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New Workshop Dates
I’ve just added some new dates to the workshops page, and I am trying something new – this year, you can book and pay for your fusing workshops directly through an organisation called Eventbrite – it’s ever so easy to use, you can book here:
Saturday, 28th September:
Sunday, 6th October:
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International Celebrations – Another Fossil Wall Nearly Done!
I’ve not posted much lately…. well, I’ve not done much lately! After those busy six weeks before the school holidays started, I’ve split my time between having a few hours off, upgrading the website, and still going round schools finishing off the Fossil Wall art.
Whilst the hard work of actually making the pieces was done with and by the children, I’ve still had to go round and do lots of sealing to make the plaster work suitable for where they will be installed, and in some cases mounting on boards, etc for display.
So, nothing specifically new here, but it’s the first time seen as it will be displayed. I found a lovely new local DIY store today, and treated myself to a countersink drill bit, a new tube dispenser gun (is it wrong to be so pleased by these acquisitions?) and some other bits and bobs. I’ve only got to drill the backs of the plaques onto the boards for added security although with the amount of gripfill I used (a whole tube), they should be secure.
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A Finished Piece for Schools
As previously posted, I’ve been working with schools over the last few weeks, all primary, with a mix of age groups, to produce some ‘fossil walls’.
The children have made the work themselves, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Now in the final stages of finishing off the artworks where necessary, mounting, etc.
St Thomas is a Catholic school and they wanted to do words of faith, so we made a piece for their reception area, and a second, singular piece that they would like to present as a gift to another school that visited them shortly before I did my workshop
All the words we used, as well as the objects, were selected by the year sixes – here’s the finished pieces, ready for hanging.
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Fossil Walls…
For the last six weeks, I’ve been working in various primary schools in the local area.
We’ve been making ‘fossil walls’ – a process that I happened upon almost accidentally that gave some rather surprising and lovely results – modern day (or any) objects, cast, and because of the sand used in the process, I thought they looked like fossils.
Each school chose their own designs and ideas. Some of the schools I went into chose to do individual blocks, where the children brought in items that were important or significant to them; others wanted to leave a ‘legacy’ for other children coming up through the years with their words of wisdom (quite interesting choices from 10 year olds!). We also have done some plaques on based on areas of the curriculum, as well as designs based on school logos and mottos.
In all schools, the children actually got very involved with the making – from deciding what went into each design, to piling sand into containers and finding objects to insert. There’s some of the more technical and Health and Safety stuff I’ve had to do myself of course, but I’ve tried to let the children participate as much as possible – this is their work. Oh, and in most schools, I’ve had some lovely able helpers at the end of each day to tidy up.
It’s been great fun, if hard work; the children have been a delight with their wit, intelligence, creative thinking, helpfulness and politeness.
Here’s a couple of examples below. I am looking forward to them all being dried out enough to seal and getting them installed to decorate all the school spaces (even if that’s more work for me!)
Curriculum and classroom names 
Einstein said… 
Inspired by the school logo 
What subject? 
Words of Wisdom from Year 6
