textiles issue - The National Society for Education in Art and Design

STARTHE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNNSEAD The Gatehouse, Corsham Court, Corsham, Wiltshire SN13 0BZT: 01249 714825 F: 01249 716138 www.nsead.org ISSN 1479-045931 2009 £7.50TNumber TEXTILESISSUEIndian inspirationIndian puppet-making andBollywood film-making!Silk paintingTextile artists Lizzie Weirand Naomi RenolfMagic Fish textilesPlusPoster – AccessoriesFoundling MuseumArt therapy in primary schoolsNSEAD START Summer SchoolOlly & Suzi

Summer Schoolfor Primary Teachers ofArt, Craft and DesignSTARTNumber 31, 2009ContentsContents17–19 July 2009Page 9After-school clubSTART subscribers get a discount!Discounted rates:Residential £260 (£300)Non – Residential £200 (£240)Book now to reserve your placeThe two day Summer School is a wonderfulopportunity to revisit or learn new practicalskills, and explore developments in art, craftand design education that will have ameasurable impact in the classroom.The content of the weekend will be hands-on,creative and enjoyable in a supportiveenvironment. By the end of the weekend you willhave lots of ideas and resources, and have hadtime to reflect on your own classroom practice.Workshops will be facilitated by primary artsspecialists, and professional artists andcraftspeople all highly experienced within theprimary classroom.A selection of skills based workshops will includecostume and adornment, sculpture and paintingand new media, and delegates will also have theopportunity to consider thinking and researchingskills for children, starting points for arts and crosscurricular projects, use of sketchbooks, risk takingand the open ended brief.For more information or to book pleasecontact Anne Ingall. Tel: 01249 714825Email: anneingall@nsead.orgPage 2Start news & editorialPage 4Gallery round-upPage 6Hands-on in the classroom– Indian inspirationPage 9After-school club – Indianpuppet-making and Bollywoodfilm-making!Page 11Silk paintingPage 13Textile artist – Lizzie Weir:Constructed textiles collagePage 15Mini-posterTextile artist – Naomi Renolf:Abstract collage and stripyseascapesPage 19Early Years – The Magic FishPage 21Olly & SuziPage 13Textile artist – Lizzie WeirPage 15Mini-posterPage 21Olly & SuziPage 23Young Pavement ArtistPage 24Special Needs – Art therapyin primary schoolsPage 26School trips – The FoundlingMuseumPage 27NSEAD START Summer SchoolPage 30Book reviewsPage 32Product reviewPage 6Hands-on in the classroomCover image: Indian puppet-makingPlease note: While every effort is made to check websites mentioned in START, somemay contain images unsuitable for young children. Please check any referencesprior to use in the classroom. Please note that the username to access units ofwork on the NSEAD website has changed to ‘gormley’ and the password to ‘drury’.See page 33 for further details.Copyright ©2009 NSEAD. All rights reserved. With the exception of fair dealing for thepurposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, no part of this publication may bereproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission inwriting from the copyright holder. Subscribers to START may make photocopies for teachingpurposes free of charge provided such copies are not resold. Authors’ views in this publicationare not necessarily those of the NSEAD.Editor: Michèle Kitto, michelekitto@nsead.orgDesign: SteersMcGillan Design Ltd: 01225 465546 www.steersmcgillan.co.ukAdvertising Sales: johnsteers@nsead.orgPublisher: National Society for Education in Art & Design, The Gatehouse, Corsham Court,Corsham, Wiltshire SN13 0BZ T: 01249 714825 F: 01249 716138 www.nsead.orgSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

NewsNews/EditorialSTARTNewsInspiring LearningEducation EveningTurner Contemporary Project Space,MargateMonday 27 April, 5–7pmTeachers, youth workers, communitygroup leaders, lecturers, tutors and artistsinterested in education are invited toexplore the exhibition Sound of Music withtheir peers, try out resources and developideas for related projects. It will be led byAudience Development Officer Karen Esleaand Helen Caddick, a composer who haswritten for theatre, film and a number ofbands, including Shack and My Life Story.Helen currently teaches music atGoldsmiths College, University of London,and works with a number of primaryschools in Kent. Booking is essential.Please call 01843 280261 or emailinfo@turnercontemporary.org.Mosaic competitionThe first MEGA MOSAIC-MAKERScompetition, searching for the mostexciting primary school mosaic work in theUK, was held in 2008. Entries for this year’scompetition will be welcomed in theautumn and entry forms will be available onthe BAMM (British Association of ModernMosaic) website from October 2009. Anyprimary school in the UK can enter; eachmosaic can only be entered once. Thecompetition is sponsored by Topps Tiles.To read more about the competition or todownload an entry form, visitwww.bamm.org.uk.Free Animals AsiaEducation Resource packDo your pupils love animals? Would youappreciate a lesson plan on global animalwelfare issues already sorted? Would yourschool like to set up links with Chineseschools? If the answer to any of thesequestions is Yes, then the brand newAnimals Asia Education Initiative is for you.And it’s FREE!Throughout Asia, many animals areexploited, abused and neglected. TheAnimals Asia Foundation, founded by JillRobinson MBE in 1998, is dedicated toending cruelty and restoring respect for allanimals across the region. Theorganisation has just launched aneducation initiative with UK schools tooffer a close, ongoing relationshipdesigned to provide pupils with a uniqueinsight into animal welfare issues in Asia.The focus is on Animals Asia’s mainproject, the Moon Bear Rescue, whichaims to rescue suffering and endangeredAsiatic black bears (nicknamed ‘moonbears’ because of the crescent of goldenfur across their chests) and place them insanctuaries.The Animals Asia education pack is aimedat children between the ages of 8 and 13.In full colour, it contains information,quizzes, fact sheets, a PowerPointpresentation and details about links thatcan be set up with Chinese schools. Thereare art, writing or music competitions, andspeakers are available to visit schools andgive illustrated, fun presentations to pupils.Schools can also undertake fundraisingprojects to support this vital work orbefriend a bear!For further information or to obtain a freepack, please contact Nicky Vyvyan-Robinson on 07778 313250 or atnvyvyanrobinson@animalsasia.org.The Muscular DystrophyCampaign YoungPavement Artist’sCompetitionThis is the first major art-based initiative toexplore the relationship between using thepavement as a canvas and chalk as themedium. This year, the environmental andconservation theme is EndangeredSpecies.Natural history and wildlife presenterSteve Backshall, who is among thecelebrities backing the event, said:‘Pavement paintings that wash away withthe rain are the perfect way to representthe endangered species of the world.The survival of some of the world’s mostcharismatic creatures is just as fragile asthese images.’Open to anyone up to and including the ageof 19, the competition will have winners ineach of five age categories, with one overallwinner taking the prestigious title of YoungPavement Artist of the Year. The age groupsare 4–5; 5–6; 7–11; 11–14 and 14–19 years.The national winner will win the chance todiscover and to see grey whale migrationalong the Canadian coast, courtesy ofEarthwatch. Their chalk drawing will beexclusively produced as a poster anddistributed with National Geographic KidsMagazine.For full competition details, visit www.muscular-dystrophy.org/pavementart.Children’s Art Day9 July 2009Register now to take part inChildren’s Art Day 2009Children’s Art Day is anational programmeencouraging children,young people, familiesand teachers to engagewith visual art. It takesplace during Shine week – a nationalfestival celebrating talent in all youngpeople – which on Thursday 9 July willfocus on the visual arts.All visual arts venues, schools and youthand community organisations are invitedto take part. The first 150 venuesregistering events will receive a grant of£50 as seed funding for an event, whichcan be claimed after the event, onsubmission of a brief report. Allparticipating venues will receive balloonsand stickers with Children’s Art Daybranding, and will be offered support toattract media coverage for their events.For further information, please contactLaura Cherry at laura.cherry@engage.org, or on 020 7729 5858. To sign up tojoin Shine 2009 and start adding yourwork to the virtual ‘wall of talent’, pleasevisit www.shineweek.co.uk. To registerfor Children’s Art Day, go towww.engage.org.From the EditorI recently met a student I had taught in aYear 5 class, now doing her art GCSE.How exciting it was to see where she wasgoing and how she had developed, and tohear that she had won a coveted artscholarship for sixth form! She asked howI knew that at age 10, she had a talent. Atthat time, she had little self-confidenceand was very shy, but that was not what Iwas seeing before me now! With theschool year fast approaching its climax,this may be a good time to stop andreflect on the impact you have had thisacademic year: you will no doubt haveinspired many young artists in yourschool.In this issue of START, our inspirationcomes from textiles. A question that I amoften asked about textiles is – is it designtechnology or is it art? I would argue thatit is very cross-curricular in its nature, soyou could say both and more besides. Inthis issue we look at a wide range oftechniques that can be explored in theprimary classroom, including decorativeIndian textiles, silk painting and abstractcollage.Also in this issue: I was very lucky to havethe opportunity to interview the artist duoOlly & Suzi and to share some of their ideasfor collaborative art in the classroom,while members of the Readers’ panel havebeen busy reviewing a wide range ofbooks and materials.Free Janome Mystyle 22sewing machine worth£239……plus 200 universal needles worth£29.98 (100 x size 70, 100 x size 90),and 50 reels of guterman 1000m threadin assorted colours worth £97.45. Thissewing machine is perfect for use insecondary or primary schools fortextiles. It’s hard-wearing, easy toservice, robust and fit for purpose inan educational environment.All you have to do is join or re-join theReaders’ panel and email the editorWe are very grateful to Heart EducationalSupplies for providing exciting and inspiringtextile materials and some of the books forreview. If you would like to be involved inreviewing books or materials for futureissues, please do get in touch by email.Looking ahead: the START summer school2008 has been inspirational to many of ourreaders, and on page 29 you can read allabout out why you should think aboutsigning up this year.Things are going to change – well so theytell us. The Primary Review is reportingback as we speak; we will try to cover theissues in art and design education infuture editions of START. In the meantime,if you want to share your thoughts on thistopic, please do get in touch.The next issue has a ‘sculpture’ focus,while future themes include ‘design’,‘history’, ‘maths’ and ‘printmaking’.Please get in touch if you would like toshare a project, a resource or an idea.Michèle KittoEditormichelekitto@nsead.orgexplaining why your school should winthis sewing machine package, by 25 May.Kindly donated by Heart EducationalSupplies as they launch their new200-page catalogue.www.heart-educational.co.ukSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

Hands-on in the classroomVisitwww.gamthi.comHands-on in the classroomIndianinspirationNaomi Renouf, textile artist and art anddesign coordinator at St Lawrence PrimarySchool in Jersey, shows how Indiantextiles can inspire textile and mixedmediaart projects for Key Stage 2.India is a topic studied annually in Year 5 atSt Lawrence School and art always has ahigh profile. This has led to a variety ofrelated art projects, most of which involvetextiles in some way, being developedover a number of years.Background: Gujarati patchworkwall-hangingsGujarati wall-hangings are colourful andhighly decorative. They are made ofsections of clothing that has been worn forspecial events such as weddings, religiousceremonies and festivals. These may befamily heirlooms, passed down fromgeneration to generation until they areeventually replaced by newer garments.Sections of these garment are then‘recycled’ to make patches in beautiful wallhangings. These wall hangings can beused in school as a stimulus for children toproduce their own interesting texturedwork using a variety of media.Mixed-media texturedpicturesLearning objectives• to consider pattern, colour andcomposition in decorative Indian textiles• to create pattern and texture using avariety of mediaPreparationShow the children a suitable hanging. Theseare widely available in markets and shops inthe UK and on the internet. Look carefully atthe construction and the layout, and at thepatterns made by the embroidery, beads,sequins and mirrors. The children can drawsome of these patterns in their sketchbooksin preparation for working on their finishedpieces.Painting the paperGive the children pre-cut paper and askthem to divide it up in a similar way to thewall hanging, using a pencil. Once theyhave done this they can paint each areawith acrylic paint. Let them choose andmix their colours, and encourage variety –they don’t need to be the same as thehanging. Once the paper is completelycovered, leave it to dry.Decorating the surfacePattern and texture can be created in anumber of ways, but it is a good idea tooutline the painted patches of colour first.This can be done with 3D paint or paintmixed with PVA glue in a plastic bottlewith a nozzle (it gives a thicker line than 3Dpaint but is much cheaper). It can also bedone with string or similar thread, or evenwith a line of glue with coloured sandsprinkled on it. Patterns can then be builtup within the coloured areas in the sameway. Pipe cleaners can be twisted intosuitable shapes and stuck on (don’t usethe brightly coloured chenille ones as theyare very difficult to stick on). They can bepainted with metallic paint afterwards.Beads, sequins, buttons, pieces of lace,textiles and threads can all be used tobuild up the surface and create somethingrichly patterned and interesting.Resourcescartridge paper (calico could also beused), acrylic paint, PVA glue, 3D fabricpaint, string, sand, textiles, pipe-cleaners,metallic paints, plastic applicator bottles,e.g. washed out hair-dye bottles (forthicker lines), beads, buttons, sequinsand other suitable bits and piecesBead and sequin workFor this next activity, you can use a Gujaratihanging, embroidered sari fabric or otherexamples of Indian textiles. Other shapescould be used, but the motif that we nowcall paisley is particularly suitable. Thisshape was originally a representation ofthe teardropped-shaped leaf of the Chenartree and was found on Kashmiri shawls.Learning objectives• to look at pattern and shape• to stitch objects on to a surface• to look at typical patterning in Indiantextiles• to create an individual interpretation ofpart of a patternWhat to doShow the children examples of Indiantextiles with suitable patterns andbeadwork. Get each child to draw a simpleoutline shape on their piece of fabric. Alength of thick decorative thread can thenbe couched in place on top of this outlineshape by stitching over the top of thethread at intervals along its length. Beadsand sequins can then be arranged andstitched around it. To keep sequins inplace, stitch up through the fabric andsequin, then stitch though a small beadand back though the sequin and fabric.If you don’t want to sew, you can do thesame activity using 3D fabric paints. Whilethe paint is still wet, you can place beadsand sequins in the paint and they willremain in place when it dries, or they canbe attached afterwards using PVA glue.ResourcesSmall pieces of coloured cotton, thread,needles, needle-threaders, beads,sequins, thick decorative threadsBlock-printed fabricsThe art of making Indian block-print textileshas survived from ancient times to thepresent. The three main tools used in thisprocess are the wooden blocks, the fabricand the dye. It takes carvers days to createan intricate design in a block of teak for useas a printing block, but blocks are availableto buy and are great for using in school. Ifyou want to create your own, lino-cutting isa good alternative.Some good examples of Indianblock-printed fabric can be seen atwww.gamthi.com.START THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

Hands-on in the classroomAfter-school clubIndian puppet-makingand Bollywoodfilm-making!Learning intentions• to consider pattern, colour and designin Indian block-printed fabrics•to create repeat patternsWhat to doIf you are going to print with a woodenprinting block, put a layer of absorbentcloth into a flat-bottomed container andpour paint or ink over it so that it soaks intothe cloth (if using cold wax, paint this on tothe block with a brush). Dip the printingblock into the paint-saturated cloth beforepushing the block down on to the fabric orpaper that you want to print on. Repeatuntil all of the printing to be done with thatblock is finished. Leave the work to dry,then print with other blocks or colours.If you are going to print with lino, rollprinting ink thinly on to an inking tray, thenroll the ink on to the cut lino. Normally,when printing from a lino cut, you put thesurface to be printed on top of the lino, butthis won’t work with a repeat pattern.Instead, you need to push the lino downfirmly on to the surface to be printed. Asyou will not need to use large pieces oflino, this method will produce clear prints.ResourcesCotton fabric, paper or card, printing ink,acrylic or fabric paint – you can use indigo,turmeric or henna if you want to makeauthentic Indian colours, cold wax (if youwant to make resist patterns), thickabsorbent cloth, printing blocks or linocuts, inking trays or flat-bottomedcontainers (rectangular ice-cream tubswork well), rollers and inking-up surface(if using lino).Reviewing the workWhichever project you have been workingon, it is always useful to spend some timereviewing what the children have done.Encourage them to discuss their work.How did they feel about doing the work?What do they like best about it? Whichpatterns/colours have worked well?What did they enjoy? What did they finddifficult? What would they change?Other ideasBatik picturesBatik is used to decorate fabrics in Indiaand is a good way to illustrate Indianstories. Wax-resist block-printing is a goodway to create a border. The batiks can bemounted and displayed as pictures.HangingsSmall batik pictures can be joined insequence to create a large hanging thattells a story, or a larger batik picture can beused as the centrepiece of a hanging, withother techniques used to create a border.Other productsIt is quite simple to make small batikpictures or block-printed fabric intoproducts such as bags or cushion covers.Embossed designsAn embossed design can be created byplacing a thin layer of Angelina fibre over awooden Indian printing block. If you placebaking parchment over this and iron it witha dry iron, the fibres fuse together and thedesign on the printing block is embossedinto the surface. The excess fibre can betrimmed with scissors. These designscould be used in a variety of ways. Forexample, they could be put on textilehangings, collages, cards and topic bookcovers, glued or stitched in place andembellished with 3D fabric paint, beadsand sequins.Alexandra Hucks, visiting art specialistteacher at The Paragon Junior School,Bath, describes a fun craft project thatexplores puppet-making and Indian folkstories. The project has an ICT- basedoutcome, with the children creatingBollywood movies based on the scriptsthey were inspired to write by the folkstories.While travelling in Rajasthan in India lastyear, I was excited by the wealth of colourand traditional arts and crafts of theregion. In particular, I visited a traditionalRajasthan puppet-maker’s workshop,where each day a performance of oldIndian folklore tales would take placeusing the puppets.Puppetry is one of the most ancient formsof entertainment in the world. Besidesproviding entertainment, this visual artform is also used for conveyingmeaningful messages. Over the years,puppetry has developed into a powerfulmedium of communication. It offers a realchallenge to the imagination and creativeability of the individual, and of all the artmedia, it is the least restricted in its form,design, colour and movement. It is alsothe least expensive of all animated artforms.From my travels, I brought back severalpuppets and many pieces of the colourfulsari fabrics typical of Rajasthan. Myintention was to create traditional Indiantextile puppets with my after-school craftclub. As an introduction to the project, welooked at several Indian folk stories thatare often traditionally used in Rajasthan forpuppet performances. Coming out ofIndia’s rich heritage of puppetry datingback to the 5th century, traditionalpuppet shows deal mostly with historicalkings, princes, heroes, love stories andpolitical satire. Puppets also performstories dealing with religious themesand mythological topics.I was really keen for the children todevelop an interest in the culturaltraditions of different countries andwe focused on how puppets areused to pass on the traditionalstories from generation togeneration, thereby keeping theculture alive. We discussedstories and character roles andthe children considered whichcharacter they would like tocreate and how they could playa particular role in the finalperformance using thepuppets.I decided to make the puppetsover a term, which meantworking with the children foran hour each week afterschool for 12 weeks. Iwanted to enhance thechildren’s skills in using acombination of clay andtextiles, so I planned touse a variety ofSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

10After-school club11Silk paintingSilk paintingtechniques to create the puppets. Workon the project began with the childrenbringing in old pairs of tights or stockingsto stuff with wadding to create the upperbody and arms for the puppet. I thendemonstrated how to create a ceramichead by making two pinch pots, whichwere then joined together. The childrenenjoyed modelling the clay into facialfeatures for their characters using claytools. A hole was made to allow air toescape during the kiln firing, and a longneck with a hole was added so that thehead could be easily sewn into the upperbody.Having looked at the basic shapes of thepuppets’ clothing, the pupils were thenshown simple stitching techniques forsewing the sari fabric into clothes. Severalsessions were spent making costumes,which were then embellished using jewelsand colourful buttons. I was really pleasedwith the way the children took on boardthe use of sewing techniques, andalthough it wasn’t always easy, withpatience and practice they became moreconfident and developed their fine motorskills. Finally, the strings were added andthe puppets came to life!The puppets then inspired a crosscurricularICT project at the school.Several groups of Year 6 pupils started theproject by researching traditional Indianmyths and stories on the internet, andthen wrote their own interpretations of thestories. The children collaborated on thescripts, editing and improving the texts onscreen, and learnt how to lay out scriptsusing the appropriate conventions. Theythen performed theirplays using thepuppets, andthese were filmedwith a digitalcamcorder. Building on skills previouslylearnt, they used Windows Movie Makerto edit their films and add voice overs,sound effects and soundtracks. Theresults were extremely entertaining andthe children were very proud of their‘Bollywood’ movies, which were shown ina whole-school assembly. Animationprovided a great link between art, craftand ICT and created a fantastic vehicle fordisplaying and presenting the puppets andstories.ResourcesOld tights or stockings, wadding or othermaterials for stuffing, clay and clay tools,powder paint for painting faces, clearvarnish, sari fabric (try local fabric shops ormarkets), needles, pins and thread, jewelsand buttons (any crafts catalogue will sellthese in bulk)Sarah Baker, creative arts leader atLonglevens Junior School, Gloucester,shares her ideas on silk painting, whichwill inspire even the most scepticalprimary teacher to undertake it in theclassroom.In my experience, silk painting is atechnique contemplated only fleetinglyby most primary teachers, before beingwholeheartedly rejected. The mainreasons for this seem to be that it a) istoo expensive, b) requires skill beyond theteacher’s or pupils’ capability, or c) requiresan extensive amount of equipment orpreparation. Over the past few years,however, I have discovered that all threeof these excuses are tantamount to oldwives’ tales. In fact, very effective silkpainting can be achieved with very little kit,by non-specialist staff, in a relatively short(and mess-free) space of time, leaving allconcerned with a tremendous feeling ofsuccess!ResourcesIt is true – some basic kit is required and it isunlikely to be in school already, unless yourschool has a past penchant for embroidery.You will need a wooden embroidery hoopfor each child. These are relativelyinexpensive and can be purchased from themajor educational suppliers in large packs.Alternatively, a local secondary schoolwould probably be happy to loan you a set,or even be persuaded to buy one for you ifyou can find a school with visual arts status,whereby they are required to support theirlocal primaries in some way. If this is not afeasible route, you may be able to look to aFriends/ Parent & Teacher Association forsupport. They may be willing to help, as thehoops are an investment, and (hopefully!)will be used for many years to come.In addition to this, you will need a set of silkpaints, detail brushes and gutta (the clearglue that prevents the paints from runningtogether – but more of that later). On paper,these may look very expensive, but in facta minute amount of paint is required, sothey are likely to last a very long time – onthe fourth year of using mine, I am still onthe same set! Of course, you will also needsilk. Again, plain white silk or imitation silkcan be bought relatively cheaply fromeducational suppliers, or from one of thelarge fabric retailers.Curriculum linksIn our school, I have always included silkpainting in the Year 4 curriculum. Our Year3s complete batiks and I feel that from atextiles point of view, silk painting providesthe Year 4s with the opportunity to refineand further the skills they gained theprevious year.Prior tocommencing thesilks, the childrenplan their designusing a tissuepapercollage,which enables meto develop anotherstrand of theNational Curriculum with them. Iincorporate the silk painting scheme into alocal geography topic – in our case, theCity of Gloucester. However, silk painting isextremely flexible as a unit of work andcould be adapted to fit almost any topic,from ‘Signs and symbols’ to ‘Mountains’ to‘the Romans’!PreparationBefore starting the topic, I cut and stretchthe silk on to the embroidery hoops. I cutthe silk slightly larger than each hoop. Thehoop has two wooden rings, one inside theother. The outer ring has a metal screwthat can be loosened, then re-tightened totrap the silk between the two hoops. I thenmake sure that for each child I have a pieceof white paper slightly larger than thehoop. Finally, I ask children to bring inimages of Gloucester, in the form ofphotographs or leaflets, from which I makea selection that I feel would provide usefulstarting points for designing an image thatcould be used for silk painting. These areusually clear, uncomplicated pictures ofbuildings or part of a building synonymouswith Gloucester, or a view of the city or thesurrounding area, such as the RiverSevern or the Forest of Dean. Ifyou have access to a colourphotocopier at school,these images can bereplicated for thewhole class.START THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

12Textile artist – Lizzie WeirContactlizzie.weir@googlemail.comVisitwww.naomirenouf.co.uk15Textile artist – Naomi RenolfI have always considered my sewingmachine to be a drawing tool. I can achievethe thinnest, subtlest, most fluid lines withit, and can reiterate and retrace the sameline again and again, creating a thick, boldstatement. I do not use a complex sewingmachine; for over 10 years, I have had thesame Bernina Sport, which my parentsbought me second-hand when I starteduniversity.Framing work is all important as it finishesthe piece. I consider the frame anenhancement of the picture, so it should besubtle and not obtrusive, and should workwith the picture. I use the same frame for allmy work. It needs to be a deep frame, as Iuse buttons and similar items.In this piece, which is in the beginningstages, I use different fabrics and threadsto build up the layers of colour. I have takeninspiration from an evening primrose, andam interested in the colours and thedelicacy of the flower. To achieve thisdelicacy, I have used a combination ofdifferent fabrics, including taffeta, lace, silk,organza, Angelina and vintage printedfabrics. I have then sewn over the top of thefabrics to bring out the subtleties of colourand pattern found within the flower.Here is the Evening Primrose piececompleted; I have left the edges of thepiece frayed and uneven. I choose to leavethe edges of my work frayed and unhemmedbecause I like the relationshipbetween the sharp edges of the frame andthe soft, uneven lines of the edges of thepicture.Students’ workAs with all projects, I introduce any textilesproject by asking the students to produce aseries of preparatory sketches fromprimary observation. I consider thisessential, as it gives the students anunderstanding of the objects they arestudying.The series of works shown below are allprimary observational mixed-mediadrawings; they are great starting points fora number of textiles pieces and could go ina number of directions.There is such a variety of surface texturewithin this piece: the use of the red paint,which has a fluid, almost blood-like qualityagainst the mosaic tiles, and the softcharcoal lines all combine to make aninteresting and original work. The excitingelement to an initial mixed-media studysuch as the one above is the potential thatthe work possess to branch off into somany different possible outcomes: it couldbecome a screen print, a batik, anembroidery, a constructed textiles piece, arepeat-pattern fabric design, to name afew. The possibilities are almost unlimited.This mixed-media piece is based on theleaf of a horse chestnut tree. The studentwas interested in the colours found withinthe leaf and the vein structure. A variety ofmedia have been used to create the piece,including string and wool to make the veinsof the leaves, and paint, fabric and gold leafto create the background colour of the leaf.This drawing is such an exciting and freeapproach to drawing: the use of fluid,smooth lines versus the scratchy, thin linesis fantastic. This is a great drawing to useas a starting point for a textiles project, asthere are so many possibilities, includingprinting, embroidery, felt and batik.This banana is one of the many outcomesof an initial sketch similar to those shownabove. In an imaginative approach totextiles, the student has sewn together thetwo parts of the banana, which are madeout of card and heavily worked with avariety of media, including paint, chalk, oilpastel, gold leaf and buttons.These studies all possess potential andprovide exiting starting points for textilesprojects. It might be that the studentchooses an element of the work to focuson, such as the colour, or a particular areafound within the work. It might be that thestudent is excited by the texture of theobject and simply wants to investigate that.However they choose to go, one thing iscertain: the work that they produce will beexciting and challenging, for it is throughtaking risks and being challenged that greatwork occurs!Contextual studiesBelow is a list of textiles artists that mightbe appropriate for students to study. Thisdiverse range of artists have directlyinfluenced my work, and I have discussedtheir work with my own students.Zoe Leonard , Claus Oldenburg, Christo,Tracy Emin, Alice Kettle and Eva HesseAbstract collage andstripy seascapesNaomi Renouf, textile artist and art anddesign coordinator at St LawrencePrimary School in Jersey, uses her owntextile work to inspire children to createtextile and paint-layered pictures.Examples of her work have been used atthis and other schools in Jersey as astarting point for individual and largescalegroup work.In her own textile pieces, Naomi usesacrylic paint and layered textiles to createseascapes and landscapes featuringtrees. She also does more abstract workon hand-made paper or calico. Shemachine-embroiders the surface tosecure the layers together and add detail.On some work, she also uses handembroideryand beading. Thesetechniques can be adapted for classroomuse, where children of all ages can buildup their own layered pictures using avariety of materials.Learning objectives• to use collage techniques• to create a painted background• to consider colour• to consider composition• to create a textured surface• to use a variety of mediaGetting startedAll of the work starts with a layer of paint,which provides a background on which towork. Acrylic paint or other paints mixedwith PVA glue can be applied to cartridgepaper, card, calico or even MDF (but thisneeds to be painted with undercoat first).Abstract workWith very young children, the abstractwork on hand-made paper can be used asa starting point. Once the children havelooked at the work, discussed it andtalked about what they are going to do,ask them to collect all of the bits that theythink they might want to use beforestarting, and get them to choose thecolours of paint that they want to use.The paint can then be spooned straight onto the background on which they aregoing to work. It needs to be brushed sothat it covers the surface, makinginteresting patterns but not mixing it somuch that it becomes a brown mess. Italso needs to be thick so that it remainssticky long enough for the children toplace bits of paper, fabric, threads, beadsand sequins in it. When it dries, the paintholds everything in place like glue.Older children can create interestingcollages in a similar way, but as their workis more sophisticated and takes longer,they will need to use PVA glue to attachthings once the paint has dried. After thebackground has been painted, flatmaterials can be arranged on and stuck tothe painted surface, leaving some areasuncovered for the paint to show through.Next, other flat materials can be placedover these so that they overlap at differentangles. Areas of paint should be left toshow through. Encourage the children totry arranging the materials in differentways before finally deciding how to stickthem. Once an interesting surface hasbeen created using flat materials, threedimensionalmaterials can be added toembellish it.Layered seascapesThis activity is more suitable for Key Stage2. Before starting work on layeredseascapes, the children will need to havelooked at and possibly sketchedappropriate seascapes to help them toSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

STARTMini-poster – Abstract collage by Reception children

18Textile artist – Naomi Renolf19Early Yearsbuild up images in their minds that theycan use later on. If you are going to workon trees, then sketching is necessary sothat the children have an understanding ofthe structure of a tree.At this stage, you can introduce thepictures of layered textile seascapes.Discuss how they are made by building upthe surface using layers of paint, fabricand stitching. Look at the materialsavailable in the classroom and discusshow these could be used to build uppictures in a similar way, starting from asimple painted background. Explain thatflat materials need to be applied first andthree-dimensional materials last.The children can then create the paintedbackgrounds that will be the first layer oftheir work. The surface to be worked onneeds to be completely covered withpaint. The colours chosen can be putstraight on to it and mixing will happen asthe paints are brushed to cover thesurface. If the paint is applied thickly, thestrips or pieces of fabric for the next layercan be placed straight on to the wet paint.This can create interesting textures wherethe paint comes through the materialsplaced on it. PVA glue may be needed ifthe paint starts to dry. The amount ofbackground paint left uncovered will varyfrom picture to picture. The work shouldnow be left to dry completely.At this stage, it is a good idea to reviewwhat the children have done and discusshow the work can be taken forward. Forexample, more fabric or paper can beadded to overlap what is already in placeand to create features of the seascape.Threads, beads and other threedimensionalmaterials can be added too.ResourcesAcrylic or ready-mixed paint, a variety ofpapers, textiles, threads, beads, sequins,any other suitable bits and pieces, PVAglue, scissors, paintbrushesOther ideasTextured papersPapers with a variety of textures can becreated using different techniques, forexample marbling, spraying, spongingand splattering. These can be prepared inadvance and then used cut or torn tocreate interesting effects in the layeredpictures.LandscapesLandscape pictures could be built up inexactly the same way as the seascapes.The Magic Fish– an Early Years project thatinspired work with KS2Sylwia Arneil, from St Aloysius RCPrimary School in Oxford, describes atextiles project that was initiallyundertaken with Year 1 pupils after readingthe story The Magic Fish. It led to work infelt, with the school KS2 art club using thesame inspiration.Literacy starting pointIt all started with the story of The MagicFish, which I read to the children the otherday. The story was met with greatexcitement and interest, perhaps becauseit was already known to the majority ofthem, or maybe because it had all thequalities of a classic tale. Many of thechildren started wondering what theymight wish for if they were lucky enough tocatch a magic fish, and perhaps what itmight look like. The discussion thatfollowed was full of ideas and descriptivelanguage – it looked as if the fish hadalready worked some of its magic in thechildren’s imaginations!The Golden Fishby Paul KleePaul Klee, who was a great admirer ofchildren’s art, created in this painting a verysimply composed but richly detailedunderwater world. I showed the childrenthe painting in large scale on an interactivewhiteboard, which was very helpful andmade the session, with 27 children, mucheasier to run. The children could easily readthe picture, but needed to be helped andguided a little bit to notice and appreciatedetails like the variety of seaweed, thewaves, the air bubbles and the patterns onthe fish. Once prompted, they becameextremely absorbed in analysing thepainting and learned to observe andenquire beyond the obvious.need to use gold or silver paint – thecontrast between colours can make thingsappear shiny. The children found thisdiscussion very interesting and inspiringand were ready to create their ownartwork.Oil pastel drawingsI asked the children to draw their ownmagic fish on a piece of A4 paper. I handedout the reproductions of Klee’s painting,explaining that they could be used as asupporting resource. I did not want thechildren to copy the painting, but to use itas an inspiration and also as a reminder ofwhat a finished picture should look like, asfive-year-olds tend to sketch rather thanstudy. Prior to this, we discussed thetechnical details of using oil pastel: thedifferent mark-making that can beachieved, depending on the position of thepastel, blending to mix colours, and so on.Some children found the drawing prettychallenging, as they got a bit tired of filling‘all this space’ with pastel. For this reason,we completed the drawings over twoseparate lessons. But the effort wasworthwhile and the results wereoutstanding. Every picture had its ownunique flavour: the different shapes of fish,colours and patterns, the watersurrounding the fish, and the atmosphere –all were individual.Painting on fabricWe now entered the final phase of ourproject: a big textile ‘ocean’ made out ofassembled individual pieces. I was luckyenough to have two fantastic studentsworking with me, which made things runsmoothly, and was able to fit it into a twohoursession. I would recommend that youenlist the help of at least one other adult atthis stage.I knew from the beginning that I wanted tocreate a painted fabric background(representing the water), and attachcollage-like fish to it, as I believed this wasthe best technique for this age group andwould work for a large class. I wasn’t sure,We then discussed the choice of coloursand the contrasts they create. Weobserved that to make something appearshiny and bright we do not necessarilySTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

20Early YearsVisitwww.ollyandsuzi.com21Interviewhowever, what kind of paint would producethe best effect on fabric. I experimentedwith variety of paints – fabric paint, colddye and poster paint – but none of themseemed to satisfy the needs of my timelimit and ordinary classroom environment,with a carpet that couldn’t be stained and alack of suitable storage space for thingslike dripping cloths.Finally, I tried block paints, and they were aspot-on choice. They are easy to use, theircolours are vibrant, they dry reasonablyquickly and they can be used diluted withwater or almost dry, which extends theirmark-making potential. A double sheet ofnewspaper put underneath the fabric toabsorb the excess water completed thepreparation. We used old white fine cottonsheets to paint on and different paintingtools: fine and broad soft brushes,toothbrushes and sponges. The childrenwere given free choice in terms of colourand the way in which they used the tools.It was very interesting to watch thisactivity: some children used all the coloursavailable and mixed them on the fabric,creating a muddy pool; some used alimited, water-related colour range, andothers took their time and tried all thetools, concentrating on shapes and markmaking.Many tried paint flicking. We alsoused some gold and silver powder paint,which added a bit of a shine and dimensionto colours when sprinkled over wet paint.Everybody truly enjoyed this activity, as itwas experimental and intuitive.Collage fishWe left the fabric to dry and moved on tomaking fish out of scraps of felt, shinyfabric, bubble wrap, string and wool. I findthat primary school children are nevergiven enough time to practise usingscissors, and some of them needed helpwith cutting. Felt, in particular, is difficult tocut, but the more they try the better theyget. The children then used PVA glue tojoin the parts of their fish together andstuck them in a chosen place on theirfabric ocean. For display purposes, Istitched the individual pieces together,creating a big rectangular patchwork.Some time later, I asked the children towrite down what they would wish for froma magic fish, which complemented theliteracy foundation of the project. I can onlysay that for many it was very difficult tostick to one wish…Felt-making golden fish (KS2)Some time later, I ran a project based onthe same Paul Klee painting, The GoldenFish, with a group of primary-age children(8–11) during my Saturday art clubworkshop.The objective was to look at one paintingand make reference to it in a creative way.I chose felt-making because the childrenwere already familiar with the techniqueand I wanted to reinforce and extend theirfreshly learned skills and introduce thebasics of stitching. The aim was to maketwo felt pieces: one in shades of blue andone in bright, hot colours. When dry, theblue would become the background, andthe light-coloured felt the image of the fish.The children were asked to cut out theshape of the fish, arrange it on thebackground and felt it as one piece onceagain. The felting-in was quite briefbecause the fish didn’t need to be firmlyattached to the background, as they wouldlater be stitched down.We did the stitching next. I introducedthree basic stitches: running stitch, backstitch and blanket stitch, and handed outcopies of pictures of the stitches, too. Ialso showed them how to sow on a beadand a sequin. It took a while for everyone toget going and things like threading aneedle or making a knot proved to be quitedifficult. The stitching itself was moresuccessful than I’d imagined, and thechildren really enjoyed it, despite theoccasional drama with tangled silk orthreads. They used different stitches tocreate seaweed and patterns on their fish,and used beads as eyes and backgrounddecoration. Blanket stitch, which we usedon the edges of the felt, was particularlyliked by most of the children who tried it.This project fitted into six hours, three ofwhich were spent on felt-making and threeon stitching. The experience, and otherslike it, has showed me that stitching andsimple forms of embroidery can be veryengaging and liked by this age group, butsufficient time has to be allowed for basicthreading and knotting, and it is veryimportant to use needles and beads withwide holes!Olly & Suzi:‘A collaborative, mutual responseto nature at its most primitive and wild’Interactive wildlife artists Olly & Suzi taketime out of their busy lives to talk to STARTEditor Michèle Kitto about their work,inspiration, passions and travel, and howtheir unique approach to making art canwork in the classroom.Perhaps you have never heard of art duoOlly & Suzi, known outside the art world asOlly Williams and Suzi Winstanley, orperhaps you, too, watched the insightfuldocumentary entitled Wild Art: Olly & SuziPaint Predators on BBC 4 in February, orhave heard that a shark once took a bite outof one of their drawings. Olly & Suzi arepassionate about predators, and aboutspecies and environments that are underthreat. In their work, a mix of pencilsketches, acrylics and watercolours, theyattempt to look beyond outwardappearances, however beautiful, andhighlight the plight of the vulnerable andthe importance of conservation.Olly & Suzi have been making art togethersince they met as degree students atCentral St Martins College of Art andDesign in 1987. In 1993 they decided toleave their studio in search of direct,first-hand inspiration and started creatingtheir artwork on location in the wild. Sincethen, they have completed over 50expeditions across the world – into thejungle regions, the Arctic, the desert andthe ocean – searching out the predatorsand prey that occupy some of the mostfragile and endangered habitats on Earth.They are about to embark on work withtigers, a species on the verge of extinction.Closer to home, they held a year-longretrospective exhibition and residency, Olly& Suzi Untamed, at the Natural HistoryMuseum in London in 2001–2002. Theyexhibit regularly in galleries, most recentlyin New York.Olly & Suzi paint and draw together, oftenhand over hand on the same painting at thesame time and often with the same brush,responding to the wild animals that they aretracking and their habitats. They work onlocation, in close proximity to the animals,but also back home in the studio. Whenthey create work in the wild, they use theanimal habitats as their studio, creatingimmediate responses to the events thatunfold in front of their eyes, capturing themoment. Presenting the animal as icon,they aim to also raise an awareness andunderstanding of their subject, oftenallowing it to represent itself byincorporating the odd paw print, bitemark and track into their work.‘We show our painting and drawing ininstallation alongside photographs and filmto communicate and document the artmaking, and our subsequent interactionwith nature, as an ongoing process.’I am interested in how you could sell thisconcept of making art together – the ideathat it is OK to draw on each other’s work –to teachers, and am reassured that Olly &Suzi have put this into practice a lot withschools and teachers. With teaching bloodin their veins, and each with children oftheir own, they seem very comfortable inthe classroom. Olly describes their recentwork with primary school children: ‘We getkids collaborating and … encourage themto let go and respond to each other’s marksin a non-competitive way.’ Taking thecompetitive edge out of working together,START THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

22Interview23Young pavement artistand making it a meaningful experience forchildren, is the essence of what they do. Topromote collaboration, Olly suggests thatinstead of giving a group of children apiece of paper each, they are given onepiece to work on together. They shouldthen be encouraged and enabled torespond to one another’s marks and notthink that any one is better than the other.Although he concedes that thiscollaborative practice might not suiteveryone as a lifelong way of working,he is quick to point out that as anexperimental process or classroomactivity it is very powerful.Olly continues: ‘Look, you don’t have to goto the North Pole to have an adventure; youcan go out into the park, grab a twig, someleaves, see what happens when you pushthat into the paper, see what happenswhen you grab some graphite, look for asparrow, look for a starling, look for aworm, look at it and draw it.’ He wants toinspire children in urban environments tosit down and slow down and respond toeach other and, importantly, respond totheir environment. In a nutshell, this iswhat Olly & Suzi do in the wilderness: ‘Wego into the wilderness … from our madbusy urban lives.’‘…performing art, music,acting, all these things arecollaborative events. You can’tput on a play on your own …but somehow painting [and]drawing [are] viewedtraditionally as a sole event, andwe are quite up for challengingthat’. OllyAmong the artists and people that haveinspired them, Olly & Suzi list JosephBeuys, Hockney, Rouseeau, Picasso andRothko – artists that have worked from life,that have a sense of history and the naturalworld, and a sense of humour. The secondgroup that inspires them includes peoplelike the naturalist and broadcaster DavidAttenborough, and they have beenhonoured to work with some of the topcameramen, conservationists, trackers andpolar explorers.Olly & Suzi feel strongly that it is importantfor children to understand the extent of theproblems in the natural world and, ratherthan being apathetic and thinking that youcan’t make a difference, realise that actuallya small contribution can be key. They aredoing their small bit of the larger jigsaw ofglobal conservation by combining art andconservation in a subtle, low-key kind ofway – looking at animals and interpretingthem unsentimentally, stressing their plightand importance – and encourage you to doyour bit too.You don’t need to go on a school trip to theAmazon or the Arctic to make the world ofanimals and conservation exciting. Try yourlocal park or school grounds. Get hold ofsome mud, find a worm, take time out ofyour busy school day to stop and actuallylook at it, then draw it. It’s quite simplereally, perhaps old fashioned, but often theleast complicated ideas are the best andmost fun!ResourcesBook: Olly and Suzi: Arctic, Desert, Ocean,Jungle (published by Harry N. Abrams).Available second-hand on Amazon, from £6Film: Wild Art: Olly & Suzi Paint Predators(Storyville BBC4). Warning: this filmcontains strong adult language, but givesyou, the teacher, insight into how theseartists work. Cost £10; emailnfo@arcanepictures.comwww.ollyandsuzi.comInterview with Arthur Morris,age 11, from Chilton CanteloSchool, Young PavementArtist of the Year, 2008What has winning the competitionlast year meant to you?It has really boosted my confidence, andhas given me lots of opportunities that Iwouldn’t have had – like drawing at thefoot of the dinosaur at the NaturalHistory Museum, and visiting PinewoodStudios to see film and televisionproduction.When did you first become interestedin art?Ever since I can remember, I have loveddoing all sorts of art. When I was muchyounger, I did a lot ot collage work andfinger painting; now I do more paintingand drawing, working with watercolours,acrylics and gouache, oil pastels,pencils, charcoal, even mud!Have you met Olly and Suzi?If so, tell us about them.Yes, I did meet them at the launch of thisyear’s competition at the Natural HistoryMuseum.They really inspired me and were veryfriendly and fun to be around. Theyobviously really care about the animalsthey work with, and go to every extremeto get close to them. They have hugerespect and faith in the people who helpthe animals that they want to paint anddraw. Just like they want the animals tojoin in with their art, they also reallywanted lots of children to get involved inthe Muscular Dystrophy Competitionand think about the plight of endangeredspecies. I think it is amazing that theycan use one brush together at the sametime to get such great pictures.Why should teachers encourage theirpupils to enter the Young PavementArtists’ Competition?Because it is an amazing experience,which anyone can enjoy, and because itis important for young people to thinkabout endangered animals. It gives youthe chance to enjoy art, help raiseawareness of individuals who havemuscle disease and help raise money forthe Muscular Dystrophy charity.The Muscular Dystrophy CampaignYoung Pavement Artists’ Competitionis the first major art-based initiative toexplore the relationship between usingthe pavement as a canvas and chalk asthe medium. This year, theenvironmental and conservation themeis Endangered Species. See page 2 fordetails.www.muscular-dystrophy.org/pavementartSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

24Special Needs25Special NeedsArt therapy inprimary schools‘Art therapy … can work inconjunction with and indeedfacilitate the educationalprocess.’Art therapy has often been associated withspecial schools, but Liz Lockett,registered art therapist, explains how arttherapy can work in the primary school,and provides an insight into the power ofart therapy in the lives of young children.I am an art therapist currently working inprimary schools in Herefordshire. I havebeen working with groups as well asindividual children for the past three yearsand have really enjoyed engaging withchildren in a school setting. Prior to this,my work included working with childrenwith autism in a special school setting,alongside a team of other therapists,including music and drama therapists, andpsychotherapists.Referrals quite often come directly fromindividual head teachers, or are passed viasocial services to the school. There aretwo forms that need to be filled in beforework can commence with a child: aparental/guardian consent form, as well asa referral form completed by the headteacher. The second form provides spacefor a ‘reason for referral’ and details of pastinterventions or other agencies involved.The next step is to meet with the child’steacher and to establish what needs she orhe thinks the child has, how their behaviourhas been in the classroom, how that childis relating to their peers, as well as anyother concerns or insights the teacher has.This contact and continual liaison with thechild’s teacher is of primary importance, asit helps to gauge how the child’s behaviourhas changed throughout the therapeuticinput they are receiving.The rooms in which I work all vary – somewith a sink, some without! The mostimportant thing is that it is a space wherethe child can feel able to explore and workthrough some unresolved conflicts anddifficult issues. Using the art materials – Iusually offer them a wide selection,including oil pastels, clay, coloured chalks,acrylic paints, plain and coloured paper,and so on – their feelings are expressed ina safe and unthreatening way, which forsome provides enormous relief. For someof them, the classroom sets up the worstareas of conflict and they end up behavingbadly to attract the attention they crave.The knowledge that at some time in theweek they will have an attentive adult tothemselves, in itself gives them the senseof security they need.The art materials used by the childrenprovide a tangible medium through whichthey can express themselves. Childrenoften have difficulty expressing theirfeelings verbally, and the process of artprovides a less problematic, morespontaneous means of communication.This approach differs from art teaching inthat the learning skills and the aestheticquality of the image are not the primaryconcern of the art therapist. Some childrenuse picture-making specifically, drawingpictures of their experiences, their feelingsor their fears and they can choose to talkabout them if they wish. The importantfeature is that experiences may emergemore readily in visual images than in verbalcommunication, and the artwork mayfacilitate discussion of otherwiseinaccessible topics and provide apermanent record of the processexperienced by the child.TamsynI would like to provide a brief account of agirl who I will call Tamsyn, aged 10, who Isaw for over a year. She produced somevery strong work, but unfortunately I haveno images of the work she did becauseshe moved to another county and took herportfolio of work with her.Tamsyn had been referred for art therapyto offer her an opportunity to express herfeelings and build up her self-esteem. Shehad experienced significant familyproblems, the effects of which manifestedthemselves in poor behaviour, attentionseekingrudeness as well as generaldisengagement with school.During her first session, Tamsyn cameacross as mature, eloquent and capable.She couldn’t think of anything to draw andsaid she would spend some time thinkingabout it. She decided she would draw theriver near her home and the two bridgesthat cross it. She spoke about her uncle,saying that at times she couldn’tconcentrate at school and constantly sawpictures of him in her mind. She went on totell me that her uncle had drowned in theriver when she was only six and that shehad been in the area at the time ithappened. She recalled that he had beendrunk, and that it was dark and she waswalking to her granddad’s house and sawthe lights of the police cars andambulances. Tamsyn went on to finish apainting of the river depicting the twobridges.This was to be the first of many traumas inTamsyn’s life, which she disclosed to me inthe sessions over the year in which I sawher. There were long periods of time whereshe remained very closed, cautious,distrustful and avoidant. Her imagesreflected this in that they were sparse andusually comprised cut outs from clothingcatalogues of things she liked. Longperiods of time were spent cutting andgluing. During this time, I had to remainpatient, and be careful not to try to speedthings up, as she would quickly retreat.Then, after a silence of three to fourmonths, it was almost as if the flood gatesopened and Tamsyn had finally decidedshe could trust me. Every week, from thenon, she hurried into the room, grabbing artmaterials and portraying what was goingon in her life at the time, as well as talking,crying and asking for advice as to what sheshould do in certain circumstances.Her home life continued to be traumatic,with the loss of her much-loved brother toprison, as well as the death of her ‘onlyfriend’, her dog, her mum changingpartners, witnessing fights between herdad and her brother, and finally movingschool again. She did, however, becomemuch more integrated and happy at hercurrent school during the time she wasreceiving art therapy.Our final session was difficult for us both,as we had been on quite a journeytogether. Tamsyn brought some smallcakes, which we shared, and asked if Icould continue to see her in her newschool in Manchester. She knew this wasimpossible, and we both understood thatthis was her way of saying she didn’t wantit to end.Primary school arttherapy groupThis is a brief account of an art therapygroup that ran for eight weeks at a primaryschool in Herefordshire. We had twogroups: the first included children fromYears 1 and 2, and the second, those fromYears 3, 4, 5 and 6. Each group containedaround six to eight boys and girls of mixedability and lasted for 45 minutes.The aim of the group was to provide an arttherapy group experience that would allowfor expression of emotion within astructure that was supportive, containingand gently challenging. Many of thechildren had low self-esteem and lowconfidence. Others had problems relatingto their peer group, as they found it hard totake turns, share or listen withoutinterrupting one another, giving theimpression of a lack of respect andthoughtfulness about the needs of others.The initial part of the session was spentsitting together in a circle. This gave thegroup time to gather, and was usuallyspent doing a warm-up activity, includingintroductions, finding out how everyone inthe group was feeling that day, ormovement and exercises.The second part of the session was usuallyspent around a large table, painting. Thiswas often a directive session led by meand included a variety of themes, includingpainting in pairs, self-portraits, families,round robin drawings, emotions, wishesand metaphorical gifts to one another.This part of the session gave the childrenan opportunity to be self-expressive, toexperience using various art materialsand to work together as a group orindependently. Some needed assistanceor found it difficult to focus for a length oftime, but generally everyone in the groupparticipated and enjoyed the process.The final part of the session involved sittingin a circle again. All the children found ithard to stop work and move to this closingphase. Some found it difficult to listen toothers reflecting on their artwork, or totake turns, and remained unfocused, butfor the most part everyone was able tocontribute and explain what their workmeant to them and to receive myfeedback. I found this one of the mostrewarding parts of the session, as childrenwere often very open about their work andthe good and difficult things that weregoing on in their lives. Some areas thatwere spoken about include two boys’experiences of being bullied, a child’ssense of loss following the death of hermother, one boy’s surprise at beingincluded by others in a group painting,and one boy’s realisation of his intolerancefor others when they didn’t do as he asked.Some children, who were initiallywithdrawn and quiet, became, over time,more confident and willing to talk in thegroup.At the final session, each child was giventheir work in a folder to take home andasked how they had found the eightweeks. Many asked if they could returnand found the idea of the group endingdifficult. This is common with groupendings, but a positive sign that theyfound it a good and helpful experience.START THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

26School TripsVisitwww.thefoundlingmuseum.org.uk27NSEAD START Summer SchoolThe FoundlingMuseumNSEAD STARTSummer SchoolLost for school trip ideas? There are plentyat The Foundling Museum, as LindseyCopeland discovers and reports.One of the many challenges facing primaryschool teachers is finding asuitable school trip that will notonly educate their studentsbut also engage them.This museum has anexcellent educationalprogram that is gearedtowards meeting theneeds of teachers, as wellas the educationalrequirements of theirpupils, in a fun andinteractiveatmosphere. Itprovides preplannedactivitiesand tailor-madepackages to suitthe needs ofthe individualteacher, whilecatering tothe often notso-easilyimpressedminds ofyoungchildren.The Foundling Museumoriginated as theFoundling Hospital,opened in London in1739 by Thomas Coram,in what is known todayas Bloomsbury.England’s first home forabandoned children, thehospital was built inorder to look after thenearly one thousandbabies that wereabandoned each year,and was to take in morethan 27,000 babiesbefore it closed in 1953. The hospital’s longhistory is detailed in the great manyartificats, letters, clothes and records thatare clearly displayed throughout themuseum.The Foundling Hospital was the inspirationfor Jamila Gavin’s novel Coram Boy, whichwas later adapted into a musical. It is alsopart of the history of artist William Hogarth,and composer George Frederick Handel,both of whom have work on display in themuseum. Hogarth, in particular, who wasone of the original Governors of thehospital, made it an important piece ofhistory when he encouraged artists todonate their works to the hospital in thehope that it would attract wealthybenefactors. In so doing, he made thechildren’s home Britain’s first public artgallery and exhibition space. Today, severalworks by Hogarth, Reynolds,Gainsborough, Wilson, Hayman, Highmore,Roubillac and Rysbrack are included in themuseum’s fine art collection and can beseen by visitors in fully restored 18thcenturyinteriors. Being able to see parts ofthe original hospital in the museum’svarious exhibitions allows children towitness a piece of history, making themuseum a perfect place for them to learnabout important events in English history.The museum is situated next to the site ofthe original hospital, now demolished, andcurrently showcases varied and engagingdisplays of fine art, music, and 18th-centuryinteriors saved from the original hospital.The many exhibits and hands-on activitiesbring to life the experiences of children inthe 18th century, allowing today’s childrento feel a connection between themselvesand the past.At present, the museum is showcasing anexhibition on Handel entitled Handel thePhilanthropist, which commemorates the250th anniversary of the composer’s death.In this exhibition, visitors can see Handel’swill, along with manuscripts and artworkson loan from the British Library, the RoyalCollege of Music and The National PortraitGallery, among others. The show runs until28 June 2009.What makes this space so ideal for childrenis that the education departmentunderstands and strives to meet the needsof teachers by creating an individualprogramme for each group. This allowsteachers to evaluate and choose forthemselves the options and sessions thatwould be best for their students, especiallywith regard to certain curriculums. Inaddition to viewing the works of art andartifacts on display within the museum,children are invited to interact with objects,dress up and role-play, and to engage theirminds in creative practices that fosterlearning as well as social interaction.Booking a school trip at The Foundlingcouldn’t be easier. Visits are free and theyinclude a session on Citizenship andIdentity, in which children can participate insuch activities as Finding Words, a creativewriting exercise, Finding Ourselves, inwhich they create self-portraits inspired by18th-century portraits, or Finding Tokens,an interactive display in which children learnabout mothers who had to leave theirbabies at the hospital. The museum alsooffers a programme called VictorianFoundlings, in which children can role-play,use costumes and archive material, and reenactpieces of the hospital’s history. Inaddition, the museum has a session entitledThomas Coram: The Man Who SavedChildren, and SEN sessions for specialneeds students. The space is large enoughto accommodate large or small classes, andthe staff are not only warm and friendly butalso informative. They will gladly answeryour questions and listen to any concerns orneeds teachers may have. The museumalso provides a space to eat lunch and areading area in which books are provided.You are advised to book well in advance, astime slots do fill up quickly.education@foundlingmuseum.org.uk.www.thefoundlingmuseum.org.uk.Winnie Hill-Cottingham and LorenFenwick share with readers how theSTART 2008 summer school has inspiredthem in their teaching over the last year.Printmaking in theclassroomIt was a great privilege to participate inthe first NSEAD START Summer School,held in Winchester in July 2008, and awonderful opportunity to meet and workalongside fellow art and design teachers.The Summer School weekend comprisedthree organised workshops led byspecialists in the field of art education,covering subjects from printmaking andtextiles to clay work and mixed-mediagroup work. The content of eachworkshop was inspirational: you weregiven opportunities to develop new skillsor extend techniques, depending on yourprevious experience. I felt that it acted asa springboard for ideas, and gave me theconfidence to encourage my pupils toexplore and experiment.In the printmaking workshop, led byMichèle Kitto and Ian Shearman, weinvestigated collograph printmaking. Thisis a printing process whereby you canbuild up a relief block made up of differentsurfaces, which when completed enablesyou to achieve a textured tonal print. Thisactivity was ‘fish’ based, and as Michèleand Ian explained, the outcomes could beas simple or sophisticated as you desired.After the workshop, I was extremely keento put the collograph printmakingtechnique into practice. As part of a Year 4design and technology lesson during thefollowing autumn term and, making across-curricular link with Japan, thechildren’s country of study in geography,we looked at simple kites. I thought thiswould be a marvellous opportunity toexperiment with.By way of introducing the lesson, I askedthe children to create imaginativesketches of different fish shapes. Theywent on to select one to draw and colouras a ‘best’ copy and add a tissue backing.In our second session, we continued our‘fish’ theme. The intention was for thechildren to develop an understanding of‘collograph’. They used their originalcoloured fish design as a pattern for theoutline shape of their relief block, cuttingit out in thick sugar paper. They thenapplied a range of varying thicknesses ofpaper (ripped, cut or overlapped) to theiroutline shape. We used glue-stick, butMarvin medium glue could also be used.Once the relief block had been made up,the children overlayed it with thinnewsprint paper and took rubbings usinga thick coloured wax crayon. (On thecourse we used a wax brass rubbingblock.)The results were fantastic. With suchexciting outcomes, which the childrenkept repeating in different colours, theythought it was just like ‘making a magicpicture’ appear before their eyes and thewords ‘Wow!’, ‘Amazing!’ and ‘Brilliant!’could be heard in the classroom as theirprints emerged. It was such an excitingexperience for those of all abilities and,more importantly, the children were mostcomplementary about one another’s workbecause the results were so varied.As an extension activity, the relief blockcan be used with printing inks and rollersto print on to paper or even fabric – thepossibilities are endless.Winnie Hill-Cottingham St Bernard’sSchool, SloughFabulous felt!Last summer I attended the NSEADSummer School in Winchester and oneof my favourite workshops was aboutmaking felt. I was absolutely enchantedby the process and couldn’t wait to getback to school to share my newenthusiasm with my pupils.Felt-making uses wool fibres. Each strandis covered in microscopically small scalesand when water and pressure are applied,the scales open up and tangle together,forming a compact surface and shrinkingin the process. (We discover this, to ourdetriment, when we don’t follow thewashing instructions on our woollens…)Felting is a magical process. It makes aninteresting change from weaving orknitting as a means of creating fabric anda very useful benefit is that it can be cutSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

28NSEAD START Summer SchoolVisitxxxxx29NSEAD START Summer Schoolthoroughly wet and flat. Rub gently butfirmly over the netting to start the feltingprocess. Vigourous rubbing at this pointmay displace some of the design.Depending on the design, this may notmatter – and may indeed add to theoverall effect – but to avoid this, rub insmall but firm circles all over the surface,paying careful attention to areas ofdelicate design. Helping the fibres tobond now will prevent them from movingin Step 3, which is much more vigorous.Some of the wool may come through thenetting; this is natural and nothing toworry about.creating the fabric themselves, and it ismuch quicker that weaving or knitting!Beads and embellishments can be sewnon to the felt, or it can be cut or sewn. Infact, there is no limit to what can beachieved, other than your ownimagination.At the NSEAD Summer School, wediscussed making puppets, bags and evensocks; we also saw evidence of wholeclassprojects involving giant pieces of felt.The wonderful thing about attending anevent like this is that like-minded peopleinspire each other and ideas are generatedby teachers in similar situations to you.Real, hands-on practical advice is sharedand first-hand experience is gained. I leftfeeling somewhat sorry that it was thebeginning of the summer holidays, as Icould not wait to get back into class and tryout some of my new ideas! I wouldstrongly recommend this experience toany art teacher, regardless of theirexperience, level of expertise or classroomconstraints, as an excellent way to reviveand inspire you for the next academic year.Oh, and it is LOADS of fun!Loren Fenwick, Aldro School, Surreywithout fraying, eliminating the need forfinishing edges. The natural irregular edgeof felt is quite attractive and an inherentpart of the process, I think, but edges canbe cut to neaten if desired.I did my first felting project with a Year 5class. We had been looking at artists fromdifferent eras and they were veryinterested in the cave paintings atLascaux in France. I remembered that atthe Summer School, cave paintings hadbeen mentioned as an inspiration for feltmakingdesigns, so I decided to jump inand give it a go. I was quite nervous aboutit, having not made felt since the summer,under supervision, but the handouts fromthe summer school were very clear andhelped me to remember and recapturethe excitement! (Thanks Michèle!)What you will needWool fibres, which are readily availablefrom many educational art materialssuppliers (white and coloured), to suityour project. The white is cheaper, so isgood to use as a base.Bamboo rolling mats. Sushi mats aregood, but expensive; placemats work welland can be sourced more cheaply. Yoursource for wool fibres will probably alsosupply bamboo mats, or it may be worthlooking on the internet.Net curtaining, cut into pieces 5 cmlarger than the bamboo mats. This ischeap to buy new, but second-hand onesfrom a charity shop work just as well.They must be the plain variety with nopatterns or large holes, as these will letthe wool through while you are rubbing.Warm water. It does not need to be veryhot; remember, young hands are muchmore sensitive to heat than ours are.Soap. Any popular brand of washing-upliquid will do the trick; bars of soap orsoap flakes can also be used, but theseare messier. A trick I decided to try, whichworks well, is to add the soap to the water(about a cup to two litres of warm water).This didn’t produce the mountains of soapsuds I was expecting, but did felt the woolwell.Dishtowels, to help eliminate excesswater from the rolled-up pre-felted woolfibres.The processEvery felt-making book I have readdescribes a different process for makingfelt. The method I describe suited theneeds of my pupils, in that they were ableto understand the process and followsimple guidelines without much adultinterference, but my suggestion is thatyou have a go yourself and see it in actionbefore trying it in the classroom. Betterstill, go to the next Summer School,where you will get much more of aguided, hands-on experience and loads ofideas and inspiration, as I did.Step 2The wool fibres are pulled from the packin fine bunches and laid next to each otheron the rolling mat. A second layer isplaced so that the fibres run in theopposite direction. Between four and sixlayers are laid down in the same way. Thisforms the base. It is worth spending sometime teaching the pupils how to pull outpieces of wool in small, fine tufts,because if chunks are laid down, the feltwill be lumpy and bulky, may developholes and will not felt very well becausemany fibres will be lying in the samedirection, making it more difficult for themto mat and tangle. On top of this, colouredfibres are laid down to form a design.At this point, once all the pupils havefinished laying down wool and before thewater and soap are used, the wool can becovered with a piece of net and stored forthe next lesson if necessary.Step 2Once the wool fibres have been laiddown, they are covered with a piece ofnet. Warm, very soapy water is pouredinto the centre, a small amount at a time,and worked from the centre to theoutside; the wool will flatten as it getswet. Make sure that the whole design isStep 3Once the entire area is saturated andsoapy, gently remove the netting. Becareful not to displace too many of thefibres, which are still far from bonded atthis stage. Gently fold back any wedgesthat are too straggly. Roll up the bamboomat and squeeze out the excess waterand soap. (Do this over a basin or a bucketas a surprising amount of water will comeout!) Roll the mat in a dish cloth to preventit from slipping and then roll it back andforth, as you would a rolling pin, for a fewminutes on a sturdy table or on the floor.After a couple of minutes, unroll the matand you will see that the felt has shrunk inone direction. The fibres should havebonded enough at this point for you to beable to lift the felt carefully off of the mat.It can be gently pulled back to its originalshape if it has shrunk too severely. Turnthe felt 90 degrees and roll it up again. Donot worry too much about edges that aresticking over the mat; the felt will soonshrink to fit the mat, or you can move itaround so that all areas get a chance to berolled in the mat. Repeat the rollingprocess until all the fibres are felted andhave become part of a single mass. Keepturning the felt: don’t forget to rotate andturn it over so that all areas get felted.Between each rolling, you can gentlyreshape the felt if it has shrunk too muchor distorted. The more you roll, the morethe fibres will felt and shrink, resulting indenser, thicker, smaller pieces of felt.How much you felt is up to you, but do itat least until all the fibres are bondedtogether.Once the felt is made, it should bethoroughly rinsed out to remove all soap.It can then be left to dry flat on a table orover a radiator.Most pupils have done some sort ofsewing or collage work using textiles butthey really get a thrill out of actuallyNSEAD SUMMER SCHOOL17–19 JULY 2009The two-day Summer School is awonderful opportunity to revisit orlearn new practical skills, and exploredevelopments in art, craft and designeducation that will have a measurableimpact in the classroom.The content of the weekend will behands-on, creative and enjoyable in asupportive environment. By the end ofthe weekend you will have lots of ideasand resources, and have had time toreflect on your own classroom practice.Workshops will be facilitated by primaryarts specialists, and professional artistsand craftspeople all highly experiencedwithin the primary classroom.A selection of skills-based workshopswill include costume and adornment,sculpture and painting, and new media,and delegates will also have theopportunity to consider thinking andresearching skills for children, startingpoints for arts and cross-curricularprojects, use of sketchbooks, risk-takingand the open-ended brief.For more information or to book pleasecontact Anne Ingall. Tel: 01249 714825Email: anneingall@nsead.orgSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

30Book reviews31Book reviewsBookreviewsAdinkaA primary cross-curricular projectPublished by RISC, Growney & Loweat £15.00Adinka, a primary cross-curricular projectthat focuses on an ancient form ofprintmaking from Ghana and exploreschildren’s values and identity, would befascinating for any art teacher to use withtheir pupils. What makes the book sohelpful are the details about how thisprocess works, and the tradition isbrought to life through the words of thereal craftspeople who are still creatingbeautiful and original pieces of work everyworking day.This project would really be thoroughlyrewarding to tap into, as children learnabout a tradition in another country, anddevelop an understanding of how doingsuch work allows people to become selfsufficient.It also gives pupils theopportunity to think about their ownidentity in a unique way and challengesthem to work collaboratively.Adinka is full of photos, images andsuggestions for further research forteachers, a step-by-step lesson plan andadvice on how the project can be linked toother schemes of work. It will certainlybroaden your horizons as a teacher andbring a whole new world of contemporaryart to your pupils’ doorstep!Reviewed by Rachel Shadlock, NormanCourt School, SalisburyAvailable direct from RISC (ReadingInternational Solidarity Centre) at £15 plusP&PTel. 0118 958 6692www.risc.org.uk/education/teaching _resources.htmlStart to FeltEwa Maria KuniczakStart to AppliquéNancy NicholsonPublished by Search Press at £6.99 each(paperback)If appliqué and felt-making are somethingyou love to do, then these books shoulddefinitely be added to your collection. Thefelt-making book would require some levelof understanding to begin with, as theinstructions are easy to follow but complexin nature, and perseverance would beneeded to achieve the final product. Theappliqué projects, on the other hand, lookgreat fun to do and seem easy enough toachieve.Each of the books begins with a short butconcise introduction briefly explaining thehistory of the techniques of felting andappliqué. The materials and equipmentsections are clearly written and illustratedwith photographs. For those that are notclued up about where to get supplies,there are suggestions on where to buyyour materials.Start to Felt has four delightful and brightdesigns. Although these are quite complextasks and not for the faint-hearted, thereare many clearly written and illustratedinstructions. ‘Funky Facts’ and ‘Top Tip’boxes add interest and useful, easy-toreadinformation.Start to Appliqué has a useful section onembellishments, materials, equipment andtechniques, beautifully illustrated withphotographs. There is a great ‘Stay Safe‘box for essential safety tips and again a‘Top Tips’ box containing usefulinstructions. The section on stitching issuperbly illustrated. As with the feltingbook, all activities are clearly explained andbeautifully photographed and easy tofollow. Personally, I felt that the appliquédesigns could have been morecontemporary and less ‘1970s’. However,the choice of fabric will make a differenceto the final design. Excellent value formoney.Reviewed by Sarah Davis, PeterboroughHigh SchoolPrint, Pattern & ColourRuth IssettPublished by Batsford at £18.99(hardback)At first glance, this book doesn’t seem tohave much to offer the primary teacher.However, after even the merest of flicksthrough, you come away with the feelingthat there is much more to this print larkthan potatoes and cotton reels.The author, gently but firmly, guides thereader from basic printing on paperthrough to the production of printedfabrics that would not look out of place inthe haute couture world. Detailed,informative equipment lists are given,along with very useful notes outlining theadvantages and disadvantages of eachitem. Materials (including specific,commercially available products) arediscussed and their relative merits fordifferent applications noted. Techniquesare clearly explained and the reader isguided step by step through many andvarious activities, projects and concepts.This book, although aimed at an adultaudience, is profusely illustratedthroughout with photos that would serveas an inspiration and an appetiser forchildren. The author has managed to packa wealth of information and ideas intoquite a slim volume, and there issomething for everyone, from FS to Y6and beyond. Many of the activities areideal for an art club or for extending moreable children. If the printing currentlyundertaken in your school is beginning toseem predictable and uninspiring, thenthink seriously about buying this book.Reviewed by John Fidler, Bielefeld SchoolBig Book of FashionIllustration – A WorldSourcebook of ContemporaryIllustrationMartin DawberPublished by Batsford at £19.99(hardback)This book would be superb as a resourcebook in schools and colleges. It is full ofimages depicting lifestyle ideas andscenarios, trendy young things wearingthe right clothing, looking fantastic,listening to the right music and beingseen with the right people. The book is areflection, as stated in the foreword, of‘the globalisation of all design areas, suchas home-style, travel and sports’.The Big Book of Fashion Illustration wouldbe the ideal source book for anyonewishing to gain inspiration for a fashion,graphics or illustration project, as thecollection is diverse and the book is full ofdifferent styles of illustration using awealth of media. The ‘Children’ sectioncontains some particularly interestingimages. There are also a number ofstriking studies elsewhere in the book,which are artworks in their own right,including Claire Anderson’s stitched pieceentitled Fleur and Michael Sibley’s Jo.These are beautiful works and would besuperb reference and research materialfor students studying any artisticdiscipline.However, some of the most successfulimages for me are the ones that perhapshark back to what have been described asthe ‘1940’s style sketches with long talllegs’ in the ‘Womenswear’ section of thebook. One in particular, by Bill Donovanand entitled Setarium Couture, is abeautiful, simple line drawing in classicthick black strokes, with an explosion ofcolour and style.This is a great sourcebook that contains awealth of ideas and thought-provokingsuggestions. Personally, I would like tohave seen more of the 1940s styleseeping in just here and there!Reviewed by teacher and artist Lizzie WeirShoes: The CompleteSourcebookJohn PeacockPublished by Thames and Hudsonat £24.95 (hardback)This is a fabulous book for shoe lovers anddesign historians alike. The shoesfeatured range from the simple sandals ofAncient Egypt to the fashion footwear oftoday. The shiny cover entices you into anillustrated history of 2000 shoes, eachone beautifully drawn and accompaniedby a black- and-white outline and dateddescription. The author has drawn eachshoe in great detail, showing buttons,laces, fastenings and even fabric texture.This encyclopedic history does notprovide lesson ideas, but does presentopportunities for the creative teacher.Shoes is aimed at KS3 pupils and designstudents, yet younger children will love toexplore the evolution of shoes, theirbeautiful designs and how modern shoestake inspiration from those of 1000 yearsago. There is a wealth of designpossibilities for teachers and pupils,including designing your own shoe detail(from the templates) to reproducing a pairfrom simple craft materials. For thosewanting a new aspect to the creativecurriculum, the shoes featured can belinked to most periods of time and placesin the world.Shoes, a satisfyingly weighted book filledwith delightful pictures, is a beautifulreference hardback to admire over andover again.Reviewed by Year 3 teacher Tansy Spink,Pyrcroft Grange Primary SchoolWorld Textiles: A Visual Guideto Traditional TechniquesPublished by Thames and Hudsonat £18.99 (paperback)World Textiles offers a cross-cultural lookat the history of textiles. Full of amazingphotographs, it takes the reader on avisual journey, providing a range ofmaterials from around the globe on whichto feast the eye: non-loom textiles, loomwoventextiles, dyes, sewn textiles,embroidery and embellishment.There is a useful description of atechnique on almost every page, andevery kind of textile is covered. At theback of the book there is a usefulglossary, a worldwide further reading listand a list of textile collections. With 778illustrations and 551 in colour, it is awonderful reference book for anyoneinterested in textiles, be they a beginneror a more experienced artist. This book isa must!Reviewed by Julie Hignett, ClarendonPrimary School, BoltonSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

32Readers’ panelProduct reviewSilk-painting equipment fromHeart Educational SuppliesHeart Educational Supplies arespecialists in providing materials forsewing, textiles and crafts – a veritableAladdin’s cave for the textiles enthusiast!Many an hour have I spent poring over themore general educational suppliers’catalogues, desperately trying to findspecialist materials – usually without luck.Heart Educational Supplies have put anend to that – for textiles at least!From their website, www.hearteducational.co.uk,you are not only able todownload their brochure, but can alsoaccess advice and information on usingthe products that they carry. The productsthat I have tried have been of an excellentquality. For silk-painting, Heart carries arange of embroidery hoops, includingsome with plastic frames and large packsfor use in school. It also supplies someextremely useful wooden frames that canbe used for both silk and batik work.Instead of being permanently fixed, theframes have ingenious notches, whichallow the frame to be put together in arange of sizes, without the need for nails!This also means that theycollapse for easy storage.Heart really has thought through the needsof the primary school, for as well assupplying the usual silk by the metre, theyalso sell silk scarves (26 cm by 26 cm), at avery reasonable price, which can beattached to a wooden frame, or trapped inan embroidery hoop, with minimum effort.They even sell silk pins to attach the silk toa frame without damaging the fabric –again, at a very reasonable price.The range of silk paints carried by Heart isimpressive – they can be bought singularly,or as a class pack. The Seta Silk paints thatI tried came in a beautiful range of colours– rather than the standard primaries, thereare subtle shades with names such assalmon, caramel, plum, buttercup, azureblue and poppy red. The colours blendwith ease and build strong tones whenlayered. The class set comes with athinner, so that you can lighten the colours.Heart also sells Chinese brushes, which Ihave not seen in other educationalsuppliers. These are fantastic for silkpainting,as they have a firm, yet verysharp, end that is perfect for the precisepainting required for silk. These reallywould be an asset for children, asthey would afford them fargreatercontrol over their work. This is true, too, ofthe gutta sold by Heart. The gutta I triedcame in a squeezy tube with a very finenozzle attached. With these it would betricky for anyone to ‘blob’ their design.They even come in a range of colours,including gold, bronze and black, whichwould be perfect for some topics. Theycan be used to embellish designs in thefinal stages instead of sequins and beads,as well as to provide a frame for thecolours at the outset.In my opinion, Heart Educational Supplieshas really considered its target audiencecarefully. If you are looking to make somelong-term investments in textile materials,it may well be worth browsing theircatalogue. The quality and range ofmaterials on offer is hard to beat!Tested by Sarah Baker, Longlevens JuniorSchool, GloucesterSUBSCRIBE to STARTthe magazine for primary and pre-schoolteachers of art, craft and designSubscribers to START receive a year’s free on-line access to over300 units of art, craft and design work on the NSEAD’s website:www.nsead.org username: gormley password: drury.Please phone the NSEAD office on 01249 714825 to obtain yourmembership number before you log onto the website.Subscribe or re-subscribe to START today by direct debit and get a £5 NSEAD bookshop voucher.About NSEADSTART is published by the National Society for Education in Art& Design (NSEAD) with the support of Arts Council England.The NSEAD is the leading UK authority concerned with art, craft anddesign education and promotes and represents art and design in allphases of education throughout the UK.A professional association with active membership among art anddesign teachers and lecturers in the UK, the NSEAD is also a leadingprovider of in-service education, on-line and other publications forart and design education.Visit www.nsead.org for more information.How to access art lessons and art projects on-lineThe National Society for Education in Art & Design ‘Units of Work’database has about 300 units of work that can be accessed free ofcharge by subscribers to START magazine – there should be somethingthere to surprise and inspire you. The units have been written by someof the UK’s leading art educators and include art projects, art lessonsand descriptions of classroom and art room teaching strategies forchildren, pupils and students from 3 to 18 years old. However, mostof the units are easily adapted for use by a wider age range.The Society is always keen to receive new ideas to add to the existingunits – if you have a lesson you are particularly pleased with, pleasewrite it up in a similar format and email it, together with one or twoexamples of your children’s work to johnsteers@nsead.orgTo access the Units of Work you should go to www.nsead.organd log on using the username ‘gormley’ and the password ‘drury’.Then click on ‘Resources’ followed by ‘Units of Work’.You can simply browse through the units or search them by usingkeywords such as artists’ names, themes or techniques. Alternatively,you can search for age range, particular media and processes, andthe elements such as shape, form, colour, tone, and texture.To subscribe to START and receive your personal copy call01249 714825 or photocopy and complete the subscription formn YES, I would like to subscribe to STartNameTitle/roleSchool/OrganisationAddressTelephonePostcodePayment optionsI wish to pay by one of the following means (please tick):1. n Direct Debit – Please fill in the whole form in the box below, includingofficial use box using a ballpoint pen and send it to: NSEAD, TheGatehouse, Corsham Court, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 OBZ2. n Payment by personal cheque (cheques made payable to NSEAD)– £30 for one year’s single subscription of four editions, £50 fortwo copies sent to same address3. n Invoice (please attach an official order from your school, collegeor university)4. n Visa/MasterCard/Delta/Switch Card number (below)Expiry dateSecurity number(last 3 digits of number on signature strip)Name on cardIssue number(Switch only)Address at which card is registered (if different from above)SignaturePostcodeDatePlease return to: STart Magazine NSEAD, The Gatehouse, Corsham Court,Corsham, Wiltshire SN13 OBZ T: 01249 714825 F: 01249 716138Instruction to your Bank or Building Society to pay by Direct DebitName and full postal address of you Bank or Building SocietyTo: The ManagerAddressName(s) of account holder(s)Bank/Building Society account numbern n n n n n n nBank/Building SocietyPostcodeReference numbern n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n nOriginator’s Identification NumberBranch sort coden n n n n n9 9 0 9 9 1For NSEAD official use onlyThis is not part of the instruction to your Bank or Building Society.n Quarterly Payment £7.50Instruction to your Bank or Building SocietyPlease pay NSEAD, direct debits from the account detailed in this instructionsubject to the safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. 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Please also send acopy of your letter to us.START THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGNSTART THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN