Welcome back! A new year at The Art Room

Sep 9

3 min read

www.art-room.co.uk

Art Room

Welcome Back

It’s the start of a new school year and the Art Room is now in its 11th year!

Last year I was lucky enough to be involved in lots more community events here in Barnsley, which I absolutely loved. I also had a really busy programme of summer activities for children, working with lots of different groups and families.

Now that the summer is over, it’s back to school workshops, along with a few evening classes. I’ll share the dates for the upcoming workshops at the end of this newsletter.

I’m hoping to use these newsletters to share a few ideas, tips and inspiration for using creativity in schools, as well as keeping you up to date with what I’ve been getting up to at The Art Room.

Our Workshops

Once again, there’s an array of different workshops available for schools, with activities suitable for different ages and areas of the curriculum. Here’s a quick overview:

Recycled Paper Making We link this popular workshop to Remembrance Day, with children making their own recycled paper and embellishing it with poppies.

Wet Felting A great workshop for all ages and one that can be linked to so many different areas of the curriculum — from Ancient Egypt and nature to favourite book characters.

Willow Weaving Learn a traditional heritage craft while working together to create a large willow sculpture for your school.

If you’re looking for inspiration, have a look through the Art Room gallery to see some of the projects schools have created.

Teaching Art in School

Our top tips for teaching art in primary school

1. Always make an example first

Before you teach a project, make your own example from start to finish. This will give you a valuable insight into how long the activity will take, the skills the children will need and the teaching points you need to cover. You’ll also spot any tricky parts before the children do!

2. Make time for reflection

Artists reflect and evaluate throughout the creative process, so encourage children to do the same. Stop occasionally and ask them to look at what they have created. What could be added? Does it need anything else? Is there something they could change? Or is it finished?

Try not to make reflection something that only happens at the end of a lesson. It’s an important part of the creative process and helps children become more confident in making their own artistic decisions.

Autumn Crafts

Take time this autumn to look at nature. It’s a great time to get outside and notice the changes happening around us — the changing colours, fallen leaves, conkers, acorns and seed pods.

There are lots of simple ways to bring autumn into your art lessons:

Leaf printing – collect different leaves and experiment with printing, looking at the different shapes and textures.

Tree sketches – take sketchbooks outside and draw the trees as they change through the season. Look closely at the bark, branches and leaves.

Nature sculptures – use sticks, leaves, pine cones, conkers and seed pods to create animals, insects or abstract sculptures.

Land art – work outside using natural materials to create temporary patterns, spirals, faces or sculptures. Photograph them before they disappear.

Autumn observational drawing – bring a collection of natural objects into the classroom and spend time really looking at them before drawing. Look at shape, texture, pattern and detail. You could do this as a whole school project to see the progression through school.

Autumn is a great reminder that art doesn’t always need lots of expensive materials — sometimes the best resources are right outside the classroom door!

Creative Challenge

Draw and Design: Back to School

Ask children to design something for their classroom.

Who is it for? What is its purpose?

It could be a welcome sign, poster, display or something completely new. Encourage children to think about their audience and purpose before they start designing.

Willow Weaving Classes

I have a number of willow weaving workshops for adults coming up. For more details, please see the pinned posts on my Facebook Feed or email me for more information.

A Touch of Craft, Ossett, Wakefield

Tuesday 29th September 7PM - 9PM - Willow Heart Workshop

Monday 19th October 6:30PM - 8:30PM - Willow Bird Feeders

Tuesday 17th November 7PM - 9PM - Willow Christmas Decorations

Craft Inn, Ackworth

Tuesday 22nd September 10AM- 12PM - Willow Hearts

Thursday 1st October 10AM - 12PM - Willow Bird Feeders

Tuesday 20th October - Willow Christmas Decorations

The Old Library, Stainland, Halifax

Saturday 5th December 10:30AM - 12:30PM - Willow Christmas decorations

St John's Community Centre, Penistone

Saturday 12th December 10:30AM - 12:30PM