This has been a pleasure to write, and has really made me feel like I've achieved something this year. It's so important to just stop and reflect sometimes...
Reflections...
1. Having my article 'The Art of Conflict' published
This article about a Y9 project inspired by conflict, featured in the Spring edition of AD - the quarterly magazine for the NSEAD (National Society for Education in Art and Design). I am incredibly proud of this achievement, especially when I received it through the post and saw the front cover featuring a stunning poppy made by one of my students out of shot gun cartridges! |
2. Presenting at the NSEAD National Conference at Baltic, Gateshead
Delivering my first major presentation at a National Conference for 30 minutes - yikes! I love using social media for many different purposes, and was given the opportunity to present my findings to fellow art educators at the NSEAD conference at Baltic, Gateshead (which happens to be one of my favourite places). It was amazing! I was able to share my humble offerings alongside some incredibly forward thinking individuals in the creative industries. Huge thanks to my Twitter friends @Jobaker9 @pennyprileszky and many many more who supported my interactive presentation by tweeting live in response to my questions from all over the country; reinforcing the message I was trying to get across about the power and often instantaneous nature of social media. Needless to say I left the conference with my head jam packed full of ideas! Thanks to all those involved in the NSEAD.
3. Drawing August
I absolutely loved the #DrawingAugust challenge. My 9 year old daughter chose to join me in creating a drawing every day in August. No rules, no set subject matter, and absolutely no restriction on materials - perfect! Every day we tried to base our work on something we had seen, experienced or thought about, and used as wide a range of materials and techniques as possible. This included drawing with lemon juice, twigs, UV pens, string and much more. I loved the discussions we had, the beautiful quiet moments, the experiments and happy accidents, and the sharing of outcomes as we worked on our pieces side by side at the same time.
My daughter was so proud of her work and decided to make a little film about her experience which I then shared online. Susan Coles @theartcriminal contacted me and asked if she could share the film in a presentation she was delivering at a symposium at The British Museum about the Drawn Word -and of course we agreed. Check out the video below - I think it's beautiful. Proud, proud mum :-)
My daughter was so proud of her work and decided to make a little film about her experience which I then shared online. Susan Coles @theartcriminal contacted me and asked if she could share the film in a presentation she was delivering at a symposium at The British Museum about the Drawn Word -and of course we agreed. Check out the video below - I think it's beautiful. Proud, proud mum :-)
4. WW1 Centenary Matchbox project
This has to be one of the most successful projects I've ever done - and I'd highly recommend it. I was given a matchbox last year at a symposium at The National Gallery by Karen Wicks, and inside was a single match with the word 'bleached' written on it. The challenge was to use this to inspire a project in school. Thanks to Jo Walton for providing some fantastic inspiration, I decided on a project to coincide with the First World War Centenary with Y8 and went shopping to buy 130 boxes of matches. Yes - I had some very strange looks from the lady on the checkout, and yes...I also removed 'most' of the 5200 matches before I took them into school! Students worked in sketchbooks, researched images, objects, artists, poems and events linked to the war, and were then given a tiny matchbox to create a personal response about the war. One of the great things about this project was that different schools around the country were doing the same or similar projects, and we were able to share the outcomes on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter. Collaboration at its best. These tiny little boxes carry some pretty powerful visual messages. |
5.Practical workshop for art teachers at Gerald Moore Gallery, Eltham College
I love a great project inspired by birds - and anyone who knows me may have seen our fantastic 'Birds with Issues' project that we do with Y9. I was asked by Elinor Brass (Director of Gerald Moore Gallery and Head of Art at Eltham College) if I would deliver a practical session for art teachers at an event at the Gallery to coincide with the WW1 centenary in November. What an opportunity! The role of the pigeon during the war was my theme, and each person had a book about the First World War to transform.There were so many incredibly creative ideas, techniques and tips flying across the table; these hands on sessions are so important for art teachers to develop your own practice, as well as being able to take what you've learned back into the classroom. |
Art teachers are simply the best people to work with - biased I know, but it's a fact.
6. Sketchbook circle
This has been such an amazing journey and experience, and has reinvigorated my love of making my own work. For the past 12 months I've shared a tiny little A6 sketchbook with Susan Coles @theartcriminal and here's how it works. You have the book for a month and fill some of the pages with whatever you like - no rules. Then, you post it to your partner who responds to your work and sends it back after a month. Simple. We've also shared our outcomes on the NSEAD TEA Sketchbook Circle Facebook site, an extended and highly supportive art community.
This beautiful little book is now complete, and the visual narrative and dialogue which emerged throughout the process has been both engaging and intriguing. I was very emotional filling the last few pages, and also when I handed it over at the Post Office for the final leg of the journey back to Susan. It's in very good hands though - and will feature in an exhibition in February at the Gerald Moore Gallery along with all of the other Sketchbook Circle 14 creations.
This beautiful little book is now complete, and the visual narrative and dialogue which emerged throughout the process has been both engaging and intriguing. I was very emotional filling the last few pages, and also when I handed it over at the Post Office for the final leg of the journey back to Susan. It's in very good hands though - and will feature in an exhibition in February at the Gerald Moore Gallery along with all of the other Sketchbook Circle 14 creations.
Here's a sneaky peek into some of the beautiful pages we've created together.
Anticipations...
1.Experiment with more great apps
I've been playing with tons of great apps this year - some more successful than others. So... I'm hoping that by the end of next year, I'll have a top 5 which I'm using on a daily basis. So far these have been great: Moldiv (which I use almost every day), Comic Life, Adobe Voice and Explain Everything (thanks to the fab advice and support from @LeedsArtTeacher). |
2. More collaborations
The Art Teacher network on Twitter is a very powerful one, and this year I hope to develop even more links with other schools. I've gained so much from the fantastic teachers who share, support and inspire each another on #artcubed and #artdropbox which the fab @Jobaker9 and @pennyprileszky run. Collaborative projects would be amazing - anybody interested???
3. Never underestimate the power of a great wish tree
I'm a big fan of wish trees, and have created quite a few in the past year with different groups of students at different times of the year. I hope to do more next year.
4. Chuckle, chortle, guffaw and lol...
Schools can be such serious places.However, people also need to smile, chuckle, chortle, cackle and sometimes laugh out loud. I encourage creative mischief in my faculty, and over the past year, me and my deputy (the amazing @k8imcgee) have become experts in this area. Watch this space...
6. I'm not too busy...
A very personal one here. I've tried so so hard all year to avoid that awful phrase with my children and husband - 'I'm too busy'. I think I've done ok, but could do better. Right now my husband, (who is an Officer in the RAF), is on a 4 month overseas deployment, which leaves me with my 2 children (age 8 and 9). He usually works away all week, but it is significantly harder when it's for a length of time and when he's not even in this country. I'm trying hard to give my children all the time I can, and all the time they need, and I will persevere. Thankfully, they are beautiful, fantastic,caring children who are very patient, extremely supportive and keep me smiling.
I will not be too busy.
I will not be too busy.