Trauma-Informed Practice
I spent two half days a week working with small groups of mixed age pupils in a primary and secondary school in Hinckley and Coventry, West Midlands. Pupils from St’s Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School and Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, both part of the Romero Catholic Academy, took part in a five week sculpture workshop. Also Redmoor Academy pupils worked with Battling Brook Community Primary School and Richmond Primary School.
Across the sessions, six children from each school were introduced to my sculpture work before learning a range of sculpting techniques, including constructing figures, adding features such as wings and extra limbs, applying papier-mâché and decorating their finished creations.
"Each student created an individual sculpture based on the drawing they made in the first week for their own personal monster. They got more and more ambitious with their sculptures as the project progressed. For me as an artist educator it was great to have the luxury of a 5 week project to work with the children and young people to help express themselves and realise their ambitions for their sculptures."
"My Monster" project used creativity to help pupils explore change and transition, giving younger children the opportunity to get to know older students in a relaxed and supportive environment ahead of their next stage of education. Working with newspaper, wire, recycled materials, papier-mâché and paint pens, the pupils designed and built their own three-dimensional monster sculptures, each reflecting their own ideas and personalities.
'Funded by The Futures Trust, as Educational Lead Partner for a Coventry Virtual School city-wide project centred on developing Attachment and Trauma-Informed Practice and managed by dot-art.
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Looked After Children Project
I thoroughly enjoyed work on this project for The Futures Trust and managed by dot-art. I spent two days a week working with small groups of looked after children in a primary and secondary school in Coventry, West Midlands. It's great to work with the same children for a sustained period as normally I go in once for a few days then I'm gone. Every child’s experience of being a looked after child will be different and unique to them, so my approach is also individual. Providing them with a loosely themed framework within which they can express themselves - in their own way, using recycled paper and cardboard materials.
As a care experienced person myself I love having the opportunity to inspire and boost the confidence of these children and young people.
“My Monster” Primary theme
Each child (ranging from Year 2 - Year 6) was supported to create their own individual sculpture using newspaper, wire and sticky tape, with waste colour and printed papers for the decoration and details. They also did a drawing to visualise their ideas and work out how to construct them in 3D. Love their imaginative response to the theme of my monster!
“My Space” Secondary theme
‘My Space’ was the theme I gave the older group of children (ranging from Year 7 - Year 10). I briefed them to base their individual sculptures on anything that they related to in their life. Maybe an element of what they like doing in their free time or their interests, ambitions or dreams. Some of the children used words, phrases or a name to construct their 3D framework on, then layers of paper mache to add details.
