College One: Our First Workshop...

As the workshop started at half nine and we arrived at DACA at quarter to nine, we had 45 minutes to get everything sorted, this included: moving some tables out of the way, sewing and ironing up 2 pieces of canvas to create one large piece, ironing out the canvas, preparing and setting up the objects/materials that the students will blend and re-looking over the PowerPoint presentation.

We then decided that for the presentation it would be best for a couple of people from the group to present it, instead of all of us as we thought it would come across as clumsy. We will rotate these chosen people for each presentation every Friday so that most of us will get the opportunity to experience presenting the PowerPoint. Rory and Liz presented the PowerPoint this time and they got all of the important information across. I would of like a little more background information on the influential artists we chosen but others agreed to stick to more images to keep the children's focus and it did seem to work. After explaining what we was going to do to the class, they seemed excited.

Whilst the children went for their first break, we set up stations where the children would go if they were either blending or crushing up objects. We set up four stations, 2 for each. We set up the blenders and laid out the equipment the children would need to crush the objects/materials such as: hammers, scissors, cutting mats and cups. After the children returned, they were split into 2 groups that went to each station, they swapped after a while so both groups had the same opportunity.

The children really enjoyed both activities, I worked at both stations and enjoyed blending the most as it gave me the opportunity to talk to the children about why they chosen a certain colour, some children gave me the answer of it's Justin Bieber's favourite colour, someone else said it was her brother's favourite colour, I was surprised by how much thought they gave in choosing there paint colours. Some materials did not blend very well, tissue paper being one of them, cut finely it was fine but largely mixed it would not blend.
For each station, demonstrations were given in using the equipment.

 Every student enjoyed the processes and all of us enjoyed joining in as well. I would argue that the students enjoyed changing the object/materials shape more than blending them up. More effort and energy went into it.

After the blending paint media's were put into cups, after lunch we began filling up the balloons. We did demonstrations on using the funnels and the amount of paint to pour in as well as using the balloon pumps. After pumping up 3 or 4 balloons, 2 popped so we lowered the amount of paint put in each as well as how much the balloon were pumped up. Because we used white spirit and oil the balloon tops were too slippy for the children to pump up so I decided to pump them up and tie them, this saved time and spillages.

Whilst one group filled the balloons, the other group made the hanging device that the balloons will be attached to, they used wire mesh, bamboo sticks, string and hangers, they did an incredible job as it held up throughout. We needed more containers to place the balloons in. Once the hanging device was finished, both groups came together in filling the balloons, so I decided to team up with Jake and Denise to fill up some other balloons that contained only dry materials such as: rice, flour and spices. We then all began to hang the balloons from the device using string. This was a team effort, some of us attached the string to the balloons then passed them onto someone else who would then attached the balloons to the device at different heights.

Once all the balloons were hung up, we did a clean up, whilst the children filled in feedback questions. The children were so excited to pop the balloons. They popped the balloons in groups of 2 so everyone could enjoy the end process, they enjoyed getting stuck in and it lasted longer than we expected.

College One: Artist Influences: Jason Taylor...

I heard about Jason Taylor's work when he came and did a lecture at my University. Jason Taylor re-uses materials because of the expense of new ones. He believes in increasing the value of the mundane, as simple objects can be turned into something meaningful. He also believes in the ready-made as the material as well as the inspiration. He transforms mundane objects into something else and sometimes they have a function.

Jason Taylor challenged himself to make one object a day using only found objects from around his home. He would then post his results on to his webpage and evaluate it.

http://everydayobject.wordpress.com/

College One: Artist Influences: Robyn Woolston...

Robyn Woolston in her work titled 'Strangers in a Strange Land', explores the theme of being burdened with inorganic waste. 'Strangers in a Strange Land' is the winner of the 2012 Liverpool Art Prize, it features 9 large bales of waste plastic that weighs a combined total of 3,600 kilogrammes, this highlights our relationship with the Earth and it's infinite resources.

Speaking of her work in the exhibition, Woolston said: “Waste materials are abundantly available because of the way in which we consume.Strangers in a Strange Land offers a way to reassess the value of these materials so as to understand just how much we value their inherent possibilities."

Recycling and responsibility is the overriding message in Woolston's work.

College One: Artist Influences: Katharina Grosse...

Katharina Grosse is known for her chose in using vibrant colour palettes, large scale canvases and installations that all merge aspects of paint, sculpture and architecture. Grosse often paints directly onto walls, floors and the exhibition sites, in doing this Grosse alters the scale of her work each time, Grosse's work would also reinvent the architectural building itself.

Grosse incorporates her multidimensional paintings with various unsuspecting materials and objects, such as: beds, clothing, balloons, shaped canvases and soil, plus more. She believed that joining up these elements of materials and objects would create a continuous flow of colour. Grosse's work is not representational, it allows an ambiguity state of mind that changes how it is viewed by each individual. Her work can be walked around creating a relationship with it's viewer, I also think it creates an instability of reality, her work seems imaginary and dream-like.

College One: Contextual Influences: Jon Smith

Jon Smith fills empty light bulbs up with various objects such as: sequins, paints, powders etc, he then makes them explode whilst capturing it through amazing images and sounds. Smith shoots the bulbs in the dark and uses 'sound activated flash trigger' to capture and freeze the moment. Smith is drawn to high-speed photography because it captures something that we could not normally see by eye. The exploding of the bulbs is what we are after when popping the balloons filled with recycled materials in the workshop. I find his work imaginative and his outcome photographs stunning.

College One: Contextual Influences: Jackson Pollock...

Jackson Pollock is an American artist that was a major figure in the Abstract Expressionist Movement. He uses the unusual process at that time of laying a large of canvas on the floor and applies the paint onto the canvas using his technique now known as the 'drip' technique. Art for and to Pollock was about the movement and the creativity of the piece, rather than the finished piece itself. Pollock invented a form of Abstract Art that he called 'Action Painting', he would throw tubs of paint onto the canvas and sometimes work into them using unusual materials such as: sticks and hardened brushes etc, the paint flown from his chosen painting tool to the canvas. Pollock admits to feeling at ease on the floor because he can be closer to his painting and is able to walk around it. Pollack's approach and technique towards painting creates unique layers of colour, surfaces and textures- all aspects I want to be gained when the group workshop is finished.

My first full day work experience at DACA...

Tuesday 30th April was my first full day of work experience at DACA and even though I was nervous, I felt eager to get started. We all started the morning helping and working with a Year 10 class in Photography and I was surprised by how quite they were. We all chose a student in which we would work with for the morning, I worked with student whose interests lie with Photoshop and capturing images. I was astonished with her Photoshop skills, they are way ahead of mine. She told me she "likes using Photoshop because it betters an image", she believes editing a photograph "gives a different story to a picture". With this student I found her submission presentation and e-books interesting and a lot of thought went into her contextual research, presentation and photographs but she lacked in her journal area, this is where she could improve and she agrees.

I swapped over with Denise and worked with another student whose worked focused on the idea of being 'trapped'. She found it difficult writing down her concept and reasoning's to why she had photographed and edited certain images. She knew why because she explained it to me but she could not explain it in words, so  I began helping her evaluate her submission presentation and before the lesson was over she had half of her evaluation typed up. I found most students to be willing to talk and explain their work but they had difficulty typing it up, this student needed constant encouraging to carry on and be confident with what she was describing.

For the final 20 minutes of the lesson after a 20 minute break, I swapped over with Aalie who told me she had difficulty with one student because she was not responding to her advice. I found this student challenging, she was lazy and was not interested in applying the changes I recommended. In the end, I told her step by step, in what to change about her layout, she would then do it and I would ask her did she understand why and she would explain why but I felt no commitment from her. 

After seeing 3 different students, it became clear how diverse a class can be and how challenged the teachers must be when having to deal with it all at once. The chance to improve a students education encourages me even more to want to become a teacher or assistant teacher.

The afternoon lessons in comparison to what we did in the morning was different. I found the afternoon sessions to be fun and exciting. I did 2 sessions, both Year 7's in making 'pinch pots' and turning them into fantasy heads that the students already designed. I find that with each session I do, my confidence grows and in these sessions I felt like I embraced this opportunity and really enjoyed myself.

I got physical into it by actually showing the kids how to mould the clay into 'pinch pots' and how to attached the clay together using the 'Velcro technique'. Students began calling me over for help and they wanted me to show them how to do certain things and I felt honored to be able to assist them. I think teaching would be an awarding job, I can see myself being able to teach this Year group. 

There was a challenging young girl that was easily distracted and found it easy to distract others. The teacher moved her to the opposite side of the room, onto another table and that is the one I joined. Once I began talking to her and encouraging her work she began to settle down and focus on what she was mean't to be doing. I would argue she craves attention and with a little extra help she becomes more focused.