Art and Design
Art and Design for Key Stages 1 - 4
Every spring and every autumn, the Shire Hall Gallery offers creative packages to schools in the region. During full or half day sessions, up to 35 pupils can engage in practical art sessions, materials included. As well as exploring work on display in the gallery and experimenting with the ideas and techniques used by exhibiting artists, pupils will also have the chance to work with a professional artist and create individual work for display in the classroom. The spaces used are wheelchair accessible and sessions can be adapted to suit pupils with special educational needs.
If you're looking for class-based activities, why not visit
www.artisancam.org.uk||| where you can see video clips of professional artists creating everything from jewellery and sculpture to ceramics and photographs, along with 'how to' guides, workshop suggestions and teacher's notes.
Architecture (KS2)
Half day workshops in February and March 2012 - £2.50 per pupil
(New dates now added due to demand!)
During this half day workshop, your class will increase their understanding of the built environment through a practical introduction to the main influences on building (structural requirements, aesthetic and stylistic influences and the effect of geographical factors).
Working with subject specialists from Architecture Workshops (Cambridge), they’ll use a range of modern and historic source material to decide upon the style and function of their own model buildings, work in teams to solve geometrical problems, investigate structural rigidity and create a bridge and then undertake a town planning exercise as they create their own city along a water source and trading route.
(If you’d like to make your visit to the Shire Hall Gallery into a full day trip, why not book a complementary activity at the Ancient High House where you'll take a tour of the largest surviving Elizabethan timber-framed town house in England, learn how the building was constructed and have a go at making your own 'wattle and daub' panel.)
Download the flyer| to find out more about what's on offer!
To discuss times and requirements or to make a booking, please call Jackie Bradbury on 01785 278170 or email jackie.bradbury@staffordshire.gov.uk|
Previous Programmes
Below you will find a sample of the educational sessions we've run at the Gallery in the past. Although we're not running these sessions any more, we're always happy to share ideas or get schools in touch with artists! If you'd like more information about anything mentioned in this section, please contact Jackie Bradbury on 01785 278170.
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September 2006: Textiles with Jayne Freear-Wyld (KS2 & 3)
'Re:Design' was an exhibition of work by designer-makers from Coventry Contemporary Crafts. Exhibiting Artist, Jayne Freear-Wyld worked with pupils to explore a variety of different textured yarns and materials and create a piece of weaving. Working in the gallery, pupils were encouraged to explore the work on display from unusual angles, creating their own cubist-inspired composition.
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March 2007: Environmental awareness and recycling with Pow Wow Eco Arts (KS1 & 2)
To support 'Whole Life Cost', Guy Martin's exhibition of furniture from sustainable sources, Pow Wow Eco Arts provided a menu of creative activities relating to environmental issues. It included drama, dance and mural making on the theme of renewable energy, decoration of reflective vests and an exploration of sustainable transport, a giant snakes and ladders game exploring energy saving and poetry workshops around the theme of eco footprints.
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September 2007: Rangoli with Ranbir Kaur (KS2)
'Made in the Middle' was an exhibition of contemporary craft from the West Midlands. Pupils were provided with souvenir activity books and were able to explore the exhibition, handling examples of some of the work. They were able to experiment with the ideas used by some of the makers, working together to create a large piece for display in the classroom. Exhibiting artist and Hind Rattan award winner, Ranbir Kaur led a Rangoli workshop exploring symmetry and geometry in the run up to Diwali.
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April 2008: Relief and 3D sculpture with Sara Robinson (KS2)
The 'Iron Works' exhibition examined the process of sculpting from concept to completion. In the gallery, pupils drew from life and then used the same techniques as exhibiting artists to create an abstract sculpture based on their work. Working with Sara, pupils made their own moulds and then cast a sculpture in plaster, following the iron casting process.
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April - July 2008: Iron Casting with Sara Robinson (KS3)
In an exciting creative partnership project between the Shire Hall Gallery in Stafford and the Museum of Steel Sculpture in Coalbrookdale, pupils from Codsall Community High School created 'scratch blocks', carving designs into hardened sand to form moulds which molten iron was poured into. In mid July, the pupils travelled to Shropshire, where they saw their designs cast in iron at Coalbrookdale by a team of international artists. The final pieces will now become a permanent work of art to be displayed at Codsall Community High school.
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September - November 2008: Mixed media collage and digital photography workshops (KS2)
Urban Places:Open Spaces was an exhibition of work by Staffordshire pupils aged 11-16. The Shire Hall Gallery hosted mixed media collage and digital photography workshops for KS2 pupils with the assistance of Emily Clay, a Master qualified artist and teacher. A case study of this workshop was published in issue 32 of START Magazine.
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March/April 2009: Thomas Peploe Wood and the Romantic Tradition (KS3)
This cross curricular package provided the opportunity to work with a professional artist and a museum curator to compare romantic ideals to real life by revisiting the locations studied by Thomas Peploe Wood, contemplate art as illustration through a study of Grey's Elegy, or to investigate and experiment with the field and studio techniques employed by an artist working on a small scale.
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October 2009: Nursery Rhymes with Sally Harper(Reception/KS1)
Nursery Rhymes was an exhibition designed to introduce contemporary craft to the under 5s through interactive illustrations of traditional stories. Working with Sally Harper, children made sticky spiders, character masks and hats and flowers for Mary Mary's garden. In the Gallery, they performed action rhymes, marched up the Grand Old Duke of York's hill, searched for Bo Peep's sheep and sat on Little Miss Muffett's tuffet.
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Spring 2010: Light Fantastic Science Show with Birmingham Thinktank (KS2)
Working with Thinktank Birmingham, we hosted an interactive science show which allowed pupils to investigate sources of light, the spectrum, translucent materials, shadow, reflection, the anatomy of the eye and the relationship between eye and brain. Pupils also explored the physics of optical illusions in the gallery space, gaining hands on experience of a range of visual illusions created by contemporary artists.
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Spring 2011: A* Practical workshops for students just starting to study art (KS3/4)
Aimed at secondary pupils who were considering their options - or just starting to work toward an art qualification. Pupils worked with Debbie Todd from Protean Art to extensively explore low tech materials such as tissue, card and textiles to create sketchbook samples with tactile surfaces and layers which could influence future 3D work.
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Although our spring and autumn exhibitions are developed specifically with curriculum links in mind, for a small fee you are welcome to bring pupils in at any time for a tour of the exhibition, a talk about the work on display from our education team or a tailor made art and design session. Information on forthcoming exhibitions is available up to a year in advance and we will happily provide details if you are keen to programme your visits.
Did you know that we can help you achieve an Artsmark Award?
Schools must have links with artists and arts organisations through visits and partnerships as a way of enhancing delivery of the curriculum and increasing children's experience of the arts.
Artsmark Award Criteria 7.1
For more information about the Artsmark Award scheme click on the following link:
www.artscouncil.org.uk/artsmark/index.php|||
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