Digital: Fragment App

This academic year has flown by and like many of you in Further Ed I can't believe we're about to start the exam unit! With this in mind I realised my attention lately has been on the job and that it was about time I focused on sharing ideas that I've discovered on my journey.

Some of you may have already heard of this App but it is literally amazing.. and I am a teeny bit jealous that it wasn't invented when I was studying art and design. Fragment App first came to my attention when it was iTunes 'App of the Month' and my colleague shared it with me. At first glance, I knew it would be some sort of photo editing software but I didn't realise the potential it had in the classroom!

Straight away I tested the software with some of my student's work (above image) and discovered that it was perfect for adding geometric patterns and shapes to images. I was instantly hooked and saw how it could revolutionize the development and experimentation of my student's work. 

My students have responded to the App really well and I would say that in some cases it has saved their project work. Some of my students have created entire projects using the App and it is a brilliant way of getting digital work into a project quickly without the hassle of Photoshop.

Here are some of my suggestions as to how you could use the software in your classroom:

• Initial Responses: Engaging students with different ways of how to view their images - especially those who are most suitable to abstraction!
• Experimentations: Drawing, painting, collaging, weaving, layering, double exposures, etc.
• Sculptures: Print, cut, images and turn into unique photographic sculptures.

Fragment App is available through the iTunes store and works on iPhones/iPads/Androids as well as desktops! The App does cost - but it's definitely worth the couple of pounds and if you have a department account then you only have to pay for it once.. yay!

So, what are you waiting for? Deliver it as an exciting new technique to your students over the next few weeks and make their exam project stand out!

- Kirsty ❤

Review: The Saatchi Gallery

Friday last week myself, a colleague and 30 AS Fine Art students from The Farnborough Sixth Form College ventured up to London to The Saatchi Gallery. I always love this time of year as it's great transition period to the A2 year and we thought what a perfect opportunity to look at inspiring art, generate ideas and take part in some workshops!

First on our list was a guided tour around The Saatchi at 11am. We had the privilege of being shown a selection of work from their new exhibition: 'Pangaea: New Art From Africa and Latin America'. The most striking piece of work was without doubt artist Rafael Gómezbarros work entitled 'Casa Tomada'. The students and myself were in awe of the space and couldn't take our eyes of the packs of giant ants filling the room around us. For those of you who don't know, the ant's bodies are actually made up of two human skull casts which sent a shiver down everyone's back! The work really made the student's think about what life consists of and that each ant's body could of represented them.

We were also shown the work of their youngest artist in the gallery Ibrahim Mahama and after climbing up to gallery space 10 we were not dissapointed. Ibrahim is 26 and his work is familiar to that of Christo. He normally produces land art and was specially commissioner to fill the room in the gallery with draped jute sacks. Each sack represents the demands of goods such as cocoa and symbolises the difficult conditions traders face in African markets. The installation is set in a dull-lit wooden room with each sack dissembled. At first glance you are overwhelmed by the pure size of the installation and then you begin to notice the small imperfections, marks and traces that each cocoa sack hold. The students were completely silent and everyone took in the reality of what lives as porters must be like in our current economy.

Lastly, we were shown the work by Oscar Murillo - the galleries second youngest artist. Again, food was a common theme within Oscar's work and his expressive works were familiar to that of Rauschenberg's collages. Oscar Murillo was born in Colombia and at a young age emigrated to London: his work encompasses the difficulties of conforming to a new culture and changing his mother tongue. Before working on each piece Oscar likes to create a dirty canvas by leaving his assemblages of recycled materials on the floor for people to walk on to - or simply to collect dust and dirt. When the students looked closely they began to see basketball traces on the walls and hidden messages in the form of QR codes which was great fun scanning on our phones!

The Education team at The Saatchi were fantastic and made the experience of a gallery visit fun for all. The tour was informative and inquisitive and inspired the students for the artist workshop which was our next step with artist Daryll Hawkins. Daryll immediately took us up to the top floor to see the work of artist David Koloane. The students were asked what age they thought the artist was and all were shocked at the response of 76. Koloane's work is expressive and have somewhat a naivety to them. The marks and colour are worked up into an electrifying beauty that represents the everyday buzz of commuting, high speed traffic and mass protests within his home country South Africa. Student's responded well to Daryll's demonstration of Diskiology II and began to create their own A1 responses to Koloane's work in charcoal and pastel. The student's listened to music from Spotify and asked Daryll questions about art school and what to expect. They responded well to an artist approach and really enjoyed creating artwork that wasn't part of their own assessment - it was a real pleasure to see my class of 2014 engage so much with materials!

The day ended with a final workshop ran by the Education Team at the gallery. I was expecting a theoretical based workshop so was pleasantly surprised to find out it was another practical session! This time round student's got to re-cap the work of Oscar Murillo and presented on the floor in front of them was a pile of plain paper. Student's were asked to work collaboratively to create their own distorted canvas and then ... (yep - you guessed it!) ... their own dirty canvas. They crushed charcoal with their feet before jumping, stamping and dancing on top of the joint canvas.

It was fantastic to see them all enjoy themselves and learn a new engaging process. After all that exercising students worked in small groups to create their own art work based on a food. The student's loved working as a group - something which can rarely be done in the classroom and groups embraced sharing issues they face/d with language, culture and icons. One student even decided to use her left over Capri-Sun from lunch and cut into the existing artwork! Students were questioned into the meaning behind their piece and asked to title their work before ending the day at 2:30pm.

Overall, the day was a truly inspiring and fun experience. The Education Team were fab and fully supported the students all day - stretching their learning where possible. My student's learnt new experiences that I hope they will extract into their own work in the classroom and it was great to see them view real artwork in a beautiful and accommodating gallery. I would highly recommend taking your student's to The Saatchi if you haven't already - exhibitions are free and we only had to pay for the first artist workshop (which was definately worth the price!) They even link the Art and Design exam themes to their exhibitions so if you're running out of time now to make a visit then I would jump at the chance to go with your students in February. I left feeling inspired and can't wait to test my observations of the day with my classes!

- Kirsty ❤

Review: Debbie Bliss Homeware

During half term me and Kirsty received a rather exciting email from the wonderful Debbie Bliss. We have always been big fans of her knitwear and yarn ranges and I had met Debbie a few years back at a blogging event for Christmas Jumper Day with Save The Children so we were certainly intrigued when her email appeared in our inbox. Anyway it turns out that over at Debbie Bliss they have been busy creating a homeware range so they sent us over a few bits and pieces and it certainly does not disappoint! We had a bit of fun in the photo studio at work photographing them and here's our favourtie shots of the stuff we got... 

featured items: Slate Grey Moss Stitch Mug and Slate Grey Moss Stitch Tea Towel  

Featured items: English Mustard Double Rib Mug and English Mustard Double Rib Tea Towel

These pieces are from the stitches collection. I think our absolute favourites are the mugs which don't just have beautiful illustrations of knit stitches but include the pattern itself on the inside of the mugs and of course are perfect for us teachers to pop a hot (or cold in Kirsty's case) drink in of a break time! We also enjoyed matching them up with some of the Debbie Bliss pieces I've knitted myself...

Featured items: English Mustard Double Rib Mug, Slate Grey Moss Stitch Mug

Featured items: Knitting Aid Apron, Knitting Aid Tea Towel , London Brick Knitting Needle Holder 

The monochrome collection is just as delightful as the stitches collection, we particularly love the knitting aid pieces. The apron is brilliant! We're not going to lie it took us a moment to work out why half of it appeared to be upside down, until we popped them on...a-ha! You can read it when you're wearing it! The information includes everything from knitting needle gauges to washing care instructions and even includes a couple of handy rulers (both inches and cm). This week we were hanging our summer exhibition so the pouches on our aprons came in very handy for storing hammers, nails, measuring tapes and the like whilst we were clambering up and down ladders! We also loved the London Brick Knitting Needle Holder, personally I find knitting needles a pain to store and display and this holder makes it all better and much more beautiful. 

We hope you've enjoyed checking out this beautiful collection, as a knitter I am completely in love with these collections I would wholeheartedly recommend  them as the perfect gift for your knitting friends! You can check out the full homeware range, HERE

Enjoy! 

- Claire and Kirsty ❤

Review: Graduate Fashion Week, My Favourites

I love this time of year, time to visit all of the graduate shows with my students and get them excited and inspired about their future prospects! Yesterday I went to Graduate Fashion Week, which has relocated this year to the Truman Brewery (which I loved! a much more exciting venue) to check out this years fresh young talent and to see the International Catwalk Competition catwalk show. I had a brilliant time and these were some of my favourites from the show...

anna neulinger

Keziah Newlove - her blog has great progress shots

Laura Baker - loved her illustrations

Ainslie Mackie - she had a beautiful portfolio 

Nicci James

Suzanne Nicolson 

Chloe Woodgate

I guess I have a bit of a thing for knitwear! 

- Claire ❤

Exhibition: The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From Sidewalk to Catwalk

Ever since the Barbican announced 'The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From Sidewalk to Catwalk' I've been excited! Last Saturday I finally got the chance to check out the exhibition and it did not disappoint. If you've still got a chance to squeeze another trip in before the end of the summer term you should definitely make this it! It's open till August 25th 2014. Also, one of the absolute highlights is that you're allowed to take photographs in the exhibition! (as long as you don't use the flash) There's nothing worse than students being unable to reference something properly because they can't find an image of it post-visit!

One of the key things I liked about the exhibition was that whilst walking around it I kept coming across ways in which you could extend the visit into the classroom, both before and after. I don't know about you but one of the things I often find tricky is making sure that a visit is really valuable to the students and that it doesn't become a 'day out', which is enjoyable at the time but forgotten about once you're back in the classroom or a token page or two in the sketchbook that doesn't really link to their project! I've put together a few suggestions of activities I would do if I took my students - there's some interesting topics, particularly in a wider context and gives the opportunity to discuss some more controversial topics which you might not normally get the chance to discuss in the Textiles classroom! 

Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation 

Gaultier's early work reflects the experiences he was having transforming from a child with a 'different' sexual identity into an adult who could choose his own. His work is often hypersexulised and exagerates the norms of masculine and feminine creating androgynous looks. You could also discuss his 'A Wardrobe for Two' collection (1985) for which he looked at masculine, feminine, androgynous and alternative conventions. Brilliant to get a bit of E&D into the trip and/or classroom discussions. 

Cultures and Countercultures

Punk, androgyny, nautical, fetish, tailoring and his many muses there's an array of things that you could pick out and focus on depending on what's relevant to your class. I loved the punk stuff, especially the yellow tartan...

Music, Film and Theatre

It's great to be able to highlight to students a wider-context in which more extravagant Fashion garments can be worn and Jean Paul Gaultier is a great example of this! There's some incredible pieces on show including garments from Madonna's Blonde Ambition Tour, Kylie Minogue videos, a piece inspired by David Bowie and a collection inspired by Amy Winehouse. I reckon a nice fun starter activity for the lessons building up to the trip would be to watch a few music videos. There's also a section in the exhibition on the infamous, Euro Trash, but perhaps that's best discussed with the older year groups only!

The App

When I saw the exhibition had it's own app I was keen to check it out. I love the idea of having an app alongside an exhibition, however in my experience it's always been a frustrating affair and unfortunately this one was no exception. I loaded it up before the exhibition so I could check it out what was on there; some video clips, written information and a camera function to upload and hashtag photos from the exhibition (I think, I never got this function to work). There was also some general info about opening times and ticket prices. 

When I got the exhibition I saw the symbol for the app by a garment so I tried to load it up and that's when the problems started, crash/restart/crash/restart, repeat! I finally got it to work but I couldn't see a clear correlation between what I was looking at and what I was meant to look at on the app. I also found at various points in the exhibition it stated things like 'go to the app to hear clips from various muses' unless I was missing something, there was just one! So there was a lot of hype going on as well. I didn't even get half way round before I gave up using it! Also be prepared to watch the same intro video a lot as it pops up everytime you open the app (which is a lot when it keeps crashing!). 

Obviously if you get this working this could be a fun way to make the exhibition a little more interactive for your students both during the exhibition and as a follow up! The exhibition has only been open for a few weeks so hopefully they'll be some bug fixes to sort the app out!

Go visit! 
Anyway it's a brilliant exhibition and well worth a visit, if your still not convinced here's the details and a video of Jean Paul Gaultier himself discussing the exhibition...

What: The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From Sidewalk to Catwalk
When: now - till August 25th 2014
Where: The Barbican, London
Price: £14.50 (general) £9 (student) £7.50 (school groups and they'll give you a complimentary ticket to use before your visit if needed) 

Enjoy!
- Claire  ❤

Exhibition: The knitting and Stitching Show

Today I was lucky enough to get to take my students out on a trip to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in London. It's a brilliant event as it combines exhibits of textile art alongside the opportunity to purchase some materials! There's also a bunch of other stuff going on; workshops, fashion shows and there's the opportunity to talk to the exhibitors and people from various organisations and guilds. I had a great time so I thought I'd share some of my favourite bits just incase you're heading off tomorrow or over the weekend...

Exhibitors

My first stop was to see the incredible hand embroidery work of Tilleke Schwarz, I've been a fan of hers for many years so I was thrilled to finally see her work in real life! It is just incredible! I also got the chance to speak to Tilleke herself which was lovely! 

I stopped by to looked at the wonderful knit-based jewellery at Max's World and was amazed to discover this knitted axolotl! I immediately purchased the pattern for this! (oh you want one too? here you go! You can buy it online HERE) 

(From left to right) Katie Jones, Louisa Crompton, Lucy Jones

I like to stop by and check out the UK Hand Knit Award each year as I was on the stand back when I graduated! The stuff on show was incredible but the ones above were my absolute favourites! 

Workshops

The Upcycling Academy (headed by the wonderful Barley Massey of Fabrications) is definitely not to be missed! My students stopped by and got involved and transformed an old t-shirt into a bag (which the sported for the rest of the day!) it's a great cause and they've also put together a wonderful teachers resource pack to inspire lessons. You can download it HERE.  

Other

Oh how wonderful! A knitted taxi! Wouldn't it be nice to be driven around in that?

All in all it was a brilliant day and I recommend it if you get the chance to make it over there... if not there's always the Harrogate show, the Dublin show or the London show again next spring! Full details over at Twisted Thread

- Claire ❤

Review: BP Portrait Award and Oil Painting CPD

Back in June I was fortunate to get a place on the National Portrait Gallery Oil Painting CPD, it meant giving up a Saturday but I figured it would be worth it! To give a bit of background on me and oil painting, I've never done it before! In fact despite being an art teacher I have little experience of painting in general. I said that during the introduction at the CPD and felt I got some peculiar looks! I guess it's interesting isn't it - people always think if you do art that you can paint! But i've always done different types; printmaking and graphics at college, drawing and embroidery during my degree and knit during my masters. I mostly teach Graphics and Textiles so whilst we approach painting it's never been a big thing! Right, ramble over, back to the event itself! 

The CPD day itself was really good fun! It was in conjunction with the BP Portrait Awards and to start the day we were asked to visit the exhibition and sketch from the two portraits we found most inspiring - we would have to work in the style of one of these later in the day. We were also lucky enough to meet this years winner Susanne Du Toit, she spoke to us about the portrait and then back in the 'classroom' spoke us through her painting process. It was really interesting to get this insight and was good to hear before we launched into our own paintings! 

Whilst we were painting I took a few in progress shots which I'll share with you then explain a little. One of the best bits of the day was that the whole sessions was subtly tailored in a way to make you confident in an approach to delivering oil painting yourself... 

Now I know my painting isn't incredible but it was enjoyable and the session left me feeling like I wanted to have another go! We had to choose a painting from the portrait awards (I chose Kholiswa by Lionel Smit) and select a black and white photograph to work from. In the morning we did a burnt sienna wash in acrylic to 'lift' the colour, then sketched out an outline and finally added a bit of tone all using acrylic. I felt semi comfortable at this point. We came back after lunch and started with the oil and that's when it got challenging! We were starting by adding skin tones - I found this a nightmare to do especially as we were working from a black and white photo. I think that approach could be interesting if you had students who were experienced painters but for a totally beginner like me I wouldn't recommend it! Once the skin tone was down it was time to add colour and details. In total we painted for about 2 hours, stopping intermittently to be shown different techniques for mixing, layering, using colour and finally adding the finishing touches. 

Overall it was a brilliant day and I'd really recommend it! Check out the National Portrait Gallery CPD page for info on their upcoming sessions! There's another oil painting one in October and if you wanna book really ahead there's another BP Portrait Award/Painting one next summer, this time with acrylic paints! The BP portrait awards were also great and it's free so check it out if you can! It closes on September 15th!

- Claire ❤

Exhibition: New Blood 2013

On Tuesday evening myself and Jessica ventured up to Spittlefields Market to check out this years New Blood show! For those of you who haven't visited New Blood it's a brilliant show put on by D and AD which showcases the work of Graphics and Illustration graduates from universities across the country. It was lovely and inspiring to see the work of upcoming designers so we've picked out a few of our favourites to share with you. We'd definitely recommend visiting and/or getting your students to visit! It's a great chance for students to find out more information and see the work from universities to help them make those final decisions! 

Grace Bond, Helen Player,  Mimi Van Helfteren

Norwich University's whole stand, Yvette Earl

We also grabbed a few business cards from other people we didn't get a chance to snap! 

Amy Mattingley, Louise Byrnes, Charlie Marshall

Luke Thompson, Catherine Prior

Make sure you catch it if you can! It closes today!

- Claire ❤

Review/Exhibition: Kaffe Fassett

Last Wednesday I attend the Teachers Evening at The Fashion and Textiles museum 'The Future of Knitwear'. The evening was in conjunction with the current Kaffe Fassett exhibition and it was a brilliant evening! I was hesitant about attending at first because, to be honest, I'm pretty cheap and I didn't like the idea of forking out £12 (£13 after the booking fee!) to go to an event! As our regular readers will know we are always on the lookout for free events, it's not always because we're tight but we, like many others I'm sure, don't work in places that can constantly reimburse you for every event you choose to attend, it's just not viable. 

I made an exception for this one because I am a knitter! I was planning to visit the exhibition anyway so I figured the extra cost wasn't too bad as it included a gallery tour and two talks; one by Belinda Boaden and Wendy Baker of True Brit Knits and the other by Sandy Black. Sandy Black discussed her new book Knitting: Fashion, Industry, Craft which looks at the history of knitting from a development point of view - the images shown during the talk were interesting and it looks like a fascinating book. The wonderful ladies behind True Brit Knits talked about their background in knit and about their company True Brit Knits who aim to create knitwear patterns from a fashion point of view. They have a regular feature on their blog 'Monday Moods' which is a wonderful resource for students of beautiful mood boards - I can't wait to show my students these to get them re thinking what ought to be included in a mood board. 

It was well worth it! Both talks were really engaging and I came away feeling inspired and with a really urge to knit (which I do regularly anyway but I feel inspired about creating some new stuff!). The only slight downside was that due to the large turnout they didn't conduct a formal tour, but the museum staff were on hand if you did have any questions. The exhibition itself is wonderful. The amount of colour and pattern on display all at once is incredible - I'm not sure my photographs do it justice so if you can get along to visit it, do! They even had the first cardigan Kaffe Fassett ever knitted on display! It was a truly wonderful exhibition. 

The exhibition is on till June 29th and it's £8 entrance (£5.50 concessions), don't be caught out like I have been before though, the museum is shut on Sundays and Mondays. I really do recommend the teachers evenings if it's for a designer or technique your passionate about! The next teachers evening is in conjunction with the upcoming Zandra Rhodes exhibition. Zandra Rhodes founded the Fashion and Textiles Museum and the exhibition is celebrating her work and the fact that the museum is celebrating it's 10th year! The talk sounds cool as you get special access to the design studio and archive and their going to be discussing how the digital archive can be used with schools/colleges. You can book tickets, HERE. 

- Claire ❤

Review: INSET at The Photographers Gallery

Last Thursday I was fortunate enough to be able to attend an INSET workshop at The Photographers Gallery. The two-hour session was a workshop led session with designer/illustrator Karen Lacroix in response to their current exhibition Perspectives on Collage. The session aim was to introduce us to methods that would allow us to bring collage to the classroom. The session began with Karen Lacroix introducing her own incredible work and talking us through the different collage processes she uses within her own practise. We then moved on to creating our own work using the 'publication as process' technique (you can see my piece in the video below!). As if this wasn't inspiring enough Karen had also put together an additional worksheet with a range of different collage techniques to be tried - I won't go into detail but keep your eyes peeled over the next few weeks as I'll be trying these with my own students and will be posting the results! As well as the workshop we were also given a wonderful, albeit brief, tour of the exhibits led by staff which took us through the key pieces in the exhibit, particularly those which related to the work we'd just been creating. If you get the chance to attend an INSET workshop at The Photographers Gallery I would jump at it! It was a brilliant event and I left feeling exciting and inspired about the prospects of using collage in the classroom!
- Claire ❤

exhibition: The Turner Prize 2012

As part of the teacher session at the Tate Portfolio Advice Day I was also able to visit the current exhibitions at the Tate, including the Turner Prize. I love visiting the Turner Prize, it's always interesting to see the mix of different work on display and mull over who you think might be selected as the winner. This year the nominees were Paul Noble; stunningly detailed drawings, Elizabeth Price; film artist who combines text/music/imagery (at an exceptionally loud volume I might add), Spartacus Chetwynd; a performance artist and Luke Fowler; also a film artist. I'm not a huge fan of film based art, I can't quite pinpoint what it is, perhaps its my attention span, so I was hopeful that Paul Noble or Spartacus Chetwynd might win. Paul Noble was purely because it would have been great for a drawer to be selected and Spartacus Chetwynd because of how incredible crazy the piece was. The picture above is of one of the performance rooms just before some humans came in dressed as what looked like Zebras and put on a puppet show for us, it was fabulous. There's a few different performances going on throughout the time the shows on, you can see a video preview HERE and it's worth checking the performance times so you can be sure to see one when you visit! 

This evening was the announcement and I was slightly saddened, though not surprised, that the winner was Elizabeth Price. One of the things I love most about the prize is how unpredictable it is, I can never fathom who is going to win! If you missed the announcement this evening you can catch up with it on 4OD, here. Another thing I love about the show is the pinboard at the end where members of the public can share their views on the show and some people really like to get those opinions out there, these are some of my favourite ones... 

The show is open till January 6th so if you haven't visited yet make sure you make it up there, if only to marvel at the performance piece! 

- Claire ❤

Review: Tate Portfolio Advice Day

Today I took my BTEC National Art and Design students up the Tate Britain for the Portfolio Advice Day. The day is organised by the Tate alongside the University of Arts London and it gives students the chance to get expert advice on their portfolio as well as create some work in their pathway with the support of tutors and students from UAL. Talking to my students afterwards I got mixed response - I think some of them found it overwhelming, it's a completely new experience for them to show their work in that way but they all had positive things to say and had been given some good quality constructive criticism and all had ideas for ways they could improve their portfolio. It really is a unique opportunity for your students to get supported guidance from an outside source before they jump straight into interviews! The best part as well is the whole event is free (including lunch!) some of my students even got to visit the Pre-Raphaelite exhibit as part of their workshop. 

Another great part of the day is that they've thought it all through for us teachers too! Whilst your students are in the workshops and reviews there is a teacher event going on. In the morning session we got a brilliant talk from one of the UAL dean's, David Webster, who gave us in insight as to what they are looking for in a portfolio, showed examples of portfolios and discussed e-portfolios. It was also a great chance to meet and network with other teachers from across London. In the afternoon we had an interesting talk from one of the Tate curators who discussed this years nominees for the 2012 Turner Prize, the afternoon concluded with complimentary tickets for both the Turner Prize and the Pre-Raphaelite exhibitions, so all in all a lovely day out! 

If you didn't get a chance to go this year you can always check out the website, there's tons of hints and tips for your students for putting together a portfolio! Also look out for next years event! It's well worth it!
- Claire ❤

exhibition: everything was moving

Yesterday I ventured up the The Barbican to check out their current exhibition 'Everything Was Moving: Photography From the 60s and 70s'. I wasn't sure what to expect, I hadn't read up on the exhibition at all before I went which perhaps was a bit of a mistake! However there's plenty of accompanying text once your up there and a handy exhibition guide. The show brings together work from photographers from around the world whose work has captured some of the most turbulent and world changing events from the 60s and 70s with everything from civil rights to the cold war. I wouldn't say it was the best exhibition I've seen but perhaps that's because it doesn't tick the right boxes for me in terms of inspiration, it was however very thought provoking, interesting and gave fantastic insight to various events across those decades. I found the work of Sigmar Polke and Boris Mikhailov particularly engaging however I can't find any examples of the particular bodies of work that were on show to share - a problem to perhaps keep in mind if you are taking students and wanting them to write it up - there's no photography allowed in the space so you'd have to make sure you picked up the catalogue! In terms of taking students along I think it would depend entirely on what your current project is and to be honest because of the subject matter I think it's most suitable for the post 16s. It would work really well if you're doing a project about documentary photography, protest, social issues, or portraiture. You can watch/listen to some great artists talks relating to the exhibition which would be good to watch before the visit and there's a great instagram competition to go along with the exhibition which would be great to use with your students if you do go up, which you can find out more about here. It's also worth booking your ticket beforehand online! A small saving, but a saving none the less! 

- Claire ❤

review: typic

This weekend I discovered Typic and I think I'm in love! I'm always wanting to add text to my images, for blog posts, resource sheets, etc. It's one of those fussy things that I just like to do, but it does take a bit of time. Then I discovered Typic! The app allows you to quickly add text to photographs and as an added bonus there are some instagram-esque filters on offer, a beautiful selection of stylish fonts (like homestead, what a nice font!) and an instant upload to various social media platforms at the end, if needed. I think it's one of those apps that people will either love or hate, to many the need to add text to an image will seem unneccesary and perhaps a little too 'hipster' but for me it's hits the best criteria - it saves me time! It's just an added bonus that it's very aesthetically pleasing. You should definitely check it out, it feels like an app with potential - I'm already thinking starter activities based on word/image connections...

- Claire  ❤

review: London Design Festival

Just wanted to put up a quick review having ventured off to London Design Festival at the weekend. My original plan may have been a little ambitious - I didn't manage to make it out to East London but I certainly saw plenty! Anyway I wanted to put a post up quickly as although most of the events finished yesterday, one didn't and it was probably my favourite of the day, The Prism. The Prism is a digital installation piece by Keiichi Matsuda, the digital screens are constantly changing as their fed by data relating to London with everything from the Boris bike's to the stock market interacting with it. The result is stunning but one of the best parts about the installation is that it's up in a part of the gallery, behind the scenes, which has never been open to the public. It's like walking around an attic, only it's the attic of the V&A and there's amazing art in it and if that wasn't enough the second part of the tour also includes climbing up a crazy free standing spiral stair case which leads up to the roof of the V&A - the views are stunning and this was an unexpected bonus for me! I was completely blown away - and you can be too! It's open till Friday all you need to do is book online, HERE and it's totally free! I couldn't recommend it more! Don't miss out! 

- Claire ❤

digital/review: iMotion HD

Gorgeous timelapse sunrise created by my dad using iMotion HD

This weekend my dad introduced me to what I think will soon become my favourite ever app for my iPhone/iPad, iMotion HD. The app allows you to create stop motion and time lapse animations with complete ease - you can take still frames manually (which I tried yesterday) or set it up on a timer (what my dad did in the video above!) so it takes shots itself at regular intervals. After you've got all your shots you simply click 'stop' and your images will be transformed into a movie, you can adjust the speed then export it. It really is that simple! Interestingly there's a free and a paid version, the paid one offers a direct export to You Tube but it's easy enough to just export it to your photos, email and then upload it so I don't think the paid option is vital! We're lucky enough to have some iPads at our college and I'm doing an animation unit with my BTEC students at the start of the Spring term - I think this will be a brilliant way to introduce them to stop motion, so hopefully I'll have some student examples in a few months! 

- Claire ❤

Review: Farnham Sculpture Park

Today the sun was out in all it's glory and I just couldn't resist going for a little stroll around Farnham Sculpture Park and boy, I wasn't disappointed. I think everyone knows that I am a huge lover of sculpture and I have been waiting nearly a year to visit this hidden gem since one of my wonderful students recommended it to me. I took my time to wander around the 10 acres of peaceful woodland and water gardens, running into wildlife and checking out all the 500 odd sculptures on display. It felt like I was a million miles from civilisation and I couldn't of asked for more on a beautiful summers day!

So, I started my journey from a shed-like office inside the middle of the park and was given a choice of adventurous, coloured routes to follow. With my map and price list in hand I typically chose the longest route - about a mile and a half - and followed the winding paths through various levels of woodland to a peaceful river for a spot of lunch on a handmade bench. Every turn I made was full of surprises as I passed a wide spectrum of modern and contemporary metal works from names such as Lucy Kinsella and Michael Marriott. As an art teacher it was refreshing to see curating at it's best. It is the only place I have been to where a giant winged eagle made of corks can sit next to a sculpture of mirrored punctuation !@?. Each sculpture worked together, despite the huge difference in subject matter and appearance. I don't know how, but it did. Perhaps it was the charm of this place. 

What I particularly loved about this art wonderland is that there was something for everyone... I even managed to drag my car obsessed partner around to give him the perfect insight into British sculpture and fresh, graduate talent. It is also a great way to encourage the enjoyment of site specific art with your students and show that art can exist outside the four white walls of a gallery. If you have a spare few minutes watch their YouTube channel videos for a great visual tour or follow Eddie, curator of the park on Twitter and 'like' their Facebook page here. You may of even seen some of the parks sculptures already as some selected favourites are currently on loan at the olympic village supporting team GB - how fantastic that our athletes are getting a little taste of art!

Do you have a favourite sculpture park? We'd love to hear all about your sculptural adventure/s!

 - Kirsty ❤

Review: Just For You - Designs From The Heart

Just For You - Designs From The Heart 

by Pablo Correa 

I have my brother ( creativity runs in the family) to thank for finding this gem of a book. It was instantly a must-have for my burgeoning collection of books with the soul purpose to inspire. First off let's discuss the facts. This is not a tutorial book, neither is it an essay book, in fact there are relatively few words in it. This is what I would call a beautiful book. One of those rare species of books thats design is as beautiful as the contents. From front cover and end papers, through page after page brimming with the weird and wonderful it is just utterly gorgeous. No doubt the reason being that Pablo Correa is himself a graphic designer and this was his baby. 

Just For You - end papers

The book is about Correa's quest to make public all those non-commercial projects carried out as affectations of love. Those special private handmade gesture's carrying their intimate messages that give us a sneak peek into the souls of those creative genii who made them. As we all know, it is often the labour of love, made for a significant other that is indeed the manifestation of our best work. The book is split into four sections objects, cards, posters/logos, illustrations/photos, meaning that there is a wide variety of exciting mediums and processes to engage even the least artistic students interest. 

Kariann Burleson - What is this blood?

The 'objects' section contains an eclectic mix, from handmade toys, cd packaging, sketchbooks, t-shirts and even a lunch box made out of a gasoline can! Kariann Burleson's 'What is this blood?' (above) is a gift to her friend Eric that is a 'metaphorical kit with an assemblage of found, personal, coincidental, and symbolic tokens, objects, feelings and ephemera' on the theme of life, love, self, connection and the 'veins of mystery'. I also loved the photographic 'Cubes' (below left) created by Mario Rodriguez made for his girlfriend as something that they could assemble together. This could work well as a photography lesson, imagine each member of the class making one and then stacking them all together?! Fun! Sara Pedrero Diaz created her neatly packaged and very real looking 'Sushi that's never past it's sell by date' out of felt and beads for Pablo as 'he is crazy about sushi'. We heart food made from textile's and this is another wacky idea that could really get the students going, check out Kate Jenkins crochet art for further inspiration.  

Mario Rodriguez - Cubes (above left)

Sara Pedrero Diaz - Sushi that's never past it's sell by date  (above right)    

Daniela Achoyan - Chronicle of a love foretold

Daniela Achoyan's 'Chronicle of a love foretold' is a beautiful hand made book made for her friend which encapsulates the email love story of two long distance lovers from computer monitor and key pad, through excerpts from the emails that ignited their love and the final plane journey to their meeting. This is not just a tale of true love's romance, but of the love of a friend who lost her companion as she flew to the man of her dreams. Gorgeously designed and a breath-taking story of long distance love and friendship this is without a doubt my favourite piece in the book, I would love to read it!

Martin Albornoz Bruster - Blood stencil

Finally, just to show you the huge contrast in this book is the macabre gift that Martin Albornoz Bruster gave to his mother! It is a blood stencil on paper taken from a tattoo of her on his arm... interesting!

Hopefully that has give you a little insight into this fabulous, weird and wonderful book brimming with interesting and inspiring pieces to engage students and teachers alike!

- Jess ❤