Sunday 5 July 2015

Day 2 of Creative Action! The 'Drawing Machine' Family Event

'Drawing Machines' an extravaganza of family fun, learning and cooperation...YUM

On Saturday the 4th of July Battyeford Primary School hosted a family event,funded kindly by Creative Scene, through their DO IT fund. 

We saw many families from our community come through the door to get stuck in to making a range of incredible 'Mark Making Machines', we let our imaginations run riot and most of all we learnt, shared and had terrific enjoyment! We laughed a lot too! Don't they say laughter is the best tonic?! During the day we hosted two events.

With our funding I was able to ask Susan M Coles, National Consultant (based in the North East), to help host the event. She started us off by introducing us to the inventions of Leonardo Da Vinci. Leonardo was one of the most prolific inventors of all times, a scientist, artist, architect, engineer and more, he was never afraid to take risks and test out his ideas. Susan with the NEATEN teachers group and the Baltic in Newcastle won the Big Draw Awards 2014, for a similar project to ours. We were in good hands!

Susan set us off with the task of creating a machine (we only had two hours, to design, make and perform our machine), that could simply make a mark. 

Fabric Lenny also came to help out with delivery on the day (following on from his prior RABBBOT workshop the weekend before)...he helped us add extra features to our machines.
   

The elephant - just in development! We had a brilliant moment when one of the little boys attending thought it was real...so lovely!


Front and back views of a partial machine!  



Is this the back or the front of the Mean Machine?????



This skeleton drawing machine was brilliant in performance! All its limbs dragging across the paper catwalk! 

 

The 'Mean Machine' in action! This family of four (Mum and Dad are not performing) created a brilliant wheelbarrow machine. Fantastic!


 A Reptilian Drawing Machine with amazing proboscis, created cool swirls across the hall floor (best not tell the Caretaker)! 





Above ...The Mischievous Minion Machine! 
 

The 'Human Spirograph' below was a piece of engineering genius! Also the whole family were really brave and choreographed a routine that took them up, down and around the catwalk...what superstars they were!  Love it! 


We were all in awe of this little one (Just 2 yrs old) and not yet a member of the school community, but living locally. After seeing what she could achieve aged 2, I so hope I get this one in my art class in a few years time! The brilliant 'Little Elephant' Drawing Machine...and so, so brave...she performed as well !

Here is Susan assisting one of our Yr 1 pupils who is attending with his family. 
Before and after!    


Moving swiftly...too fast for my camera!

Brilliant team work from two sisters and a cousin!  
 

More fast movers! The 'Raptor' and 'Funky Feet'! I am afraid I didn't manage to get the feet in! However we had a moment of madness when those feet got stuck! 


 'Those boots (and claws) are made for drawing, and that's just what they'll do...one of these days those boots (and claws) are gonna draw all over you!"
The fabulous 'Wolverine Drawing Machine'.


The 'Princess Drawing Machine' - that corset hurts! 




What a great day of togetherness. Experimental, inventive extreme mark making! Thanks to all who attended, I know you all really enjoyed the activity. FUN!

A Two Day Celebration of Creativity - First an INSET for Teachers on Architecture in Art, Craft & Design

WoW! What an explosion of energy, learning, passion, resilience, teamwork and FUN! 

I am tired, very tired... but oh so happy! You see the last two days has seen an explosion of creativity bursting through the doors of Battyeford Primary School as we have played host to professional Artist and Consultant Susan M Coles and the one and only Fabric Lenny! 

On Friday (3rd July) I coordinated, developed and co-delivered a teacher INSET on Architecture in Art, Craft and Design. Myself and Susan saw teachers from all over the country (and representing all phases) participate with us in a range of practical explorations that they may now take back in to their classrooms. We considered how studies in Architecture through Art, Craft & Design can provide a rich vein of enquiry for pupils to engage with their localities, other cultures, heritage and industry. More than this we are creating schemes for our pupils (through ART - take note Nicky Morgan) which promote over learning and develop questioning and reasoning skills whilst also providing FUN, invigorating and challenging, hands on investigations that supports pupils resilience and 'mastery'. These schemes ooze ambition and feed in to developing aspiration. 

So, the teachers who attended from Kent, Cumbria, Newcastle, Manchester and throughout Kirklees (where our school is based) experienced a range of project ideas.

First up was my 'Little Pigs' inspired houses project taking influence from the visual artist Antonio Ole (from Angola) as well as a variety of significant contemporary architects from around the globe. We looked at an architecture project delivered at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and drew design ideas, taking our sensibilities for texture and colour from the artist 'Ole'.  

Here we are designing... (we have set out on the tables example sketchbooks from our Yr 1 pupils)


Next came preparing our materials, staining and sawing to shape...




Here is everyone, delighted with their outcomes! Totally brilliant! We even considered songs that could match our houses. I wonder if you could think of a song that could match one of the images below?




"In the Jungle" (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) 

In the afternoon Susan M Coles took delegates on a journey of discovery through mark making. We looked at artists Frans Masareel (a Flemish painter and graphic artist) and Berenice Abbott a photographer who used the New York streets and skylines as her inspiration. We worked without pencils or pens and used simply scissors or edge printing techniques to create our work. The day was a resounding success!  


 




Just to prove everyone had a great INSET day, below is some of our feedback. It is likely that we will deliver this course again in the 2015-2016 academic year. So if you are a teacher and interested in attending please contact natalie.deane@battyefordprimary.com
 

        Photos courtesy of Susan M Coles.