Busy hands happy souls

One thing has been certain and has been keeping me going through the uncertainty of the last few months is the never-ending creativity of our students in our new designated ‘Art and maker pod’.

Busy hands happy souls

We have been so busy in there it has been hard to find time to write about it and it is long overdue a blog mention! Since we got the new pods last term, it has given us a whole new inside space making it easier to do Art, which is something I think keeps us grounded in our ‘lockdown’ limited world where things keeps stopping or changing.

Art is very subjective : we all have a different view on what we like or think is good; and it’s also a very easy subject for us to feel ‘useless’ at. Sometimes our students have come to the decision that they are no good at it, possibly from a former art experience (I am sure many adults can relate) and sometimes as they think they know what it ‘should’ be like and can’t meet that expectation.

Our goal is to enable all students to feel confident enough to have a go and try not to worry about what anyone else thinks – to try to enjoy the process and not worry too much about the end product.

We like to encourage them to think of their own ideas and make or try things they want to. Some students bring an idea and are happy to do that whilst others need a more structured approach but either way we try to meet them where they are and try to get the most reluctant artists to try something to unleash their inner creativity.

Consequently students have been busy using every material we can get our hands on from sewing felt and fabric, clay modelling to paint and paper mache – and using the pod space to its fullest – some of it turns out brilliantly and of course – some doesn’t but the experience is always valuable and there is always something to learn and see!

Our students have very different likes and ideas – some like to draw neat and precise inked drawings inspired by gaming characters whilst others enjoy a more expressive and spontaneous Jackson Pollock style colourful paint creations. In no other subject is the diversity of students minds so apparent and its really rewarding to see young people’s ideas materialize in a way where we can let them lead and invent.

With a lot of encouragement and time we hope all students will be confident to try and have a go at anything and express creativity in any way they want.