Secondary School Painting Scheme
This was completed with Second Year pupils. They did a series of pattern and colour studies of various fruits and vegetables, and then camouflaged packaging of processed fruit and vegetables. As part of this scheme of work the pupils discussed healthy eating, processed food, the packaging industry and also camouflage in nature, art and society.
Secondary School Ceramic Scheme
This was completed by First Year pupils. This scheme was based on making art for the blind so the emphasis was on recreating texture. The pupils had to close their eyes and put their hand in various bags containing various textures of sea creatures; show above. This helped the pupils to put themselves into the position of someone with visual difficulties. The pupils then made a response to this through drawing and realising their final piece through clay.
Secondary School Craft Scheme
This was completed with Transition Year pupils. They learned how to hand crochet and hook crochet linear and hyperbolic forms. This module was based on the exhibition of work in the Science Gallery called ''Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reefs''. They explored the craft of crochet and also coral reefs; how they are becoming endangered. They created their own coral reef using recycled wool and material from old clothes.
Secondary School Collage Scheme
This was completed with Second Year pupils. They were taken on a trip to the docklands in Dublin for ''Our (local) Grand Tour''. There they recorded what they saw and experienced through photography and drawing; merging old techniques of recording with new ones. Back in the classroom they made dry point prints from their drawings and collaged their work together for presentation using David Hockney as an influence. During this scheme the pupils explored the idea of the Grand Tour and the equivalent in today's world; as part of this they took a cyber grand tour of Dubai, seeing how the Grand Tour has evolved with new technologies and communications to the point where one no longer requires to physically go to a place to experience elements of it.
Secondary School 3D Scheme
This scheme was done with a 5th year group in the Mercy of Convent Secondary School, Navan, Co Meath in conjunction with the Solstice Arts Centre, also in Navan. Irish artist Alan Phelan did a series of workshops in preparation for his exhibition of work in the Solstice, October 2010. I was in contact with the Solstice prior to my 4th year teaching practice block for September 2010 and designed a lesson scheme based around Alan Phelan's workshop with the aim of exhibiting their work in his exhibition.
Alan Phelan came into the school and spoke to the students about his work and gave a demonstration of how to make the cabbages. Then followed a set of lessons bringing the students through each stage of construction while exploring the themes of economic depression; its effect on culture and society.
The students had to choose newspaper articles connected with the present economic depression in Ireland both causes and effects. These were then photocopied onto special archival paper on both sides. They used templates to cut these pages down to the required leaf shapes outlined by Alan Phelan. These leaves were then folded in particular ways to give them form. The leaves were glued on in order of size to a cone shaped base using a hot glue gun and the cabbages slowly took form.
This scheme was highly successful and the students work was exhibited as part of Alan Phelans exhibition in the Solstice. The students also had debated issues (both positive and negative) of economic depressions which had cross-curricular connections with C.S.P.E. and History.
Here is a link to see more photographs of the exhibition..
www.alanphelan.com/cabbage/cabbages
Secondary School Print Scheme
This was completed with Transition Years pupils. They visited the Douglas Hyde Museum and made drawings from various Japanese woodblock prints. From these drawings the pupils developed, designed and executed three colour lino prints. During the scheme they explored the Japanese culture vs. Irish culture.
