Mural at East Wemyss Primary School

What is happening? 

A busy week

I have a busy week this week. It started yesterday with the photography for the Hair and Beauty Students show. It is always great fun to watch these styles and looks evolve and be finally presented.

My internet is out of control . . . and now it has Zombies

 . . . no really my poor flickr account, I have tried to separate out my  life, work, student's work and failed abysmally.
It is organised into sets, but there are thousands of images and now they are up it is so difficult to delete and re-upload etc.
I tried a couple of months ago but as I suspected as soon as I delete something, someone contacts me who needs it.
Last night I uploaded all of the images from recent Zombie workshops with a portfolio class. Zombies and me do not go together, but this group of students are working so hard and having a lot of fun practising the face paint, body paint, doing story boards and promotional material. Hopefully it will all come together in a fun and funny series of Zombie themed movies after Easter.
Friday Wisdom:  make learning fun  . . . and have different flickr accounts for different activities.

Growing Arms and Legs

The 'Big Head Project' is reaching completion and now we can start to have fun with our alter ego's, though some won't be completed until next year, others are ready for some pre Christmas fun.

Big Christmas Big Heads

Above: Murdo and James's heads (NC Furniture) who are off to Skye to celebrate Hogmanay.
Below:  Kim and Rio's heads (NC Working with people) who are off to the Winter Wonderland in Edinburgh

For weeks now, ever since Lucy Kirk's big heads were featured on this blog, I have been working across the college with various student groups making 'Big Heads'. 

They are now coming to completion ready for some Christmas and Hogmanay celebrations and other madness . . .  we thought maybe some speed dating or a dance competition. 
I will share some more with you over the coming week, but these ones all came together (with smiles) today.

Dalkeith

 

 

Today I was back at work after my adventures in Berlin and work today, was not my usual day, but a trip to  Charles Taylor's amazing workshop, situated  in the old West Parish Church at Dalkeith. What a treat Charles Taylor has an incredible portfolio of work and his workshop is simply breathtaking. We had a wonderful tour and then went on to eat our lunch in Dalkeith Country park visiting chickens, peacocks and pigglets on the way and munched at wild garlic and soft beech leaves.

A Catch Up II: Hair and Beauty

 

I had the opportunity to photograph the hairdressing students show and portfolio pictures this week, they had help from the beauty department with the make up and introduction to art students with their stage set. I love these shows where different departments in the college can work together have fun and achieve great results.

A Catch Up I, My Students

I want to show you some of the work I have been doing with my students. This is last weeks mask, veil and headdress workshop with my NC Fashion students. I think the students did a fantastic job given the challenge of 'stuffing tights'.

Eye of Orisis

It has been a crazy day, at 2pm I found out I was off to Malta as part of the Leonardo Project (at 4am tomorrow) because my friend and colleague is ill and so unable to go. I will try to do her and our students proud, and I will be back in a week. Take care have a good week where ever you are and what ever you do. x

Fashion . . . beep . . . beep

Yesterday my NC fashion students put on a fashion show for charity. It was a fantastic night, everyone worked so well to make this a great success. Many thanks to the HND Events Management students for organizing it, to the wonderful models and to the hair and beauty students who did amazing things with everyones hair.

Hair and Beauty

My furniture students were asked to produce a set for a hair show in the theme of Alice in Wonderland last week. They did a fabulous job working in collaboration with portfolio students, under the direction of Claire Thomson. Today students from hair and beauty put on a fantastic show, here are some of the pictures from it.

Sensory art

For many years now, my work has involved working with people with severe physical disabilities, often unable to use traditional art materials. I constantly searching for new and interesting ways of engaging them with art and art mediums. I had a eureka moment this week with a student who attends my class and likes to use water and different containers. I added to the warm water, little pieces of coloured cellophane, this created great colours as the pieces overlapped in the water, like a kaleidoscope, and so was very visually stimulating. Also because the warm water heated the plastic cellophane a little, it made it very tactile and almost skin like. Today I shaped the cellophane into butterflies. I am thinking I may add gelatin to thicken the water next and make it easier to suspend the cellophane at different levels in the containers.

Aarhus

I just wanted to share some of my favourite images from last weeks fashion show in Aarhus, Denmark. These are all taken behind the scenes, it was exciting and great fun watching what all the students from Aarhus, Malta and Scotland had created and the fun that the models had wearing these creations.

Tim Johnson Master Class II

Yesterday it was NC Furniture's turn to learn traditional weaving skills from Artist, Tim Johnson. They created structures to span the atrium, and learnt new skills and approaches to designing and making. As well as seeing the breadth of inspiration that an artist such as Tim Johnson draws from.

Student Masks

Amazing work from my students today for the Mr Spoqui mask challenge made from brown paper. Have you made yours yet?

Brown Paper Friday

Another crazy day at work today, it has been quite a week. Today was brown paper challenge day for my NC Fashion students. They were challenged to create sea themed dresses using brown paper. It was great fun, full of energy and another great day Photographs.