The Castle Summer Camp

I have just started promoting my new summer camp. I teamed up with a local music organisation Music in the Glen. They run most of the music events in the town and also the local kids arts festival, Feile Eile. I must say it was a lot of fun coming up with the ideas for it. We let our imagination have free reign. The concept is all about Magical Realms. We are resurrecting a local castle that is in ruins under the lake. Inside an inflatable tent there will be workshops run in music, art, historical warrior llike games to name a few of them. There is even talk of building forts and racing goats. I know I will have as much fun coming up with the ideas for the workshops as the kids will have doing them. I suppose the key to working with kids is to always have your inner child close by at all times. If your interested in the camp details go to www.musicintheglen.ie I can't get my images online at the moment so it will give you a chance to see the cute Brian Boru I painted!

Nenagh Art Classes - Spring Term

Art Classes are back in Nenagh Arts Centre for the Spring term. I have reved up the imagination and come up with some nifty new flyers. I have been spending some time trying to define what it is I do and why I do it. I know why I think we should be all be painting or creating everyday and I can see the impact that art has on the people I work with. However I don't know if I am communicating this message.The new flyers are meant to start that discussion for me, let people know that this is going to be fun and excitting and that the art class belongs to them.

Do let me know what you think. Have I hit something here or does it all sound a bit bonkers?

Creative Christmas

Rosie and her Doll

I haven't written in months, not because the creativity has dried up but because it has been flowing in abundance and I haven't had a chance to catch up with myself. Between all the Christmas presents I have made and taking care of the new baby (and the rest), I just didn't have a moment to record any off it. However  I couldn't let it go without putting up some pictures of the presents I made for my two youngest. I have caught the knitting bug lately and have even found myself a guru, an ICA member and knitter extraordinaire. She even has had her work hanging in the Aras!! That is a serious badge of honour.

I found myself an enchanting book a few months back that really captured my imagination. It is called "Toymaking with Children" by Freya Jaffke (2003, Floris Books). The author basis all her designs and toys on the Steiner philosophy. The book emphasises the different phases of childhood and the nature of play. It explains how the simplest of toys are often the best as they allow the child to use more of their own imagination instead of allowing the toy to do all the work.

I picked out a simple knitted doll for the baby and also a knitted farm for my son. Both have gone down really well but already the mane has been ripped from the horse and the dolly's head is being pulled out a bit far from her body. I think it adds to the charm and I absolutely loved making them. As basic as they are, for me it was a real challenge to figure out the patterns and to get them made when everyone was in bed.

The Farm

I am finding that I am beginning to be sucked into the charm of crafts. Where before I think I was a bit of a snob, thinking that only fine art had any real artistic merit I am beginning to see the error of my ways and really embracing the skill and creativity involved in craft. When fine art was historically the domain of men, women found their creative outlet through their craft work. For many women creativity had to be built into every day life and the outcome needed a practical merit. I have seen the dept of skill that many women have and disregard as useless or would never give their creative input into a textile or knitted project much thought. This is a train of thought that I am hoping to continue in the coming months with one of my women's groups, exploring creativity in crafts.

Nenagh Art Classes

Children's Art - Saturday Afternoon
Explore a range of craft and art based activities. Children are encouraged to discover their own creativity and interests. We will be using a range of meduims and also looking at the work of well known artists.
Ages 5 to 7 yrs @ 2pm, Ages 8 to 12 @ 3pm.
Eight weeks, cost €85, Starts 1st October

Adults Art Workshops - Thursday Evenings
Get in touch with your iner artist and find your own inspirations. Open to all abilities for a relaxing and social evening.
Eight weeks, Thursdays 7.30 to 9pm
Starts September 29th, Cost €110

To book a place call Olivia ph: 087 6380201 or email olivia@creativehouse.ie. All materials included, cost can be paid in full or by installment.

My Viking Experience

Last week I went into my daughters school to deliver a workshop in papier mache. I had spoken to her teacher months earlier explaining that I was a community artist and would be happy to deliver a workshop in the classroom. Artists coming into the classrom is a relatively new idea but something that has great merit. The Artist in Schools Scheme has been running for a number of years in Ireland and it gives schools an opportunity to work with an artist around the curriculum. There has been a big debate in recent years that primary teachers are overloaded with expectations to know how to teach academics, sport, art, music, drama and whatever else can be fit into to the day. There is also increasing evidence that using creativity within the curriculum makes learning more successful as it reaches out to those kids who may not favour academic learning. I have worked with a wonderful artist Jole Bortoli who has worked in an educationally disadvantaged school in North Dublin City. Fortunately the principal had the openness to facilitate the running of the Junior Certificate through art. Jole explained how this approach transformed the kids attitude to education and even themselves. The constant challenges of creativity and learning gave them a confidence and sense of themselves that they wouldn't have had before. It also kept that them coming back to class each day, which in itself was a success.

I have worked in schools before using art, however it was with the aim of integration. In West Tallaght in Dublin there is a large population of non Irish, mainly African children. The teachers in a local school recognised that the boys would often integrate and mix better by playing sports, however the girls didn't seem to gel as wel and there was an obvious divide. I designed a series of workshops where a group of girls from both nationalities worked on creating their own dresses and had a fashion show at the end. It was a great success and highlighted how effective using creativity can be in bringing people together.

This time however my mission wasn't quite so grand. My brief was papier mache and Vikings, and with the help of my daughter we came up with the idea of a ship. I took the shortcut of googling 'papier mache boat' and came across such a simple and sweet boat that I couldn't resist (Ann Wood and her wonderful creations). We made a mock up before class and altered the design to suit. I went to the class and was happy that we hit on something good. However when I delivered the workshop the kids were more than pleased with the process and outcome. The teacher was so accommodating and helped push the learning with the creativity. We all chatted about Vikings and what type of Vikings the each child's ship (the skull and cross or pretty flowers gave the clues)  would carry. When they were all dry and finished the teacher displayed them outside the classroom giving much pride to the creators.

My daughter has written a summary of the class;

Hi my name is Ella, I am nine years old. My mum came into my class and did art. We made Viking Ships. We used hessian for the sails and cereal boxes for the boat. We dipped sugar paper into PVA glue and water to coat it all. And we used skewers for hanging the sail on and a small pin to hold it on. It was a papier mache boat. We used so much glue that you could knock on the boat. Loads of us got glue stuck on our fingers. During the class we were talking about Vikings and our teacher was asking us about Viking facts. We learned what they did and what they stole and how they lived. We hung them in the hall and put up a blue backdrop and they looked really cool. We got loads of compliments from the other teachers.

*****

To read up more on Jole Bortoli and her wonderful approach to children and arts click here.

I also came across a fantastic new site for kids to display their work, The National Children's Gallery of Ireland is a new site that promotes young kids work, click here to see the future artists of Ireland.

If you are involved in any creative work with children let me know and I can post it on the site.