next week.

So now to hang and stage the work for the groups celebration event on Wednesday 4th September. The groups exhibition, High Light is showing at The Hepworth Wakefield from Tuesday 3rd to Friday 6th September in the learning studios.  

Camera skills

 Projected poems

Body outline/post-it note - sharing positive attributes

Structures made by the young people

 Steel and light