Artist Lucy Carlton-Walker is offering Gateshead Ambassadors a sculpture workshop at a special introductory rate, and one lucky Ambassador will even get the workshop for free! Lucy's sculpture workshop, Landscapes of the Future, focuses on how our environments are continually changing, and how everyday objects can be creatively recycled to become part of the planet. The aim is to encourage and improve a range of skills through exploration of contemporary art. This will be done using a cross-curricular approach, with recycling as the key theme.
The workshop will encourage the participants to consider how they think a town might look in 2060, fifty years from now. They will be asked to consider what we need to survive in our environment and what we currently take for granted, and to think what they would want their future landscape to look like and how they would live within it.
This links to the work of artist Sarah Sze and her exhibition Tilting Planet in which she created her own universe from everyday objects. The environments that Sze creates consider what humans need for survival, and explores how we treat the world we live in.
The workshop will be targeted at year groups 2 to 6 in Newcastle and Gateshead primary schools. There will be the opportunity for up to thirty children to take part in a morning session, followed by a different group of up to thirty in the afternoon. Each session will last for two hours. The workshop can be adapted to this age range through the language that is used and the level of ideas that are explored.
Read on for details of the workshop and information. The first Ambassador to respond will get the workshop for FREE, funded by Gateshead Council Arts Development Team.
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To book your place or claim your free workshop please email Hannahmackay@gateshead.gov.uk
Aims and Objectives
Aim 1 - For pupils to have fun and an inspirational experience:
1.1 Creating works of art.
1.2 Opportunity to work with an artist in a school environment.
Aim 2 - For pupils to gain a broader understanding of the theme of environment and recycling through using art as a creative tool:
2.1 Gaining an understanding of the themes through presentations and group discussion.
2.2 Building their knowledge of the themes by creating their own artworks in response to the topic.
Aim 3 - For pupils to gain a sense of attainment and ownership of the project:
3.1 To exercise independence of thought and creativity.
3.2 To share experiences with their peers.
3.3 Display their finished works at school.
Learning Outcomes
· Understanding and Meaning Making
Ø Making connections between the theme and themselves/activities/wider contexts.
Ø Applying prior knowledge to help understand or connect to artwork/activities.
Ø Looking / discussing / questioning to aid understanding.
· Development and Experimentation
Ø Taking risks.
Ø Stepping outside/beyond familiar ideas and concepts.
Ø Generating or extending new ideas.
Ø Problem solving.
Ø Looking for more imaginative/innovative solutions.
· Motivation and Engagement
Ø Asking questions and trying out answers.
Ø Re-formulating questions/answers in response.
Ø Engaging with ideas and activities.
Ø Engaging with artist.
Ø Taking control/ownership of activities.
Plan for Workshops
The artist will visit the school to discuss with the teachers what their pupils will gain from the workshop and to look at the spaces and resources which can be used.
The workshop can take place in a classroom or a hall depending on the space available and where the work will be displayed after the workshop.
The workshop will be led by the artist Lucy Carlton-Walker; however the class teacher and any necessary support staff should be present throughout the workshop and available to assist children with the activity.
On the day
· A brief introduction to the artist and the workshop will be given.
5 Minutes
· This will then lead to discussing recycling and asking the class a range of questions so that they start to consider a variety of ideas.
Why do you think we recycle? Is it important?
Will recycling change the planet in the future? How?
What items can we recycle? What do you recycle?
10 Minutes
· This will then lead to a power point presentation of Sarah Sze's work to identify the objects that she uses which are all recycled and how she has created her own Tilting Planet. While looking at the images the group will be asked to identify all the different materials that she has used and how she has placed them together. This will involve discussing whether they like the artist's work and what they think Sarah's work is trying to show to the viewer. This will lead into an activity where the class has the opportunity to put what they have been discussing into practice.
15 Minutes
· Working in groups of four, each person is given a piece of A4 paper which has been folded into four parts. The purpose of the activity is for each child to think of four different things that they would like in their landscape of the future. They are given a few minutes to think about this and discuss it as a class.
This will include asking a range of questions to encourage discussion:
How do you want the future to look?
What do you think houses will look like?
What would your school look like?
Would we still have cars?
Would we live in the trees or under the sea?
Would we just use natural energy from the sun, sea and water?
They are then given a few minutes to draw or write down the first of the four ideas that they have decided they want in their landscape of the future, when they have finished they will be told to pass it to the next person and draw/write their second idea. They do this until they have each visualised four ideas on four different pages. In groups they then look at what they have in their Landscape of the Future and discuss it as a class. This will help them to be creative, using a range of ideas to visualise what their Landscape of the Future could look like.
25 Minutes
· This leads to the main activity: using a range of materials similar to the ones that Sarah Sze used, the group will create their own Landscape of the Future. This will first involve a demonstration by the artist to show them how they can utilise the materials using a range of different methods. The materials they will be given to work with will be small so that their designs are intricate and detailed. They will continue to work in their groups as they each create a part of the planet that will come together as a class at the end. To try and help the group to be more creative they are each allowed to use four different items, and can collect more as and when they need to. This will give them the opportunity to be an artist and create their own planet, whilst considering the materials and how they can be recycled to create a landscape in which the group would like to live.
45 Minutes
· There will then be the opportunity to discuss as a class what they have created, as they place it all together to see their whole Landscape of the Future. The session will be drawn to a positive conclusion, discussing what they have created and the processes they have gone through. The importance of recycling for future generations and the impact it has on us now and in the future will be emphasised.
15 Minutes
· If they finish quickly then a further activity is for the pupils to use the technique of storytelling to explore their landscape. They will pretend they have taken a drink from a magic cup which shrunk them to two centimetres in height, allowing them to live in their Landscape of the Future. As they are so small they can climb inside their sculptures. As a group they tell the story of what they would do and how they would live.
15 Minutes
● Total time for workshop: Two hours.
After the workshop
All the art produced in the workshop is left in the school for the teachers and pupils. This provides the opportunity for post-workshop creativity and engagement. The children can discuss it with their peers and families, which could then have the knock-on effect of the children visiting cultural venues in their own leisure time.
Materials provided by the school
The school will need to provide a number of basic materials this will include
Ø Pens/pencils
Ø A4 plan paper
Ø Tables
Ø Chairs
Ø Facilities for a power point presentation
Materials provided by the artist
A range of materials will be used for the sessions which take inspiration from the items used by Sarah Sze in Tilting Planet. These include:
Ø Zip tags
Ø Paper plates
Ø Plastic cups
Ø Plastic Spoons
Ø Wool
Ø String
Ø Match sticks
Ø Paint charts
Ø Installation tube
Ø Plastic flowers
Ø Foam
Ø Playing cards
Ø Lollipop sticks
Ø Straws
Ø Glue
Ø Electric Tape
Ø Clear Tape
Ø Card
Ø Material
Ø White Tac
The workshop will help to develop a range of skills including:
Ø Listening and responding
Ø Speaking
Ø Group discussion and interaction
Ø Presentation
Ø Naming
Ø Examining
Ø Storytelling
Ø Role-play
Ø Creative thinking
Ø Questioning and answering
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