Primary School Workshops and Residencies

2005
Adinkra
Roche Primary School, St Austell, Cornwall
A 'Global Links' project for Restormel Arts. Children learnt about traditional Adinkra cloth from Ghana with a powerpoint show, including how stamps were made from gourd, and how Adinkra cloth is worn. In groups of up to 15 they collaboratively produced three Adinkra cloths in batik, after 'carving' stamps in cardboard for wax application. On the second day they designed their own symbols on Cornish themes and cut these into stencils before batikking 'Cornish Adinkra'. The six Adinkra cloths were displayed in Roche Victory Hall for a multicultural evening. My thanks to Ghanaian artist Antoinette Ablordey for helping my understanding of Adinkra.
Years 4-6, two days

2005
Voyage of The Mystery
Kea Primary School, Truro, Cornwall

A Sense of Place project incorporating art, geography and citizenship curricula depicting the Voyage of 'The Mystery'. This Cornish lugger number 233 sailed in 1854 from Newlyn in Cornwall to Melbourne where its crew of six fishermen hoped to make their fortune (or at least a better living than they were in Cornwall). One travelled up to the goldfields to meet his mining brother. That much is true, from here the story was adapted. Each day on his six day journey he met and was befriended by Aboriginal people who showed him the way and where to camp and find water. Around each camp ground he told the tale of his journey from Cornwall. The Aboriginal people later recounted his story to their communities as art, and from here our project evolves.

The children worked in six groups of five students including a team leader acting as 'keeper' of their part of the story ('dreaming'). The six 'keepers' first worked together to understand secular meanings of symbols found in Aboriginal desert art. They considered which could be included in the voyage story, and discussed, designed and reached consensus on new symbols to use to represent elements not known in desert art (eg 'boat travelling' and 'ocean'!). They loosely sketched the journey on to cotton banners. The 'keepers' practised and gained confidence in waxing dots with sticks, and lines with brushes, before teaching the skills to two team members and directing their waxing. All five in each group painted their banner between waxings. Each banner had three waxings and dyeings, with all children experiencing waxing and dyeing. The 'keeper' method of working was chosen as it emulates the practice of Aboriginal artists who as 'keeper' may have others working with him or her, directing them where to dot or paint though will remain the sole named artist/keeper.
Year 5, two days

2004
Salmon Life Cycle
Trekenner Primary School, Trekenner, Launceston, Cornwall
An ambitious batik on paper project involving all the school, telling the life cycle of salmon in fresh water. Working in groups of 5 or 6, years 1-2 created large colourful backgrounds of parts of a river - brook, stream, river and estuary - and associated wildlife, using cold wax techniques. Years 3-6 used cantings and hot wax on paper to make spawning salmon, eggs, alevin, fry, parr and smolt.They cut out and arranged them in the relevant section of river and according to the characteristic behaviour of the salmon at that age. After school, assisting parents and school staff made a further batik on paper with hot wax and cantings of adult salmon at sea. Each panel is approximately 1 x 1.5 metres.
Years 1-6, one day; school staff and assisting parents, two and a half hours

2004
Saint's Banner
Blisland Primary, Blisland, Bodmin, Cornwall
A Sense Of Place project that created a banner celebrating the life of the local Cornish saint, Sen Gluwas. Along with banners from two other schools, it was displayed and led marchers at the Endless Tasks event, a day bringing together many arts projects linked by the Jan Tregeagle legend.
Years reception-6, one day

2004
Fish!
Whipton Barton Middle School, Exeter, Devon
Seventy-five students working in five shifts of 15 on five large batik-on-paper panels incorporating fish and ocean life. Students worked with various batik techniques including canting and mark making with scrap and handmade tools. Part of activities week.
Years 5-6, one day

2002
River Views
Arts Days for Schools at South Penquite Farm - Jacobstow Primary School
Working in groups of four or five, the children spent 20 minutes observing the De Lank River. Each group were told to look especially at water movement around and over rocks. Then using coloured biros on a large piece of card they sketched currents, rocks and vegetation, from either a trout's, an otter's or a mayfly's eye view (below looking up, across in cross-section, or looking down). Back in the barn their sketches were converted into large scale batiks on cardboard using scrap tools and brushes for applying wax, and painting on dye.
Years 4-6 (ages 8-11), one day

2002
River Views
Arts Days for Schools at South Penquite Farm - Pensilva Primary School
Years 4-6 (ages 8-11), one day

2002
Living Willow Structure
Pennycross Primary School, Plymouth
Workshop to produce a structure inspired by the school's logo - a circle (penny) inside a cross
Years 1-6 (ages 4 - 11), three days

2002
Living Willow Arbour
Beacon Infant School, Falmouth, Cornwall
Residency to produce a living willow arbour as a 'quiet area' in the school's playground three days

Secondary School Workshops and Residencies

2005
Mail Art Project themed around the Earth Charter
Callington Community College, Callington, Cornwall
In this non-curriculum Environment Action class, students worked in groups of 3 or 4 for an hour each week over 7-8 weeks. Each group had one of the four Earth Charter principles to consider for interpretation into art (respect and care for the community of life; ecological integrity; social and economic justice; and democracy, non-violence and peace). Students practised using scrap, found and home made tools for waxing in conjunction with stencils before embarking on their finished batiks. They photographed and posted their work to the Mail Art organiser in Belgium and await project documentation.

The Environment Action course aims for students to learn skills related to the environment through engaging in creative and practical real-world projects (normally relating directly to their local community and environment). In this project students, most new to batik, were learning resourcefulness (needing ingenuity but not specialist equipment to make effective art), about the Earth Charter and mail art. The relevance of mail art is its democratic, participatory, non-judgmental, non-copyright and free nature. Above and beyond the magic of batik making is the anticipation of receiving documentation: of other people's interpretations and thinking and where will it lead to? The learning is ongoing!
Ages 14-15, weekly one hour class for 7 weeks

2004
Fish!
Greenfields, Bodmin Community College, Bodmin, Cornwall
A project adapted for 'moderate to severe learning disabilities' students allowing all to experience the batik process and contribute to producing three large and colourful batiks of fish in the ocean. Four groups of students worked in pairs for an hour each, in stages suitable for particular abilities. A further group of five especially artistic students (including four who join mainstream art) worked for three hours taking individual batiks through all four stages. After school, Greenfields staff made their own small batiks.
Ages 11-16, one day; college staff, two hours

2002
Aboriginal Art Banners
Bodmin Festival at Bodmin Community College, for North Cornwall Arts
Banner making workshop inspired by Aboriginal desert art and bark painting, in association with Red Centre Dreaming, at Bodmin Community College for Bodmin Festival (one day commissioned, one day voluntary)
Years 7-9 (ages 11-14), one day commissioned, one day voluntary

Community and Environmental Art Workshops and Commissions

2005, 2003, 2002
Beach Art
Helford Voluntary Marine Conservation Area, Durgan Beach, Cornwall
Environmental art projects interpreting the ecosystem and wildlife of the Helford River estuary and rockpool life.
families, half day

2004
Peace Flags
Falmouth Arts Centre, Falmouth, Cornwall
A drop-in workshop making Peace Flags in batik for display in March demonstration. Part of Voicing Dissent, a series of arts events highlighting artists' responses to war in Iraq.
one day

2004, 2003
Living Willow Structure
Sterts Arts Centre, Upton Cross, Liskeard, Cornwall
Workshop for adults to create a living willow structure in the centre's grounds whilst learning the skills needed to follow up with their own. An ongoing project, each year the new structures made join to and enlarge that already made.
one day

2003
The Jonah Lie
Hall for Cornwall - Community and Education, Truro, Cornwall
A commission to produce 60 dyed long sleeve t-shirts for the cast of 'The Jonah Lie', the Hall for Cornwall's second young people's theatre residency. The t-shirts were dyed using shibori and tie-dye techniques, focusing particularly on colour reflecting different groups of people in the play.

2003
Living Willow Structure
Lynher Dairies, Upton Cross, Liskeard, Cornwall
These famous Cornish cheese makers have a visitor centre at Netherton Farm on the eastern slopes of Bodmin Moor. The grassy children's play area, with circular granite troughs (complete with swimming fish) and picnic benches, was a little spoilt by a post and plastic fence maze. But as the children enjoyed playing in it I was asked to make something more sympathetic to the nature of the farm. The living willow structure was formed from two double spirals, meeting in a dome.

2003
Marsh Fritillaries
Go Wild on the Moor!, South Penquite Farm, Blisland, Cornwall
Drop-in workshop making Marsh Fritillary butterflies with cold wax batik on paper, butterflies that the farm is hoping will breed again on some specially managed land, for environmental arts day for families.
one day

2002
Strange Lands
Hall for Cornwall - Community and Education, Truro, Cornwall - outreach project at St Keverne, Cornwall
Batik workshops with the St Keverne community, producing hangings and banners representing postcards and holiday snapshots on the theme of tourism in Cornwall, for installation in the Hall's cafe as part of the set of 'Strange Lands', a young persons' theatre residency also addressing tourism issues in Cornwall.
Four days drop-in workshop - any age - plus one day installation

2002
Green, Purple and Brown Hairstreak Butterflies
Go Wild on the Moor!, South Penquite Farm, Blisland, Cornwall
Drop-in workshop making batik banners of butterflies found in September on the farm and moor for environmental arts day for families.
one day

2002
Family Art Zone
Indian King Arts Centre, Camelford, Cornwall
batik on paper banners inspired by wild flowers and sea life
young children, half day; teenagers, half day

2001
Return of the Golden Plover
Go Wild on the Moor!, South Penquite Farm, Blisland, Cornwall
Dot painting workshop inspired by the story of Bodmin Moor's golden plovers. The moor is the East Atlantic's most important wintering area for the birds (which fly in from Iceland and Scandinavia), and many moorland farms including South Penquite manage parts of their land specifically for the bird. This Go Wild project was carried out in one such field, but a few weeks before the birds had arrived. Joint workshop with storyteller Vanda Inman
families, one day