I am currently Artist in residence at a lovely little school right by the sea in South Ayrshire. It is a pilot scheme run by Artists in Schools, funded by NADFAS.
Today was my third week visiting the school.
The project criteria was for a tile project that is to be installed outside the school. I didn't know the theme till I arrived at the school and met the kids.....we wanted it to come from them.
The first week I spent getting the kids to draw what was important to them about their environment and life at Maidens school. Working with the P4,5,6 & 7's I got loads of material to work with.
We ended up with 4 themes that ran through most of the kids pictures.
The sea (there is a perfect view of Ailsa Craig from the village.) The beach. Sport and the school environment.
Last week we came up with 4 designs that will be the guide for the finished piece.
This week we made the tiles. Only a couple of kids could do this at any one time so I started the rest off on some small coil pots. Some of the results were quite impressive.
The kids are so excited about the project. It's great to be part of the school and to hear the kids enthusing about their involvement.
When I applied for this post one of the reasons I thought it was a great idea was that it is the ideal way to show kids that art is a real subject. You can imagine how pleased I was when one of them asked me 'Are you a real artist then- like you do this for a job?' 'Yes I do' I replied 'Isn't that great?' And it is...a great job.
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