Arts Days for Schools in Cornwall with batik artist Robin Paris

Arts Days for Schools with Batik Artist Robin Paris

at South Penquite Farm, Blisland, Bodmin Moor

Photograph of children studying currents in the De Lank River, on school workshop with Robin Paris at South Penquite Farm

River Views

June 2002
Jacobstow Primary School
Years 4 - 6 (ages 8 - 11)

In the morning

Fourteen children walked across the farm's moorland to the river, the De Lank, set in a small broadleaf woodland valley. The stretch of river was selected for its rocky features, fast flowing currents and small rapids, so the children would see how currents swirl around rocks and through falls, and where calm water gathers in the 'shadow' of a rock. The children, split into groups of four or five, discussed the currents within their group, looked for features they had been asked to find (such as a patch of calm water), and described to me what they had seen.

The De Lank River is traversed by otters, and is a trout fishing ground. Mayflies fly above the river, and the three animals form part of one food chain. Each group of children were

Biro sketch of the De Lank River by group of children on school workshop with Robin Paris

assigned one of the three animals, otter, trout, or mayfly. Using their collective imagination they looked again at the river through the eye of their animal*. The mayfly group 'looked' directly down, the trout group 'looked' directly up to the sky and the otter group took on a split-level view above and and below the surface to the bank opposite.

With four biros per group - blue, black, red and green - the children sketched their animal's eye-view of the river on a large piece of white cardboard. They had to include rocks, vegetation, currents and foam. They were given no instructions on a 'right' or a 'wrong' way but were advised to use the colours as code not representationly. The biro sketch shown here (mayfly eye view) indicates rocks in black, vegetation in green, calmer water in blue and foam, currents and rapids in red.

The children returned by a different route through the farm to the big barn in the farmyard to start their batiks. Using their sketches for guidance, they applied hot wax to very large

Photograph of children waxing on to cardboard at start of making their batiks, on school workshop with Robin Paris at South Penquite Farm

pieces of cardboard. Their tools were various scrap, found and homemade objects which created a range of textures and marks by stamping or dragging across the cardboard.

After lunch

After lunch the group began painting on the colour (Procion MX dyes) with household paintbrushes. Once more they were given a limited colour range - leaf green, moss green, turquoise blue, royal blue, earth red, and brown-black, but now worked realistically. The wax already laid down resisted the dye, giving form, depth and movement.

The batik paintings were left drying while the children went on an hour long farm walk with Dominic Fairman, the farmer at South Penquite. Other children from the school had worked with other artists for the day, either in mosaics inspired by views into neighbouring granite quarries, or in chanting and Ta'i Chi in various locations and habitats. Following their walk, all groups came together in the barn to share their artwork and experiences before

Photograph of finished batik on cardboard of a mayfly's eye view of De Lank River, with its creators from Jacobstow School. Made in workshop with Robin Paris at South Penquite Farm

travelling home.

Comments from the day

Class teacher: "…the setting was perfect! The walking across fields and clambering down banks gave the children space and freedom to express themselves. These opportunities are not available in an ordinary classroom."

Pupil: "I enjoyed the batik painting because of the way you used different materials. It was good fun when we walked to the river."

Pupil: "It was good at the end of the day when we got to show all the stuff we made to everyone and when Dominic sheared the sheep."

Finished batik of otter's eye view above and below the De Lank River, with its creators from Jacobstow School. Made in workshop with Robin Paris at South Penquite Farm

What were my intentions with this project?

It was inevitable that aspects of the National Curriculum were considered but that was not the starting point! The school was aware that the day was artist-led not teacher-led, and one in which a teacher or classroom assistant could hover in the background without involving themselves directly in the project or with discipline (aka a working day off!).

Arts Days for Schools are about environmental interpretation as much as art. The rivers project was devised to encompass observation, analysis, imagination, recording (in the form of a sketch/map/plan), adaptability, decision making, design process, experimentation with new and unusual tools, use of limited colour and use of scale. It also had to be interesting, stimulating, varied, thought-provoking and fun.

National Curriculum Geography and Science elements included studying a natural feature

Finished batik of trout's eye view out of the River De Lank, with its creators from Jacobstow School. Made in workshop with Robin Paris at South Penquite Farm

(the river), its patterns and processes, its ecology, and markmaking to indicate different landscape features. English was utilised by finding words to describe the nature of currents. Citizenship and PSHE came through group working (eg, how to share four biros equally among five people!), and through interaction with an artist for a day. Art and Design were covered through exploring and developing ideas, the design and making of the art, and evaluation of the project.

Images

Top: a group of children studying the currents in the De Lank River at South Penquite.
Second: biro sketch of the De Lank River by 'mayfly' group of children.
Third: children waxing cardboard at the beginning of making their batiks in the big barn.
Fourth: the finished batik of a mayfly's eye view of De Lank River with group of Jacobstow schoolchildren.
Fifth: the finished batik of an otter's eye view above and below the De Lank River by Jacobstow schoolchildren.
Last: the finished batik of a trout's eye view out of the River De Lank by Jacobstow schoolchildren.

About South Penquite Farm

South Penquite is an demonstration organic sheep and beef farm on Bodmin Moor, working closely with the Soil Association and Westcountry Rivers Trust. The farm's notable features include a mile long stretch of the De Lank River, designated a European Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for its biodiversity and purity; a SSSI ancient oak woodland; a Bronze Age settlement and associated field system; views into De Lank and Hantergantick granite quarries; and views across to the Camel Valley and estuary.

*Purists - artistic licence allowed our mayfly to have bifocal vision like mammals and fish!

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