When working with different age groups my methods of how I speak or approach them does not differ but the confidence it takes for me to approach them does change, especially when approaching older children because they may know more then I do and this makes me ask myself 'how can I help them'.
My strengths have always lied with organisation but working in a group, I consider this to be my downfall. This is because I need to have a detailed plan of what I am going to say/do/act/prepare whereas others in the group do not need this much preparation. Preparation for me gives me confidence because I know what I am going to do. I cannot 'blag' my way through a workshop, whereas this is where other people's strengths lie in the group. This has been challenging for me whilst working in a group, we make decisions on the largest amount it would suit, by doing this I have learned to be more adaptable but without a workshop being completely organised, I feel slightly uncomfortable about approaching the workshop. After doing it once, I feel more prepared and ready for the next sessions.
Our proposed outcome is a large canvas piece that will be showered with colour from recycled materials that the children will turn into paints. We collaboratively selected this workshop as it had the one thing our individual workshops had in common, this being mark-making.
The workshop duration ran smoothly until the very end when we began hanging up the balloons, the children became less interested in filling the balloons and became more interested in messing about with the materials and not focusing on what they should have been. I think this is because they could not get involved with hanging the balloons up because the device was to high for them to reach and if they pulled to hard on it, they could have pulled it down. We decided as the 'teachers' to hang them ourselves whilst the children carried on filling the balloons. Maybe they were less supervised and took advantage of this, next time I would suggest that some of us supervise the children and maybe get them to mark-make with the left over paints to keep them busy.
We agreed with Louise that we would buy most of the materials and give her the receipts and she would refund us and this seemed to work well. Some materials we contributed ourselves. We chosen to mainly use recyclable materials because it adds to the concept of using 'recycled materials and making the students aware of the positives of this'. As there was 10 'teachers' to 15 students, they was enough of us to go around and help each student when they needed it.
For the next workshop, we are not using white spirit as we think this is one of the reasons to why some of the balloons popped before we wanted them too. I would also add more background on our artist influences and to just be more confident.
Contextual references are important for showing the children where we gained our ideas from and to give them content to why they are doing this exercise. I had to do some research into this area and gather artists that I believed to be influential in why we are doing this workshop and those who inspired the processes we was going to use. From running the workshop I have learn't to be more adaptable, not to be as nervous, get as much involved as possible, enjoy the processes and be proud by how much the children seemed to enjoy it.
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