30/06/2010 by James.

I think its a queen buff tailed bumble bee, but I could be wrong… http://www.plantpress.com/wildlife/o441-bufftailedbumblebee.php

(Have to remember to take my camera not just my phone to the studio next time)

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30/06/2010 by James.

Next week there’s an exhibition at The Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston University, set up by the three settings involved in 5×5x5=creativity, in our new research cluster in Kingston Upon Thames.

The exhibition will include photographic and written documentation, together with artworks, to share the learning journeys of the children involved in the research, and of the artists, teachers and cultural organisations working alongside them.

Please follow the link below for more information, and see the Stanley Picker Gallery website for directions.

5×5×5_spg_exhibposter.pdf

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28/06/2010 by James.

A drawing from this morning in my studio of a hornet found at the roadside. Coincidentally I also spotted one in the woods this evening whilst walking my dog, a low throbbing hum called my attention to her, slowly hovering around an opening in a tree trunk.

More info on these beautifully impressive insects on the Natural History Museum website

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25/06/2010 by James.

I went for a lovely long walk out on Salisbury Plain today. Not many animals or birds about as it was midday and they were being a bit more sensible than me, but the flowers, clouds and bird / cricket song more than made up for it.

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25/06/2010 by James.

Another busy and rewarding week, and the last two days of my work with Churchfields Infant School in Redbridge, through Creative Partnerships.

We had our celebration day yesterday, with parents and governors coming in to hear more about the project, see documentation and artwork, and to get hands-on, trying out some of the activities developed with the children during the life of the project. This included a group of parents constructing a shelter, designed through mark-making and modeling by their reception age children, which will continue to evolve as the children themselves add onto it.

It was brilliant to hear how individual children had been continuing their investigations at home, exploring their own gardens, reflecting on the buildings and structures around them to discuss what makes a shelter a shelter, noticing the shapes and patterns on every day things such as leaves and feathers found on the floor, and bringing parents to the documentation panels and structures placed around the school to share their learning.

Its been a really interesting journey for me. We started out with an aim of supporting the children’s voices to be heard, and of using the local outdoor environment in creative ways, with the possibility of generating ideas for enriching the school’s own grounds.

My last session with the Year 2 class ended with us looking back through hand made journals of drawings, photos, rubbings and gathered found objects, reflecting on what we had learned over the last few months, and where we had been.

We then asked these children to think about what might come next, how could their explorations and their learning continue beyond the life of the project?

Their responses were rich, detailed and inspiring, with maps and plans showing networks of enclosed den-like spaces reaching out across the school grounds, connecting the play areas of the different year groups and providing new spaces for talking, playing, reading, and for wildlife.

 It reminded me of the work I’ve also been doing with/for English Heritage, giving local children and young people an opportunity to develop designs for the interior of the education space, and for ways of sharing the importance of the environmentally sustainable features planned for the visitor centre, through engaging and accessible interpretation.

Of course the future of the centre looks in doubt now as one of the many spending cuts, but the opportunity to be listened to, to have your ideas and vision for the future documented, taken seriously and (hopefully) acted upon, is such an important experience. Whatever happens with the centre, and in the school grounds at Churchfields, I hope that we have given the children greater confidence in their creative ability to shape the human world to suit their needs, increased empathy and understanding of difference, and a greater awareness of how people can live in an interconnected harmony with their local natural and cultural heritage.

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09/06/2010 by James.

Here’s a few images taken from a recent drop-in family workshop, that I ran at Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum for Salisbury International Arts Festival, responding to chalk hill figures with liquid clay, chalk and charcoal.

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