Artcrimes

What a fun week it was ! Firstly I travelled to London to spend the last two training days with the Action Drawing Associates and Eileen Adams. We were joined on day one by Nick from the Campaign for Drawing, and on day two by Sue Grayson Ford, Director of the CFD. All the Associates were reporting back on either CPD training events or Big Draw events from the year so far. There was a fabulous range to see and when these are written up as case studies, you will be able to read about them online. CFD is now busy writing a bid to the Paul Hamlyn Foundation for more funding for the scheme and we have more than fingers crossed that this will be a success. I have had my perceptions changed and my horizons widened by working with this group of diverse thinkers and practitioners and relish the possible opportunity to continue the work.

Thursday night was Baltic night again: this time we had the primary teacher network meeting. I was fascinated to hear three excellent reports back from schools who had based work around the Turner Prize year, including one school who also had the benefit of “winning” a visit from the Turner Prize Cafe. There is some very good inspiring art teaching happening at Chillingham Road School, Fellside Primary and Central Newcastle High School. Well done teachers and pupils.

Keith from Artisancam gave a humorous presentation which included outtakes as well as final footage. The highlight for me is seeing how the pupils of Walbottle Campus responded to the Turner Prize. Please do watch this! Walbottle Campus and the Turner Prize 2011
I have a very special relationship with the school and am so proud of the pupils and the teachers who made this experience of contemporary art so accessible to them.

The evening ended with my contribution: a practical workshop using the elastic band sketchbook idea, which has been proving to be so popular on my inset sessions this year. We had between 70 and 80 people attending so it was a tsunami of creativity, what they produced in the short time allowed was so good….we really did have to force people to stop creating their books so we could all go home!
If they can go back to school and use this idea effectively, then it will have been worth the effort. Feedback was lovely.

Then, as we left, the lights were twinkling all around Baltic Square, an arc of light was beaming out from the Millenium Bridge, and reflecting in the gentle rhythm of the river Tyne and there was that lovely crisp autumnal feel about it all. My favourite season.