Creative Curriculum
The Iron Man
"The Iron Man came to the top of the cliff. How far had he walked? Nobody knows. Where had he come from? Nobody knows."
Laura Carlin's beautifully illustrated version of the Ted Hughes' classic provided endless inspiration for this interactive school display, created with the help of year 3 students and involving several creative techniques from printing to sculpture.
Where is the noise coming from? Nobody knows, except me and my creative mischief makers!
Poppy Fields
2020 was an unprecedented year, we had to rethink, rearrange and patiently wait to reconvene our lives. Many traditions had to be altered including the usual poppy day display at Brinsworth Manor School, we couldn’t be creative on a mass scale so instead I worked with a small bubble of children to create two 4ft square abstract paintings, representing the Poppy Fields of Flanders, a remembrance day tribute.
We used a variety of techniques with acrylic paint, sponges, toothbrushes and string alongside regular paint brushes. Staff members also contributed by adding a few poppies each. While one painting hangs in school, the other was donated to the local community centre where it takes pride of place.
Making waves!
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Children relish in the freedom to experiment with colour and different ways of applying paint. The wave project was inspired by the work of Maggi Hambling and formed part of a wider Year 6 refugee project. Painted using palette knives, these beautiful paintings were a centre point of the school exhibition and sold as part of a charity auction. While the abstract Hundertwasser art formed part of a school environmental project.
I worked with another primary school to create a series of autumn inspired tree paintings, based on the work of various artists and again painted using pallette knives.
From the Stone Age. . .
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The curriculum can provide a great source of creative stimulus, sometimes it might require a little imagination, and when the creative sessions involve the whole year group and even families it becomes something the children will never forget. From painting prehistoric creatures on cave walls to constructing an entire street of blitzed damaged building, the possibilities are endless. Here are just a few examples.
. . . to Shakespeare
Literature and drama also provides a wonderful creative outlay, I have trained to use the RSC Shakespeare Toolkit for Teachers and have had the privilege to work on a number of productions within primary schools from writing and directing to set and costume design, including several Shakespeare plays. Primary age children are incredibly competent when it comes to performing and embrace their roles proudly, such projects are incredibly rewarding for all involved.
Picture This!
Picture This! Is a project run by Rotherham School Improvement services (RoSIS) inspired by the National Gallery's country wide Take One Picture initiative.
It takes place annually and focuses on a particular piece of preselected artwork (sometimes more than one). The challenge for schools is to use the artwork imaginatively in classrooms and art clubs as a stimulus for working creatively in all areas of education. Activities could also include work in clay, sculpture, design and technology and even science. Each school has the opportunity to share their work with a wider audience via an open exhibition at the Magna Centre, Rotherham.
For the last few years, I have worked with children and staff to create some fun and inspirational displays of work that have incorporated a range of skills and some excellent ideas from all involved. Beginning with ‘Tinga Tinga’, a vibrant painting style originating from East Africa, we created a range of work from clay animal masks to batik patterned cloth.
Our 2019 display was a particular favourite, we took inspiration from the selected impressionist paintings to create a powerful and current protest display on how climate and human behaviour is negatively impacting our local and global environment.
