Home » 2020

Yearly Archives: 2020

Summer, Clay, Play

Posted on by | Leave a comment

With a little space created in the lobby of our house, this summer I have been able to start to play with clay for the first time since March. Inspired by the wonderful flora and fauna out in the garden, some rather floral large-scale clay butterflies have started to emerge! I have also had a little play with Sgraffito into iron oxide slip…

Every week I have been setting daily nature poems from the book I Am The Seed That Grew The Tree for a small group of pupils from school. The following is one I like and enjoy, and feel particularly relevant currently:

Moth Masks, National Moth Week & the Big Butterfly Count!

Posted on by | Leave a comment

In the run-up to National Moth Week (which starts today: 18th-26th July) year 8 pupils from New Mills School researched the work of Australian artist Deborah Klein. Over the last few weeks of the summer term, I asked the pupils to each create an artist research page about Klein’s mysterious Moth Women and, subsequently, to create their own Moth Mask in response to Klein’s fairytale “The Story of the Moth Masks”.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The finished artist research pages are wonderful – beautifully arranged, with creative portraits and some deeply thought-through analysis, it has been a pleasure to read and look through them all.


This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Big Butterfly Count is a nationwide citizen science survey aimed at helping us assess the health of our environment. It began yesterday and will run until Sunday 9 August. Please see the link below to find out how you can take part:

https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/

It’s National Insect Week! 🐛🐞🐜

Posted on by | Leave a comment

To celebrate this National Insect Week, Year 8 pupils from New Mills School have been busy creating drawings inspired by last week’s virtual trip to the Manchester Museum’s Beauty and the Beasts… Falling in love with insects exhibition:

https://mmbeautyandthebeasts.wixsite.com/mmbeautyandthebeasts

Here are a few awesome museum specimen drawings that have been submitted so far:

I am looking forward to receiving more of these gorgeous specimen drawings! Currently I have been spending the last couple of days observing and rescuing(!) Peacock Butterfly caterpillars who are on the move from the nettles next door… Here is a lovely little poem that sums up this week perfectly:

NMS does 30 Days Wild!

Posted on by | Leave a comment

As part of the Wildlife Trust’s 30 Days Wild campaign, 1-30 June 2020, I set Year 8 pupils from New Mills School the challenge of completing an Act of Wildness each day over ten days: for their health, for their wellbeing, and for the planet.

I have been so impressed by the effort and resilience of these pupils. Below are the super creative and top-quality results of these ten Acts of Wildness:

ACT OF WILDNESS: 1

ACT OF WILDNESS: 2

ACT OF WILDNESS: 3

ACT OF WILDNESS: 5



ACT OF WILDNESS: 6


ACT OF WILDNESS: 7


ACT OF WILDNESS: 8

ACT OF WILDNESS: 9

ACT OF WILDNESS: 10


🌸 Natura Insects 🦋

Posted on by | Leave a comment

“Just like living life, it’s about appreciating the present and making the best out of it.” [Raku Inoue, 2020]

For a project titled Natura Insects, creative photographer Raku Inoue arranges a variety of leaves and blooms to create the delicate components of stag beetles, butterflies, and other insects. Inoue uses real flowers which he then photographs…

As part of their home learning Art lessons, Year 8 pupils from New Mills School created their own botanical insect photography inspired by the work of Raku Inoue. Here are the amazing results:

“Here are the pictures of the insects we made. My dad had a go too, I really enjoyed doing this.” [Hazel]

🐝 Today is World Bee Day! 🐝

Posted on by | Leave a comment

After Easter, I asked all Year 8 pupils from New Mills School to create a multi-media, large-scale honeybee drawing, as part of their Art learning. The bee symbolises community and hard work; by the pupils completing these during the challenge of lockdown, they have made artwork that symbolises togetherness. I do so look forward to creating a huge display of these fantastic drawings in the School Hall when we return!

Use the below Bee Identification Guide to see which bees you can spot today, and why not create your very own Nectar Bar to help our furry friends….


And if you’re feeling a bit arty, why not have a go at creating your own Bee sculpture design using the download template (courtesy of Manchester’s Bee in the City):
Bee Template PDF

Lockdown Update: April

Posted on by | Leave a comment

So… six weeks into UK Lockdown I have finally got round to updating this…! Unfortunately plans for me to run a project with New Mills School and local Primary schools has gone on-hold until all is back to “normal”. Meanwhile, from here at home I have been setting home learning tasks for Year 8, and many of them have responded with resilience and imagination. The first task was for the pupils’ to create their own paper butterfly installations. Here are the results, including my own contribution, titled Aurelian Installation:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

New Mills School has published the latest Newsletter pre-lockdown. Here is a link to that issue: https://www.newmillsschool.co.uk/assets/Uploads/Downloads/Newsletter-April-2020.pdf

And below are the pages that feature my Year 8s and Craft Club:

I will post another update soon! Keep safe and sane as best as you can… I leave you with these two lovely April poems from the book “I Am The Seed That Grew The Tree”:

New year, new projects…

Posted on by | Leave a comment

Very excited about the up-coming installation of the New Mills School RHS Tatton Park School Garden into the school’s grounds! Over the last fortnight, Craig (the groundsman) and a group of year 10s have been busy prepping the 4m by 4m patch of ground… located right outside the Art department!

…watch this space for updates on this garden, and a prospective collaborative project with two of the local primary schools…