• Alan Pergusey works with pupils and uses newspaper to create large sculptures.

• Sam Paechter gets creative with clay!

• Zoe Phillips brings a live design and make challenge into the classroom with a workshop to create a magician’s bag.

For schools who want to work with an artist, but aren’t sure where to start, here is some helpful guidance .

Image credit: Zoe Phillips

“My creative journey started 13 years ago when I decided to leave my job and do a degree in art and design. I have always been creative and wanted to put my skills to good use.

My degree was the beginning of an amazing journey and whilst at college it allowed me to explore and develop a range of ideas, exploring materials, equipment and spaces. Mid way through the degree, I had started collaborating with artists and the public on several projects.  We made several sculptures using basic materials and I suddenly realised the act of creating something together was more special than the end result. I also discovered that people would often make dens rather than sculptures.

By the end of my third year, I had researched den building and how doing such things are fundamental to  child development. I also realised that building structures was a great activity to engage all ages.

I explored lots of materials and worked in various locations with different groups to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible. Once I left college I wanted to continue to develop my own practice, but  I could see the massive potential in working in schools to use den building to help children be creative, build confidence, increase motivation and resilliance and work as a team. In order to this, it was important for me to gain experience of working in education. So I got a job working at David Young Community Academy as a teaching assistant. The year proved to be very beneficial.

…………..And after that year I decided to buy a van, advertise and start working freelance in schools , building dens! The last 7 years have been amazing!!!   I have worked in over 600 primary schools, as well as many other educational settings, and I feel very lucky. The job is incredibly rewarding, watching others be creative, building and smiling. The den building continues to evolve by adding new materials and challenges.

My own artistic practice continues to develop around the theme of action, rather than object as art, as well as through exploring materials and spaces and working with many groups of people. Over the last seven years, I have been lucky enough to work with many organisations who have supported my work including Leeds Art Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, The Hepworth Wakfield, English Heritage, The Tetley, Leeds College of Art and Artforms.”

For further information about Chris and den building, please visit www.chris-harman.com     www.denbuilding.co.uk

Details about the Creative Project delivered by Chris, can be found here.

Clay is a fantastic material for children to use. It’s easy to manipulate and because of its heritage can be used to enhance areas across the curriculum. This session is designed to provide teachers with hints, tips and techniques to ensure pupils clay creations are a lasting legacy of their learning.

For more information, including how to book, please see the Using Clay for Sculpture Flyer (PDF)

This half day training session, delivered by Anna Pickard (specialist teacher of Art and Design) will provide clear guidance on how to assess children’s art work. Delivered over a half day, the course will:

• provide a national context
• explore case studies and different approaches to assessment from schools in Leeds
• provide practical assessment tasks and activities, designed to raise teacher confidence
• offer the opportunity to peer assess children’s work, using examples from participating schools

This is a really great opportunity for you to boost your confidence and review your methods of measuring the success of your pupils! It will take place on Wednesday 25th January 2017, 1pm – 4pm at Leeds City Academy, Bedford Field, Woodhouse Cliff, LS6 2LG.

For further information, including how to book, please see the  Assessment in Art Flyer (PDF)

Delivered by experienced visual artist, Lou Sumray, this session will explore how sketchbooks can be used as a rich resource, for recording and documenting pupils ideas and inspiration. Used effectively, sketchbooks can be embedded across the curriculum and can allow children to focus their thoughts, think creatively and reflect on their learning. This is a hands on, practical session, designed to give you the confidence to develop the use of sketchbooks in your own classroom.

For more information, please see the Sketchbooks in School Flyer (PDF)

Working with Leeds College of Art, this session will help build your own confidence to pick up a pencil and get your ideas onto paper in a visual way.

For further information, please see the illustration-for-learning-flyer or to book, please visit Leeds for Learning.

Alan’s main art practice involves painting and sculpture, but since graduating he has done a wealth of work in schools and community settings.   For anyone familiar with Leeds, an example of his public artwork can be found on Chapeltown Road, with others dotted around the northern region, often these pieces are 3D sculpture or bright mosaics. He has worked in numerous schools with children of all ages, providing pupils with experiences they may not have had before.   Many of these experiences have involved facilitating and supporting children to explore their own creativity, encourage their own ideas, and support them to create something amazing.   “It’s always great after a workshop in a school to hear the staff say that they didn’t realise that the results were going to be that good!”

When Alan was in school, he didn’t come across anyone who was making a living as a practicing artist, so this is one of the reasons why he sees it as important that artists work in schools: “they get the chance to meet an artist and to find out about what it’s like being an artist, which will possibly give them a role model for the future. This is something that I could have done with when I was going through education.”

After many years working in 3D, Alan has recently picked up his paintbrush and has created a number of paintings which reflect and explore the personal experiences he has had over the past few years, what he sees in Leeds and the world around him. This work has been exhibited in galleries in Leeds and Halifax. To see more examples of Alan’s work, please visit his website.

http://www.alanpergusey.com

For further information, please see the Printmaking for Enterprise Flyer (PDF).  To book a place on the training, please visit the Leeds for Learning website.

This practical session will be hosted and delivered by Leeds College of Art, and is designed to:
– Develop your knowledge and practical skills in printmaking
– Explore ways in which you can use printmaking to create a class/school business in time for Christmas

The session will enable you to make the links between an art activity and a real life context enabling you to develop a project back at school with a clear purpose which supports core curriculum subjects. You will have the opportunity to work with the art college’s resources and materials but everything covered in the session can be easily transferred to a classroom setting.

For more information please see the Printmaking for Enterprise Flyer (PDF)

Sketchbooks – Due to popular demand we are running another ‘Sketchbooks in School’ session, helping demystify the use of sketchbooks! For more info please see the Sketchbooks in School Flyer (PDF)

Storytelling through Drama for KS1 – a practical, creative drama session aimed at KS1 teachers using traditional fairy tales as a stimulus. For more info please see the Storytelling through Drama for KS1 Flyer (PDF)

Britain: Right and Wrong  – This practical, cross curricular half day training session will look at how aspects of ‘Promoting British Values’ can be brought to life and developed through the medium of poetry. For more info please see the Britain: Right & Wrong Flyer (PDF)

Getting Started with Project-Based Learning – This practical day will take senior leaders and teachers through the key stages of planning and managing pupil led projects. For more info please see the Project Based Learning Flyer (PDF)

Drama for Thought, Talk and Writing – This practical training day will provide teachers with a powerful toolbox, from which to design lessons for children, as thinkers, talkers and writers. For more info please see the Drama for Thought, Talk and Writing Flyer (PDF)