Space Craft...get it?

Yet another successful set of craft sessions at South Staffs libraries.
This time we hit Codsall, Perton, Cheslyn Hay, Great Wryley, Wombourne, Kinver, Brewood, and Penkridge.

I'll leave you with the pictures :)

Multicultural Mural

Brand new Big Artist, Natalie Gore has spent the last eight days working at St. Stephen's School in Wolverhampton producing this wonderful mural.


She spent the first two days planning and designing with the children, then battled through last week's rain to transfer it onto their once-bare wall.

Each panel takes a different country as its subject, featuring that country's flag, skyline, and animal.

We think she's done an incredible job. Have a peek below and see for yourself.

¡El Gran Picasso Fracaso!

Not really. It was a great success.
Shortly before nipping over to the 2010 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts I ran a one-day project at Shebbear College down in sunny Devon.

I had 24 Y9 pupils at my disposal, and put them to work recreating three of Pablo Picasso's masterpieces.




Weeping Woman (1937)

Girl Before a Mirror (1932)

Nude and Still Life (1931)


To break up the day we also did some Art Attack-style big art, out on the school field.



And had a go at GIANT pictionary.

Those Were The Days

Just found this relic as I was cleaning out my hard drive.

It's the video from our first ever official Big Art People Project, way back in November 2008.

My my, look how far we've come!

Pebbles!

We've been working like crazy on the pebble mosaic at Perton Library, South Staffs this month. Fuelled by tea and biscuits provided by the wonderful library staff we have almost finished our largest mosaic to date.

Measuring 3.6m by 2.4m, and containing some 8,000 hand-placed pebbles (we estimate), the mosaic is inspired by the people of Perton.

We are awaiting delivery of some tiles to finish the final lake section, but in the meantime here are some pictures of the work in progress:

Because You're St. Georgeous

"We need your help with some art projects," said the Art Coordinator of St. George's Primary School in Littleover. "And one of them has to be done before Easter!"
I'm not one to shy from a challenge, and I did have one free day before Easter, so I took a trip to the school.

They wanted the children to produce a piece to present to the local St. George's Church, as a token of their thanks and appreciation for everything that the church has done for them over the years. Something relevant, permanent, and classy. We tossed some ideas around before deciding on a stained glass window-style relief piece, based on the myth of St. George, and involving children from Reception to Y6.

So I returned home, sat down, had a cuppa and a ponder, and came up with this design:

Everyone happy with the design, I headed to the school on the last day of term. The children were excitable, but all lovely and interested in what I was doing there, what materials I was using, and who would get to have a go.

I worked with just two children from each class, and 24 in total. They built up the many layers, from the basic background to the detailed face, by applying small balls of art mache, shaping it, and smoothing it out.

The bell rang for the end of the day, the children rushed home to their Easter eggs and XBoxes, and I spent a couple of minutes smoothing the edges and refining the details.

I'm returning after Easter to help the kids paint it. Can't wait.

The Long and Snowy Road

The wonderful Jean sent me a picture of our wonderful tunnel in the recent dump of wonderful snow.

Lovely.