Star - The National Society for Education in Art and Design

14
Group-work feature
Shoal!
Kate Allan tells of a multi-pupil waterthemed
artwork created in response to
the 2008 theme of the East Riding of
Yorkshire’s School Improvement Service
initiative and Arts Council England part
sponsored project Creative Contexts for
Learning (CCfL). Here she shares her
inspiration for a KS2 project undertaken at
Garton CE Primary School, East Yorkshire.
In July 2007 I was asked to lead an arts
project over a few days with pupils in
Years 3 to 6 to create a water-themed
artwork to be exhibited in the school’s
small entrance hall. What aqueous
statement could be made, involving all Key
Stage 2 children? My thoughts turned to
an artwork in parts: something to which all
pupils could contribute and of which all
would have ownership; a single outcome
reflecting multiple input.
A shoal is a group, especially of fish. It was
an ideal model for our artwork. Shoals
appear like a single organism – like a
school (of pupils) – but are a collection of
individuals, like individual children and
staff. We studied images and footage of
shoals of fish (a simple Internet search
produced thousands of results). We
discussed shoals’ form and movement:
some closely packed, others more spaced
out; coordinated manoeuvres,
synchronization. We also looked at the
paintings of Cornish-based artist Nicola
Bealing, in particular Twist Shoal, Small
Shoal and Puff Fish Shoal, discussing the
artist’s representation of en masse animal
behaviour. www.lemonstreetgallery.co.uk
A further stimulus was the shoal sequence
in Pixar’s Finding Nemo. Marlin, Nemo’s
father, encounters an animated shoal
whose hundreds of fish coordinate to
mimic a swordfish, lobster, octopus, ship,
the Sydney Opera House, and an arrow.
I used the opportunity to introduce
children to the work of other artists who
feature water in their work – Turner,
Hockney (A Bigger Splash), Derain, Monet,
Constable, Lowry (Seascape), Hokusai,
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Visit:
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www.eastriding.gov.uk
www.tate.org.uk
Seurat, Frost, Barns-Graham,
Goldsworthy, Hepworth (Wave), O’Keefe,
to name but a few. Much discussion was
generated from the class of 8–11 year-olds
by a look at Mark McGowan’s
controversial 2005 artwork The Running
Tap, created to highlight water wastage.
How, then, to create a large-scale shoal in
a short time frame? We began with A3
paper and watercolour paints (the latter an
overt link to the project’s theme). I
encouraged pupils to experiment: what
could they make the paints do? Results
were vast and all valuable: some delicate,
others dark; all unique. I laminated the A3
sheets to give substance and to add gloss,
created card fish templates for all pupils,
and we set to work. Our task was to cut
out as many ‘watercolour’ fish as possible,
drawing around the templates on the
reverse of the sheets.
While at work, pupils enjoyed listening to
water-themed tracks from Art Songs, Ten
Songs about Artists by Agnes and Aubrey
(purchased online from Tate). Children
sang along to ‘Turner’ (‘Turner! Loves to
paint the water, lakes gently rippling in the
breeze / You can almost feel the wind and
the water on your skin / When he paints
the waves crashing down on ships in
stormy seas’), and ‘St Ives’ [‘In 1928 two
artists on holiday (Ben Nicholson and
Christopher Wood) / Returned from the
beach and passed a doorway where the
local painter Alfred Wallis stood … On
scraps of cardboard he chose to convey
sailing ships and views of the bay’].
The arithmetic involved in calculating the
number of sheets required to reach our
target of one thousand fish provided a
cross-curricular link to Numeracy. Other
cross-curricular links were made – to
Literacy, when a pupil wrote an article
about the artwork and had it published in
the local newspaper, and to PSHE &
Citizenship (see discussion about
McGowan’s artwork, above). On the fourth
day of the project, we reached our target,
and it was interesting just to look at the
vast array of differently patterned cutouts
– from one with a single splash or stripe
and those with ‘accidental’ eyes and
mouths, to the heavily detailed. Cutting
out from the reverse meant the patterns of
the fish were a surprise. With pupils’ help I
put up layers of shimmering netting,
creating a subaquatic-like environment
into which to place our fish. The placing of
individual fish was important, and I worked
with a number of pupils to ensure a shoallike
progression across the exhibition
space. The sloping ceiling in the small
entrance hall was a quite welcome
obstacle – the shoal was part-exhibited on
this slope, making for overhead viewing
and an enhanced sense of us being under
water.
The overarching aim of CCfL is to inspire
pupils to use their creativity and
imagination in the hope that this will
influence classroom confidence levels and
achievement. It isn’t just about outcomes,
though; it is about process and ‘doing’,
too. What I hope Shoal! has done is to
underline the importance and value of
everyone’s involvement. Shoal! wouldn’t
be the same without that particular Year 6
pupil’s black and brown striped fish, nor
without the Year 3 child’s contributions.
The pupils have greatly enjoyed spotting
their own fish among the hundreds on
display, and much fun was had in the
overall artwork’s creation – in the ‘doing’.
Kate Allan is a trainee teacher
representative on the Teacher Education
Board of the NSEAD. e_kateallan@
fsmail.net
www.makingmosaics.co.uk
www.jfpobrien.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
www.buddmosaics.co.uk
www.martincheekmosaics.com
mosaics are fun!
‘I enjoyed doing the big mosaics because
it was fun trying to make them fit …’
Mosaic artist of Making Mosaics,
Anne Cardwell, showcases some of
the work of professional and nonprofessional
artists across the country
and their different working methods.
She highlights the diverse methods that
mosaic artists employ when working
with children in schools, revealing how
even the youngest children can get
involved in this exciting artform.
Every mosaic artist who has had the
opportunity to work in education will
talk with animation of how children are
vitalised by the challenge of being
introduced to this ancient craft. Colour
and construction stimulate the senses and
charge the imagination. Mosaic can easily
be linked into the curriculum: the Greeks
and the Romans, patterns, tessellating,
symmetry, creativity, dexterity, teamwork –
not to mention having fun! Dull educational
establishments and stark play areas can be
transformed with bright works of art and
give the pupils an immense sense of pride
in their achievements and a new respect for
their environment.
Many schools are confidently and
successfully designing and creating large
works of mosaic art – but it is often largely
down to one individual teacher (or parent)
who has some knowledge of the process.
Others are daunted by the level of
knowledge needed and as health and
safety regulations become ever more
stringent, teachers need to be aware of
how to ensure good working practices.
There are many exciting and feasible
projects for all levels, starting right down in
Reception.
I have created a number of projects with
schools and youth groups and recognise
that there are limitations to working with
children. Risks cannot be eliminated, but
sensible precautions will keep everyone
clean and away from harm. For example, by
dispensing the adhesive through a
disposable piping bag (from Lakeland
Plastics!), the children can press the tile
www.mosaic-madness.co.uk
www.splat-arts.co.uk
www.bamm.org.uk
www.mosaictraderuk.co.uk
pieces into the adhesive without their
fingers coming into contact with the sticky
stuff at all. Mapei Ultramastic tile adhesive
which comes as a paste, is an excellent
adhesive, without a fearsome
red cross on the back, and is ideal for
projects that ‘slip’ (and where PVA is
therefore unsuitable). For statues made
by Foundation Stage pupils the adhesive
was piped on to figures made by the
children with modroc, using kitchen
funnels and wooden spoons. The children
then pressed the pre-cut (and washed)
vitreous glass tiles into the paste and later
grouted them.
John O’Brien recognises that very young
children love to make mosaics but have
limited manual dexterity and can’t do work
that is neat, tidy and regular. His solution is
to outline simple drawings with black cable
pinned into position, which provides ‘dams’
to contain different coloured aquarium
pebbles. The pebbles are inexpensive and
come in many colours. After pupils have
graded them into different sizes, the
pebbles are used to fill in the design and are
then tamped down and left to dry. The
pebbles do not require any cutting and are
colourful, and work well with little hands.
A veteran of countless huge public art
installations, Oliver Budd brings much
knowledge and enormous enthusiasm to
the subject. A large part of his working life
involves teaching and he has adapted his
own professional techniques for the school
environment. His method of working
involves making the mosaic onto a mesh.
A large piece of polythene is placed over a
drawing and over this is fixed the mesh,
allowing the drawing to show through.
The tiles are cut away from the working
area (into large transparent bags), so that
the shards do not fall into the work or mesh,
concentrating on fine detail first and
background later, and applied using PVA
glue. Once complete, the work is left for
24 hours and then flipped over and the
polythene is peeled off so the back can dry.
1
Mini poster
The work can now be installed, either
whole, or if large, cut carefully into
sections. This method works well for
interior and outdoor projects, as the PVA is
embedded in a cement-based adhesive
during installation (and is therefore not
vulnerable to frost, damp, etc.)
For school mosaic projects, Oliver offers
several key pointers. Remember you are
designing for a material that is fragmented
– keep it simple, with well-defined areas of
colour. Try employing a mix of closely
related colours, rather than dull, the piece
will become vibrant and alive. Avoid
complicated lettering, and choose your
grout colour carefully – never use white
grout as it kills the subtlety, a neutral tone is
better. Look at other mosaics (the BAMM
website is a good place to start) and see
how other artists have overcome the
limitations of the medium.
Martin Cheek, internationally renowned
mosaic artist and ceramicist, has an
interesting technique that involves the
bringing together of both media. Mosaics
are made with vitreous glass and
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