FAMILY ART PROJECT 2011
We have been fortunate to be awarded grants by West Devon Borough Council and by South Hams District Council as well as by the Elmgrant Trust, which have allowed us to hold two workshops, one in each District. The Elmgrant Trust grant will allow us also to commission another workshop, probably early next year. Both those planned for 2011 have now taken place and reports follow:
FREE FAMILY ART WORKSHOP
Print workshop with Tim Salter
at the Vine Church, Hatherleigh,
on Saturday 30 July
during Hatherleigh Arts Festival
The free drop in workshop at The Vine Church was as part of the Hatherleigh Festival and ran along side a printmaking exhibition featuring the work of Diane Bailey, Joanna Radford and Tim Salter.
The brief behind the workshop was: to get families ‘having a go at art’ together. We want to create an enjoyable and creative environment where adults and children can work alongside an artist, try things they may not have tried before, learn new skills and perhaps create work that they may later see displayed to promote Devon Open Studios 2011. The length of time families stay at the workshops will vary greatly, so involvement will need to be immediate and fulfilling.
We had set up the workshop at one end of the church building with the exhibition in the remaining larger space creating and giving an integrated atmosphere where visitors could wander through and enjoy the exhibited work and then gain some insight into the processes used by the artists by either participating in the workshop or acting as an observer
For the printmaking workshop I chose to use the “Monotype“ or “Mono print” process,
a fairly simple printing technique that has the advantage of immediate access and no long preparation of printing plates. Thus fairly quick results can be achieved through the basic processes, which are suitable for all ages. All the materials and tools were provided; vegetable oil based “Caligo” inks were chosen to give the participants an opportunity to use a media that professional artists use, which offer many of the qualities of oil based inks without the inherent related problems of oil based inks.
At ten o’ clock the first of our “printmakers” arrived, not in a slow trickle either, but enough to fill all our ten workstations, with the addition of parents and onlookers. It was a real pleasure to see that we had a broad age range. Children working along side adults is always good, with the two way cross fertilisation of ideas, working methods and cooperation.
The basic methods were demonstrated, with an introduction to the various resources we had provided to act as a stimulant to those who were a little apprehensive. For the next two and a half hours we were running at full pelt without a let up, (we never did get that mid-morning cup of coffee!) with the participants eager to see their efforts emerge from the press. Incidentally many had never seen a press before and found the whole process enthralling. Exclamations of delight; when they revealed their first print, as it was peeled it from the plate. But not in all cases, like all print makers we find sometimes things just don’t work as we anticipate. Far from being disillusioned it was back to the inks, rollers and resources. With the experience gained, a fresh image was developed and the resulting print, just that much more satisfying.
Around 1.30 a natural break in proceedings emerged as hunger for food took over from the thirst for art. This gave us a much needed break, to catch up on the “housework” and get the work stations ready for the afternoon session. At this point I must publicly thank my partner Mandy for all her hard work during the workshop helping to keep things running in a smooth manner. I must also thank Joanna for the kind use of her mobile press and caring support.
Back into the swing of things, the afternoon session proved to be as popular, with slightly fewer participants and thus a little less hectic. As a result I felt we were able to give each person a little more attention. One or two people had very clear aims as to what they wanted to produce, but did not know how to go about achieving their aim. I am pleased to say that we were able to realise their vision in printed form, which they took with them at the end of the session with a smile to match. At the end of the day I feel we had given all the participants, young and not so young, an insight into the world of the artist printmaker and a really fulfilling and fun experience. If I may single out one lady from the older group; she seemed to have an instinctive feeling for the process and I hope she finds the opportunity to spend more than a few hours in a printmaking workshop to expand on her experience.
Thanks to Joanna and Diane for the pleasure of exhibiting and working with them, the Committee for inviting us to the festival, in particular Diane stamp for all her co-ordinating and arranging, to the residents and visitors to Hatherleigh for making us fell so welcome and of course the funding by West Devon Borough Council and the Elmgrant Trust.
In conclusion, to use that much vaunted phrase, “a result!“ However we have no work to display, (they took it all with them) although we do have the photographs that I hope will illustrate this report.
Tim Salter August 2011
at the Vine Church, Hatherleigh,
on Saturday 30 July
during Hatherleigh Arts Festival
 _ |
_ |
| _A young participant preparing her image |
_Completed prints hanging up, w |
 |
 |
| The magic moment - successful print revealed |
And some more great work completed during the day |
The free drop in workshop at The Vine Church was as part of the Hatherleigh Festival and ran along side a printmaking exhibition featuring the work of Diane Bailey, Joanna Radford and Tim Salter.
The brief behind the workshop was: to get families ‘having a go at art’ together. We want to create an enjoyable and creative environment where adults and children can work alongside an artist, try things they may not have tried before, learn new skills and perhaps create work that they may later see displayed to promote Devon Open Studios 2011. The length of time families stay at the workshops will vary greatly, so involvement will need to be immediate and fulfilling.
We had set up the workshop at one end of the church building with the exhibition in the remaining larger space creating and giving an integrated atmosphere where visitors could wander through and enjoy the exhibited work and then gain some insight into the processes used by the artists by either participating in the workshop or acting as an observer
For the printmaking workshop I chose to use the “Monotype“ or “Mono print” process,
a fairly simple printing technique that has the advantage of immediate access and no long preparation of printing plates. Thus fairly quick results can be achieved through the basic processes, which are suitable for all ages. All the materials and tools were provided; vegetable oil based “Caligo” inks were chosen to give the participants an opportunity to use a media that professional artists use, which offer many of the qualities of oil based inks without the inherent related problems of oil based inks.
At ten o’ clock the first of our “printmakers” arrived, not in a slow trickle either, but enough to fill all our ten workstations, with the addition of parents and onlookers. It was a real pleasure to see that we had a broad age range. Children working along side adults is always good, with the two way cross fertilisation of ideas, working methods and cooperation.
The basic methods were demonstrated, with an introduction to the various resources we had provided to act as a stimulant to those who were a little apprehensive. For the next two and a half hours we were running at full pelt without a let up, (we never did get that mid-morning cup of coffee!) with the participants eager to see their efforts emerge from the press. Incidentally many had never seen a press before and found the whole process enthralling. Exclamations of delight; when they revealed their first print, as it was peeled it from the plate. But not in all cases, like all print makers we find sometimes things just don’t work as we anticipate. Far from being disillusioned it was back to the inks, rollers and resources. With the experience gained, a fresh image was developed and the resulting print, just that much more satisfying.
Around 1.30 a natural break in proceedings emerged as hunger for food took over from the thirst for art. This gave us a much needed break, to catch up on the “housework” and get the work stations ready for the afternoon session. At this point I must publicly thank my partner Mandy for all her hard work during the workshop helping to keep things running in a smooth manner. I must also thank Joanna for the kind use of her mobile press and caring support.
Back into the swing of things, the afternoon session proved to be as popular, with slightly fewer participants and thus a little less hectic. As a result I felt we were able to give each person a little more attention. One or two people had very clear aims as to what they wanted to produce, but did not know how to go about achieving their aim. I am pleased to say that we were able to realise their vision in printed form, which they took with them at the end of the session with a smile to match. At the end of the day I feel we had given all the participants, young and not so young, an insight into the world of the artist printmaker and a really fulfilling and fun experience. If I may single out one lady from the older group; she seemed to have an instinctive feeling for the process and I hope she finds the opportunity to spend more than a few hours in a printmaking workshop to expand on her experience.
Thanks to Joanna and Diane for the pleasure of exhibiting and working with them, the Committee for inviting us to the festival, in particular Diane stamp for all her co-ordinating and arranging, to the residents and visitors to Hatherleigh for making us fell so welcome and of course the funding by West Devon Borough Council and the Elmgrant Trust.
In conclusion, to use that much vaunted phrase, “a result!“ However we have no work to display, (they took it all with them) although we do have the photographs that I hope will illustrate this report.
Tim Salter August 2011
The South Hams one took place during Delamore Art Exhibition on Saturday 28th May in the Coach House at Delamore House, by invitation of Mr and Mrs Gavin Dollard, as below:
FREE FAMILY ART WORKSHOP
with Sara Downham Lotto
DELAMORE HOUSE, CORNWOOD, IVYBRIDGE
Sarah's report of the event follows:
The Day Itself: Unfortunately, it was a very wet and windy day throughout, and visitor numbers were extremely low – far lower than I had expected or hoped. I had created a set-up that could have quite comfortably accommodated 20 participants at any one time, so it was a shame things weren’t busier. In total, approximately 10 adults too part in the workshop and 8 children, ranging from 2 to 13 years old. My first visitor was a solitary woman who had come from Plymouth. She arrived around 11.30am and stayed for at least an hour, enjoying the one on one attention. Because it was just the two of us working, I adapted the workshop to creating individual – not collaborative – pieces that explored techniques of collage and painting on a more intimate level. ‘Mary’ seemed to really enjoy this and commented on how good she felt working so freely and experimentally.
The Workshop Proper Begins: At about 12pm the first family group of four arrived – a mother and her two children and her mother. This family stayed for a good hour, thoroughly enjoying working together, all of them equally involved.
1) I asked them all to think of something in particular that they enjoyed about the garden – a butterfly, flower, statue, etc. …….. and then to start drawing this motif with pastel on the large sheet of lining paper. They were told that when I clapped my hands, they would immediately stop what they were doing, move a couple of paces in the clockwise direction, and start to draw the same motif again, but this time bigger or smaller, with a different colour. This was all done to music to get the creative juices flowing.
2) Still with music, this process would continue a number of times until the mural was covered from head to foot, one end to the other, with contrasting shapes, patterns and motifs.
3) The pastels are cleared away to be replaced by pots of inks laid out along the table with brushes of contrasting thickness.
4) The group is then asked to paint ink washes over the top of the pastel drawings, creating the next ‘layer’ but making sure to leave white spaces to enhance the contrast effect.
5) Next, the inks are put away and strips of paper towel are given to each person to dab dry the ink.
6) Black pens are then used to draw in some detail as a third layer.
7) The tissue paper layer comes next, where each person comes up with a geometric shape which they then cut or tear out of coloured paper in a variety of sizes to then glue over the top of the pastel and ink washes.
8) This final layer is then pressed flat with sections of greaseproof paper, creating a luminous and colourful sense of depth.
9) In order that everyone who has contributed to the mural can take home with them a part of it, each participant is given an approximately A4-sized piece of beige mounting board and asked to place it over their favourite part of the mural. At this point I cut out ‘their section’ and glue it with spray mount to their board so that there is a clean, neat boarder around the image. Everyone who took part was took away with them one of these ‘mementos'.
The Brief
The idea behind the workshops is to get families ‘having a go at art’ together. We want to create an enjoyable and creative environment where adults and children can work alongside an artist, try things they may not have tried before, learn new skills and perhaps create work that they may later see displayed to promote Devon Open Studios 2011. The length of time families stay at the workshops will vary greatly, so involvement will need to be immediate and fulfilling.We are seeking exciting and innovative proposals from individual artists to create work that members of the public can assist with in a meaningful way. The creative idea for the piece/s will come from the artist but the making of it will be a collaborative effort. In the past work created has solely been used to publicise Devon Open Studios, but we feel that the emphasis is changing now that DOS is better known to an event that allows the public to create artwork under the direction of a professional artist, giving a taste of what "being an artist " and working in a studio can be.
The Fee
The fee for this project is £250 plus £50 towards materials for each.How to apply
Proposals from artists should include the following:- A description of the project you wish to undertake (max 4 sides of A4) including
- Name/s and brief CV
- Details
of how the workshops will be
structured
- How members of the public (adults and children) will be involved
- Any skills the above might hope to learn
- Sketches / drawings of the anticipated look of the finished piece/s including approximate size
Proposals from applicants who have been unsuccessful in previous years are welcome, but please send again as we do not keep old applications. Please send completed proposals by 30 March for Hatherleigh, and by 30 April for Delamore, to:
E: admin@devonartistnetwork.co.uk
We would prefer to receive applications by email, but if this is not possible please post to the following address ensuring the correct postage is used:
Devon Artist Network Ltd, Hannaford Old House, Poundsgate, Newton Abbot, TQ13 7NX
Background
In 2008 and 2009 Devon Artist
Network (DAN) ran a very
successful Family Art Project funded by Awards for All in 2008 and by
West Devon
Borough Council and the Network itself in 2009.
Each workshop was led by professional artists who worked with members of the public to create a large-scale piece of work on the theme of ‘Sustainable Devon’ that was used to signpost the county wide Devon Open Studios event in September.
IN 2008 The artists involved included Paul and Tanya Morel who created a Curiosity Box full of animals and magical creatures created from natural materials. The piece was displayed on the main square in Barnstaple and in Young’s Park, Paignton; Jess Carvill, Lucy Rockcliffe and Lucy Burch ran workshops in mosaic and ceramic tile making. The mosaic panels, ceramic tiles and footprints were used to decorate a large door and door frame. The front showed the positive aspects of Devon –open countryside, recycling, wildlife and the back showed the negative aspects such as waste and pollution. The door was displayed in Totnes and on the seafront at Teignmouth.
Yuli Somme and Tian Kalouli taught participants how to make felt using local Dartmoor fleece in different colours at workshops held at the DNPA Postbridge Visitor Centre on Dartmoor. The felt was shaped into leaves each with a unique design. The leaves were then tied to a specially built ‘tree’ created by basket maker Linda Lemieux using local birch and willow. The tree was exhibited at Whiddon Down in west Devon and at Farringdon in east Devon.
The workshops were attended by over 600 participants. Feedback from all the workshops was extremely positive and they were hugely enjoyed by all ages. The youngest participants were infants of 3 and the oldest was a gentleman in his 80’s The opportunity to work alongside professional artists and learn new, enjoyable skills was much appreciated and many people commented that they would like to attend similar workshops in future.
Each workshop was led by professional artists who worked with members of the public to create a large-scale piece of work on the theme of ‘Sustainable Devon’ that was used to signpost the county wide Devon Open Studios event in September.
IN 2008 The artists involved included Paul and Tanya Morel who created a Curiosity Box full of animals and magical creatures created from natural materials. The piece was displayed on the main square in Barnstaple and in Young’s Park, Paignton; Jess Carvill, Lucy Rockcliffe and Lucy Burch ran workshops in mosaic and ceramic tile making. The mosaic panels, ceramic tiles and footprints were used to decorate a large door and door frame. The front showed the positive aspects of Devon –open countryside, recycling, wildlife and the back showed the negative aspects such as waste and pollution. The door was displayed in Totnes and on the seafront at Teignmouth.
Yuli Somme and Tian Kalouli taught participants how to make felt using local Dartmoor fleece in different colours at workshops held at the DNPA Postbridge Visitor Centre on Dartmoor. The felt was shaped into leaves each with a unique design. The leaves were then tied to a specially built ‘tree’ created by basket maker Linda Lemieux using local birch and willow. The tree was exhibited at Whiddon Down in west Devon and at Farringdon in east Devon.
The workshops were attended by over 600 participants. Feedback from all the workshops was extremely positive and they were hugely enjoyed by all ages. The youngest participants were infants of 3 and the oldest was a gentleman in his 80’s The opportunity to work alongside professional artists and learn new, enjoyable skills was much appreciated and many people commented that they would like to attend similar workshops in future.
In 2010 the workshops were held at Hannah's at Seale Hayne and at Haldon - an account of these can be found on the "Past Projects" page of this website.