College One: My First Tutorial...

As I got on the option I wanted which was the Secondary School, the first tutorial was about finding out specific information and getting to know each other and a little bit about each other's background. As Darwen Aldridge is a community academy, the teachers are allowed to deliver the curriculum in a flexible way. The academy has a Gallery area and shop which needs volunteers and doing this options gives me the opportunity to explore the idea and see if it would work for me. On the ground floor of the academy, there is a community floor that the academy lends out to functions, this way they develop an income.

We would be creating an extension activity that would have to link in with their exam questions. This years topic will be based on Covert and Obscure. It is up to all the people in the group to decide whether we will do proposals in groups or individual proposals but only one will be picked and everyone will have to get involved with the proposal picked. When considering a proposal for a workshop there will be time constraints as well as limited resources and space.

I have to be confident with my proposal and therefore want to base it on something that inspired me. I would need to work on this idea so that it revolves around the theme of Covert and Obscure.

• My idea for a proposal would be to have them show of their drawing skills by making them draw something in the speed of a piece of music I or they have chosen.
• Or for the students to create something they consider to be perfect, then do the above option over it, it will loosen them up and allow them to be more creative and free with there work. 
• I think my aim in any of the proposals I make is too challenge the concept of drawing and explore it using mixed media's. The students could draw on a1 sheets of paper using wax then swap them about, the students will then use inks to go over each others work to bring up their hidden drawings, would the students recognize their own work?

Resources will be provided if reasonable but they would have to be stated and shown in the planning with time ahead. Film equipment would have to be pack tested, risk assessments would be taken out and parental consent will be needed for documentation involving children's identity.

For planning and delivering workshops bear in mind that year 12 students will have the attention span for 10 minutes before they loose it, so I will need to deliver all the information on the practical workshop before the time limit runs out. A mock workshop may be needed.

If all goes well, I may be able to use Louise as a reference.

I will document my work through my blog.  

College One: Last Option Talk & Decision time...

Start

Start which is based in Salford is a creative arts and well-being centre that has the age ranges of 5 up to 95, which is a large age range. The members they have, have been diagnosed with some sort of mental health ranging from mild to moderate, from stress to bi-polar to schizophrenia. Doctors and even the job centre can prescribe this activity as a way of medication, this has been happening for the past 8-9 years. 

Studies have shown that 1 in 4 people will experience mental health of some sort. Start also has a Youth Arts Project scheme that acts as an early intervention for people considered to be involved in high risk situations. High risk situations include parents suffering from mental health issues themselves or family generations that have not attended higher education. 

The members are not considered to be a diagnostic but potential artists. No staff there but one are doctors, they are from different creative backgrounds. 

Start encourage their members confidence in creating something and the members become satisfied with what they've made. They have 5 certain disciplines:

• horticulture, land design within gardens
• visual arts such as print-making and painting
• crafts which include wood, ceramics and jewellary
• photography including digital suites for Photoshop
• textiles, machine and hand-stitch as well as other techniques such as knit and crochet.

Start have a lot of freelance artists that would come in a present workshops to give the members new things to learn and use. Most new members would be given a 2 hour taster session for 6 months as a starter and see if it works for them. Start Creative generates income for the charity by selling some of the work that the members create. It provides opportunities for people who have gone through the system and need a confidence boost. They sell some stuff at the Lowry but also John Lewis has made an order and they are doing really well, members also trade on the Christmas markets.

• Connect
• Be active
• Take notice
• Keep learning
• Give

There are 300-350 members and this number fluctuates on a weekly basis as do the 150 volunteers. For this opportunity I would be acting as a studio assistant. Some members would have a personalisation fund that differs for each member. This wold be a great opportunity to engage with a range of different people.

Decision making...     

I now have to choose which opportunity and work experience I would like to do. I get 2 choices and have to put a number 1 or 2 next to that choice in order of preference. My first choice is the Secondary High School because I think I would benefit the most from it. In the future I would like to have teaching as some sort of career in any form so I have taken this chance to test out whether Secondary children would suit me. I know it was said that year 12 would be who I'd be working with but they also said they want me to gain as much out of it as possible so I am going to ask if I can spend as little as a day working with maybe year 7 students as well to see the difference and see which age group I work with best. I would also like to work shadow as teacher as well as a couple of students. I would love to be given this chance as work that I have seen produced from this school has been amazing and I look forward to learning from them as well as hopefully teaching them something. 

If not my second choice is Z-arts. I choose Z-arts as my other choice because I am always fascinated with Installations and public specific work and this would fit the criteria of this. I have always wanted to produce 3-d pieces but because I consider myself to be a printer, my work always returns to be flat and the Z-arts brief is to design something that would brighten up a certain space in the Z-arts centre, so I could definitely make it 3-d and installation specific which would be exciting to do. I think I would be happy with either option and no matter which one I get I know I will benefit from it. I find out what I'll be doing for my Unit X project tomorrow... 

College One: 18th March 2013-Lecture and Workshop

For this workshop, we was put into groups and asked to bring in materials and stationary. So, I arrived today with a bag full of stuff but having no idea what it was for. When I got there we was split into the same groups and given the task of choosing one of the five themes given and using the materials we brought in to create a Totem pole. The five themes given were:

• Easter
• Manchester
• Children
• Food
• Olympics

After looking over the themes my group decided to go with the theme Manchester as it was the main thing that we all had in common. Even though we all had come from Textiles In Practice our work was very 3-dimensional, we were resourceful in using the only materials we had brought and they were limited.

We created a mind map that we connected Manchester with travel, journeys, the new metro link and maps and the material we used was train tickets which fit in incredibly well with the sub-themes. We began just experimenting with the tickets when Vanessa came up with the idea to re-create the rail symbol using the tickets, we repeated this process and make quite a few of them.

We began to play around with them creating different compositions and decided to connect them all together so that they would create a map like look from a birds eye view. Once all connected and attached together, we had to incorporate an egg which was one of the conditions so to do this, we all decided to use the tickets as a basis for a nest as Manchester is our home nesting ground where we will all grow and evolve, like an egg would develop into a bird. We placed the egg in the centre and applied brown grass like material around the tickets trying to create a realistic look.

As it had to be a Totem pole we added a long pole that also had a nest-like look to it as a pole for the nest to stand on. We had a lot of fun doing this. I think we worked great in a team, everyone participated and felt comfortable enough to get involved.

Whilst we was doing the task, Kirsteen Aubrey gave selected people a role they had to play during the task to throw a spanner in the works and see how we respond to it. One was given the role to become withdrawn and even though she sat back and seemed quieter she still participated, Vanessa was then given the role of being dominate but this did not come across as much either as her personality is talkative so it was not as noticeable.

We all sat together and bounced of each other's ideas. We had a bit of time at the end of the task because we finished early as the nest was complete, so we all took a picture of ourselves with the nest. If I was to repeat this lesson as a workshop to another class, I would:

• make the time frame shorter so that the students were not too concerned with what they was making but focusing on the point of teamwork and stratagising
• put the groups in their own separate spaces so they weren't focused on what other groups were doing
• I would maybe also allow each group to have ONE certain material to experiment with and be more creative. 

Primary School Talk

There has been a missive shift in what was happening in Primary schools to what was happening in Secondary schools. Primary schools tend to hold a more hand's on approach whereas Secondary schools tend to be more Fine Art based. 

This year will be the first year that actually gets to have work experience as a fundamental part of Unit X. We would be there to support and encourage creativity.

There are different ways in starting up a project, you could start by either drawing, physically making something or describing what you would intend to do. It is not just about the final outcome, its also about the skills gained throughout, the development and planning and time and effort that goes into a project. 

Art needs to be explored more in the curriculum, more work needs to be done when working on art projects that are creative, experimental as well as fitting towards the curriculum expected outcomes. 

If I wanted to use children faces whilst documenting me work, I would have to get signed consent forms by the children's parents.

We would be helping schools above and beyond and the work can be really awarding. 

College One: Lectures...15th March...

Whitworth Art Gallery

The Whitworth Art Gallery set up in memory of Joseph Whitworth began collecting drawings, prints and textiles pieces and it started from there. It contains Textile pieces from all over the world and one of the largest wallpaper collections. What is particularly good about the Whitworth Gallery is that appointments can be made so that people can view artists work. 

Whitworth wants to extend the gallery by adding a modern extension, areas for projections and an area section that would encourage people to get more involved in and around the park. 

There current collections are: John Piper, Callum Innes (below), Richard Long, Michael Landy, Beryl Korot (above) and Nancy Holt.

The potential brief's are:

• to create a new workshop for either Secondary/post 16 or Higher Education students
• act as a consultant for the gallery from a Higher Education prospective
• develop products to be made from clay from the Whitworth Park that could be sold in the shop
• develop an interpretation for the Themed Collection Boxes (Theme: Identity, industry, animals, people etc there is about 10 themes)
• or develop an interpretation for the Tactile Too Textile Handing Resources.

Even though the themes for the Themed Collection Boxes sounds interesting, I never seen myself getting involved with a gallery in any of the ways above. It was also said that there wouldn't be much space to do the physical side of my project and the work I would do would have to be dry and not wet. I do not think this would be the best option for me to choose.

Z-arts Lecture

Z-arts aim is "to inspire generations of young people from Manchester and beyond to use creativity to reach their potential." Z-arts is mainly for children and families. They provide creative pathways from the ages of (3-6) up until the ages of (18+). They do career shops for Secondary schools, they also do dance and theatre workshops. Z-arts can also be hired out to organisations as a venue, they have gallery and theatre spaces to display work and for performances. There is currently an Anne Frank's Trust Exhibition on in the Z-arts centre. They also offer vocational training, work placements and mentoring. If interested in work placement's contact Saskia on Saskia@z-arts.org. Individual rooms can be hired out for as little as £5 a day.

The are more male customers than females currently. On the 22nd April 2013, there is a story writing opportunity that needs volunteers, they do not have to have experience, just imagination. Working in any part of the Z-arts organisation all Health and Safety regulations must be known. They also do after school clubs and put on activities during the holidays. Risk Assessments are extremely important! We would have to make sure everything is as safe as it can possibly be. 

There key partners are:

• Manchester City Council
• Tenants
• GBM
• Sub stained theatre
• MMU etc...

There Key Funders are: 

• Manchester City Council
• Youth Music
• Children In Need
• Arts Council
• English lottery (Transition + Heritage)
• BBC performing Arts Fund etc...

Other sources of income:

• Box Office
• Room Hires
• Creative commissions
• Bar and cafe

There have been 100 bespoke projects that have been delivered by Z-arts since January 2010. 

The Live Brief is 'What would you do with our building to inspire children and families?' It can be anything from the walls, to the ceiling, to the furniture. It is the aim to inspire creativity and put this into re-imagining the space. The designs ideas the people come up with may be implemented into the building. This opportunity seems very appealing to me, the brief is so open making the possibilities endless. As I was interested in this choice, I wanted to know whether I could get the children who attend Z-arts involved and it was said to be possible which makes this opportunity more appealing. 

Arts for Health

Arts for Health which is situated in the Righton Building is about individually working through health issues. Can creativity cure the sick? No but it can be used as an outlet to improve the quality of life. The project is about humanizing the environment for the benefit of the patient and thinking differently to achieve this. 

'Aesthetic Third' is something that is working between 2 people. There is life beyond illness and Art gives people with illnesses the chance to explore this. There is a curiosity in people to find out who they are as a person, there is a scientification in everything we do. 

There will be an Exhibition called 'Immortality' in the Holden Gallery- find out more information on this.

The live brief is to enter a competition as part of a group and enter either one of the projects below they are:

•    to create posters and leaflets on Dementia that come from pure imagination and have little text and a lot more imagery, the leaflets have to be informative but not dull
• Print and paste- Chester Street Poster- Stroke. Gather creative minds to develop awareness of strokes in younger people, it has to have a connection with the Immortality Exhibition.
• Assets deficits 

Arts for Health isn't about negativeness it is about giving people a voice, a voice that can affect. I think this opportunity would be one of the most reward able ones, I would gain health knowledge which would be beneficial but I would also be able to make others more aware of these conditions. I have looked into Dementia before so I have some knowledge there already. 

Louise Klinck, Creative and Performing Arts, Darwen Aldridge Community Academy

This academy is in a new building in a deprived area where some of the students who attends have horrific backgrounds, the local residents even opposed to it but have now realized it was for the better. There philosophy is too:

• listen
• challenge the norms and fears
• en power
• make em' smile, make em' laugh and make em' cry (in a good way)
• encourage belonging
• allow space to make mistakes
• play devils advocate to challenge the status quo
• share experiences
• guide students in becoming knowledgeable in the world around them.

Creative arts plays a role in lessons. From day one the new academy has encouraged students to understand why there doing what they are doing and what it means, they contextualize their work which I could improve on myself. They aim to be contemporary, there current exams are focused on:

• Covert and Obscure
• Inside Outside and In between

I would be working with Year 12 students who at the minute do not realize their full potential. Louise Klinck shown us some previous students work and I was amazed how talented year 12 students have become, I consider them to be at a level that I do not think I have reached yet. It would be amazing to see what they could teach me. 

The academy will also have an up and running Gallery named 'Dart'. SMSC stands for Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural, another field that teachers will be assessed on. The academy offers a lot of experience and below is some of what we can do:

• track a student
• observe the curriculum at key Stage 3/4/5
• shadow an NQT
• Take part in practical workshops to do with lesson planning, creating schemes of work etc
• Community workshops through the Dart Gallery
• Observe and work with the Art team at DACA
• work shadowing
• working with a smaller group of students

At the moment this opportunity seems perfect for me! I am undecided on what age group to work at so as I would be working with year 12 students, I would also ask to spend a few days with other age ranges to see the differences and try and find what would work better for me. Louise Klinck is also encouraging of this project by saying that she wants us to get out as much of this opportunity as they will of by having us there. She also made clear that we would choose what we want to do there. I could gain experience in areas that would help me gain work experience for applying on to a PGCE course. My only concern is getting there but  a train would drop me off fairly near there.
  

College One: 14th March 2013, Lecture and Workshops...

Lecture by Lynn Setterington

My first lecture of the day was presented by Lynn Setterington. After showing us some of her work and how she arrived at where she is today and explaining what would be expected from me during a number of the opportunities presented, I think the aim of her presentation was to get across the significance of how I will need to adapt to a certain situation and stimulate a person's mind through creativity. It also expressed how creativity is expressed through social engagements and how inclusive art can be. Through the opportunities so far it has been clear that I will have to adapt my skills to fit my audience/class and project so that everyone in it can be involved equally.

After this lecture Lynn ran a workshop that put us in a circumstance that was unfamiliar and asked us to make Suffolk puffs using recycled materials. I was fine with it because I had made these before but people without a Textiles background or have never made Suffolk Puffs before had to adapt to what they were being asked to do and use the limited materials provided.

After the Suffolk Puffs, the class was split up into 3 different groups and given 3 completely different tasks to do. My group was given a large amount of colourful carpet ends seen in the picture below to create something...anything. I found the fact of doing anything pressurising and by everyone else's silence in the group so did they.

We all sat down and being just building individual towers.

Once this was done, we all decided to build a little town by joining all of these towers together by creating roads, bridges and transport by unraveling some of the carpet ends. We had about 10 minutes to do this and once everyone become more comfortable with each other, it become fun.

Our finished town...

Both the lecture and workshop activities have made me realise more so that when I choose my opportunity, I will be working in unfamiliar situations and groups and will probably have limited resources. I will learn from which ever option I choose to adapt and make the best of the resources provided.

Humble beginnings and creative opportunities...

We all have skills, we all have transferable skills, it is about recognizing them and using what works from me. An activity or creative workshop are used as an outlet and trust is essential especially in team projects. Being in a team and having team orientation is important in any environment. I need to find the confidence to state what I am good in and where I lack, this is important when working with people who have disabilities, I would have to outline their strengths and encourage them. I will need to be able to adapt and be able to change roles when needed too. I need to acknowledge my own limitations and have confidence in my own strengths and practice. Depending on what option I choose I will have to adapt to their circumstances as well as my own. 

• Create and disseminate workshops
• Raise public awareness about medical issues through exhibitions and workshops
• Medical research
• Capturing a moment, Dementia, ghost-like 'is what we see true?'
• Reflect strengths and identify interests.  

After Kirsteen Aubrey completed her presentation, I then had a workshop with her that challenged and made me consider what I want as a career in the future and where I would see myself, Kirsteen Aubrey did this by asking specific questions. Firstly, in smaller groups we were asked to write on a piece of paper: what career we would want and what age range we would like to work in and then discuss them. I found that in my group Primary and Secondary school teachers were a popular choice. I chose to be a Primary teacher  that would like to teach 4-11 years old. She then asked 4 questions which we had to discuss and note down.

What would I do in my chosen situation/group or environment? I would engage my class and show them a variety of workshops and keep their attention maintained, I would also establish their pro's and con's within each individual and encourage them in the workshops.

How would I like to improve and engage with people and places? Use a variety of different techniques and media's in workshops to offer a variety of options that may suit each person and encourage them to get involved and experiment with something new. I would also encourage community projects and hopefully maintain enthusiasm with trips.

What would you like to see happen as an outcome? I would like to see Art become a more prominent part of the curriculum and for it to be seen as more academic and not irrelevant. For people to become more aware of the strengths and struggles that students endure on Art courses and for children to be encouraged outside of school to pursue their passion for Art.

Provide a couple of steps to do this? Gain as much work experience as possible from now on. Start developing my own files and diaries recording experiments, samples and techniques, also note down any ideas for workshops and lesson plans for the future. 

  

Making connections between 2 images. Looking deeper into images and nailing connections with one another. I need to do this more in my own work, make more connections and bring out more from the smallest of things, bring deeper meanings into my work and explore them.

Transferable Strengths: Organisational skills

Subject Specific Strength: Experimental drawings   

College One: First Day of Opportunity's...

Venture Arts

Venture Arts is a foundation that offers people with disabilities the chance to be creative. They will only be taking on 3 students and they will also be expected to be a part of the Summer Festival in Hulme on the 27th July. During the time there, I would be expected to come up with a 4 week project that focuses on the theme of Bees. All 3 chosen are expected to work as part of a team and encourage the class within improving their confidence, self-esteem, creativeness and build friendships.    

It will be a couple of hours a week. There may even be the option of working one to one with someone who attends Venture Arts. Some of the people we may work with may not have a certain diagnosed condition, we have to be able to recognize their skills, what they are good at and lack in and encourage each aspect to be able to produce proposed ideas. The ideas that I may suggest have to be reasonable, realistic and budgeted. The first 2 weeks would consist of work shadowing. When documenting this project, faces will not be used in any photographs. If a collaboration of work was to happen in the group a limited colour palette is necessary. This as an outreach programme that is inspiring and I would find it amazing to be involved. This is the first opportunity presented so I will keep it in mind but I am really interested in being a part of this scheme.   

The Ideas Foundation

The Ideas Foundation is an educational charity with Robert Wight as its Founder. This organisation interfaces between advertising/digital communication with wider social backgrounds, it opens a door for people who are passionate and creative but not necessarily academic. They have 2 separate locations, one in London and one in Manchester. There are 3 program areas, the first being the website: I am creative. This website offers entry opportunity's to 13-19 year olds, brands devise briefs that are advertised on the website. The second is called The Ladder which targets people who better in the creatives areas over academic areas, 'nurture network'. The third known as Incubate is working intensively with specific schools in areas of deprivation.

It deals with intensive projects that are financially will supported. We would act as MMU university student mentors that would work with Key Stage 2/3/4 for 6 days. Skilled professionals would run the briefs and lessons would be taught by them. 

This opportunity would give me the experience with working with young people and this would be essential on a teacher training application. This opportunity would fit extremely well into the Pass It On Criteria but I'm unsure whether this is the right direction for me.    

College One: Ice Breakers...

I have to say I went in on the first day less than enthusiastic with the prospect of doing ice breakers, mainly because other ice breakers that I have done in the past have been hugely embarrassing and uncomfortable. However, I found this ice breaker rather enjoyable and a good way of making the class feel comfortable with each other. The ice breaker consisted of the class pairing up with someone they did not know and asking them questions about themselves. We then had to use this knowledge and portray it onto a plain white tea cup using Sharpie pens. We then give their cup to them and had our picture taken with our cup. I really like mine.

I also got shown the building in Stockport that I will be working at for 2 days at the least a week for this project. I think I will find it refreshing to be working in a new environment with new surroundings.

Unit X: College One...

College One Brief

"This college will introduce you to a number of different ways of working as an artist educator, be that Artist in Residence, Gallery Educator, Teacher or Independent artist delivering workshops to the general public.

It will introduce to you a range of possibilities for working with groups of people to help them engage with creative practice. This might be visitors to a museum through an education programme, delivering practical courses at an arts centre, working with or mentoring secondary age pupils seeking help to develop their portfolios, primary schoolchildren in a classroom working on art or cross curriculum projects or helping adults with learning difficulties to explore the world through creative activities.

We are already planning with a number of partners such as the Whitworth Art Gallery and Manchester Art Gallery education teams, local Primary and Secondary schools, Venture Arts, START and our Arts For Health researchers.

During the unit you will work in groups with one of our external partners to develop and deliver a suitable event, workshop activity or programme, supported by both academics and representatives from the organisation you are linked with.

College one is suitable for people who think they might in the future want to deliver workshops as part of their own practice, for example as an artist working with community groups, a museum education officer or a teacher".

My aim for this project is to produce a portfolio of work based on my chosen opportunity. I would also like to gain as much work experience as possible, I am hoping to also find some voluntary work when being shown all of the opportunity's as I will only get to choose one as part of Unit X. 

As I would like to be a teacher or deliver technical workshops in the future, the opportunity's that Unit X offer are amazing and will be useful in gaining work experience in these areas. I  am however, going to go into these lectures with an open mind and choose the best option that I think I will be able to do and more importantly enjoy...