26/03/2010 by James.

Collage is one of my favourite ways for quickly making evident the connections between people, their bodies and the world around them.

In these recent pieces I have been combining found imagery and some drawings/paintings of objects that I have picked up whilst out walking.

I am planning on making more object-based work over the next couple of months, and to develop new photographic pieces such as Belonging and Tree Mask, which looked at the relationship between such objects and my body within specific environments.

In addition I’m hoping to use video as well as still photography, so that I can link different environments and objects together through movement and sound. Almost like a multi-dimensional collage that comes together to create a stronger narrative thread; tying together places and objects through the actions of a sensing body, passing through the landscape.

Posted in me & my work | Print | No Comments »

26/03/2010 by James.

I’ve been working with Churchfields Infant School in Redbridge, NE London again this week, walking up from the school to their local patch of Epping Forest, with Reception children on Tuesday and Year 2 children on Wednesday.

Its the second of five monthly visits to the school between now and the end of June June, set up with A New Direction as part of the creative partnerships initiative.

The school are keen that different aged children learn from and interact with each other, that children’s voices are heard and acted upon, and that we use creative ways to explore and interpret the local outdoor space.

After using clay and making sketchbooks to document the children’s own school grounds in our last sessions, we decided to venture out beyond the school and suggested a range of ways to make marks and structures with the materials that the forest could provide.

The reception children were excited by the sensory experience of simply walking, and sometimes wading, through mud, finding ‘houses’ within the low tree canopy and climbing fallen trees, or feeling the wet soil on their hands and fingers before using it to make tracks and marks onto paper.

With the year 2 children we gathered natural materials and rubbish from the woodland and created arrangements and sculptures, following the children’s own ideas and interests, with the resulting artwork ranging from totems and pirate ships to a mother with child, and a floating world built inside a puddle.

Posted in Learning/Teaching, projects | Print | No Comments »

17/03/2010 by James.

Information taken from the 5×5x5=creativity newsletter, sign up or read more on 5×5 at www.5×5x5creativity.org.uk

Creativity Conference - 18 June 2010 Bath Spa University: Making Waves

This year’s conference will offer opportunities to reflect upon and commit to shaping the future direction of learning and teaching that meets the needs of young people’s creativity.

Keynote speakers will address topics including creative values, transformation and the nature of creativity and include: Pat Chapman, Director of Schools, Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE), Shan Maclellan, Director of Learning at the Southbank Centre, London, Professor Anna Craft, Exeter University and Professor Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Institute of Education.

For details please contact Julia Butler: Julia@5×5x5creativity.org.uk

Posted in Learning/Teaching, 5x5x5=creativity | Print | No Comments »

16/03/2010 by James.

Posted in me & my work | Print | No Comments »

09/03/2010 by James.

I’ve been spending some time exploring objects, both real and imagined, this week, developing ideas for new sculptures and assemblages.

I’m continuing to look at the links between body and environment and man/nature - exploring and blurring these learnt perceptual boundaries, by a simple combination of found objects and materials.

The sketches are a way of playing with different objects and images that I collect from around me, to see what these new relationships say about them, about the places that the objects are normally found or the body on which they might be worn or held by/against, etc - its about supporting a kind of dialogue between myself, the objects, the materials, and any ‘viewer’.

What do they say when they come together, and how does our perception of them change?

Posted in me & my work | Print | No Comments »