The Gusserane Art Intervention: Week 12

Our final workshop with the Gusserane pupils was to be a fun one, we had all the material we needed for the exhibition and so we decided to give them a chance to take it easy. Els and I arrived early so as to organise old drawings, paintings and sculptures into what we could include in the gallery space and what would be left to the school. Once we got through all of it we had the younger group come in to begin their last session with us.

We had decided they could create something of their own and with all the left over painting materials we had plenty for them to do. The groups were decided by table i.e. whomever was sitting at the table were all in a group together. With the rolls of wallpaper that were sitting around since before Christmas, we ripped each group a large piece to paint on and provided brushes, paints and water as usual. We then gave them clear instructions that this workshop would be different; as a group they were to decide together what to paint, they were to fill the whole page and there was one strict rule that there were not to be any suns, clouds or grass. They responded with an immense amount of enthusiasm we had never seen before and so a buzz of excitement ensued. When it comes to creative tuition and there is an opportunity for the student to create something of their own without a prescription, it is when you really see the results of all the work. We had never made the younger pupils work in groups before and there was a tremendous comradery in teamwork throughout the whole class. It is a shame that we would not be able to work further with them in order to encourage aspects of their progress such as this, we could only scratch the surface in this program.

One group wanted to include clouds, three out of the four re-enforcing the "no suns, clouds or grass" rule, however we suggested to the fourth (whom was a boy that had come along in leaps and bounds since we started back) that if they were to include clouds they have to be different from what he would normally do. In doing so he remembered one photocopied picture he liked from a few weeks ago and attempted a version of it. The different chosen subject matter ranged between a volcano, a horse, two jungles, a garden scene and one group employed the use of the photocopies again and created a large colourful composition. We could see their learning coming out in the painitngs; filling up the space with detail, applying the paint smoothly, considering the whole page rather than just focusing on one part and considering different ways to represent things which was the biggest bonus. It is not only what they learn in relation to their skills or knowledge but a crucial factor in art is to think critically and constructively about what you see and do. To see some of them applying this critical thinking at such a young age shows an incredible aptitude for working with art which we can only hope is nurtured.

They had a bit of extra time pressure with this session as we wanted to have a chance to talk to them at the end about what they thought of the workshops. Once each group felt they had finished we sent them cleaning and then had them all sit on their tables. Els and I then handed out sweets and probed them with questions such as what workshop did they like the most? What did they learn about art they had never known before? What do they think they would have liked to do more of? Would they like it if we came back? (This last question had been asked of us from a number of the pupils in both groups and all we could respond with was "You will have to ask your teachers" or "I don't know"). It was lovely to hear from the pupils remembering workshops we had done nearly three or four months ago with them and talking about very particular things they liked seeing and doing. One pupil in particular even said how much they liked thy session where I showed my slides and I was touched.

In the afternoon with the older group we had them finish off their sculptures by painting the clay, and in some cases we allowed them to use the crepe paper, in order to add colour to the materiality of the objects they were using. They ploughed right into it as they were also going to get sweets and some questions at the end of the session so there was only a half hour to complete the work. Some had started a little on their painting the week before but like the younger group they had to decide together how they would paint the sculptures. This wasn't as succesful as we hoped it would be in one or two groups, where the painting became erratic and messy without much concentration or thought going into the process. At this stage of the development we found it disappointing, as we were hoping to include all of the large sculptures in the exhibition yet we decided that one or two would have to be left out as the paint on them just didn't follow through with the effort they had put in before. One in particular, despite Els' being very clear that they were to work in abstract forms, became a complete joke for the group, whom had initially created a beautiful piece but had suddenly changed it completely two weeks before. We had hoped they would re-create it all over again although to no avail and Els had to explain to them why their sculpture wouldn't work alongside the others in the exhibition. There were some ruffled feathers from this, which was understandable, however it was important to remind them that in their art lessons they follow instructions just as if they were being taught by their own teachers in the classroom. Art is fun and creative but like any other subject it has to be taught in a disciplined method and pupils taking liberties is not tolerated in any learning environment in a school.

Many of the sculptures however were succesful and Els was happy with the colourful results, even taking out some of the smaller sculptures they had made before and encouraging them to paint those as well. One in particular made by a group consisting of only two 4th class girls stood out immensely, inkeeping with the abstract theme they managed to incorporate a narrative into the sculpture about the sea. Els pushed them to add small cut out drawings they did of fish and then asked them to paint even bigger drawings of fish which turned out better as a background that could be mounted behind the sculpture instead.

Once time was up and we had them clean their brushes and palettes and we organised which sculptures to stay and which were coming with us, we gave out sweets and only had the chance to ask them if they had enjoyed the project. We were met with a positive response and their teacher came over to collect them as usual and thanked us for what we have done with the pupils over this year. We said our goodbyes and and told the few whom really showed artistic talents to continue drawing especially and not to forget what they had learned with us. Els and I both felt that we had only really just gotten them into the routine of art, that the length of the project is not enough even from her previous experiences in other schools. It's keeping up the type of art teaching we give them which is important, even the staff in the school discussed with us how their primary teacher training involving art was either completely useless or they didn't know enough about art to apply it properly, thus the importance of the work we do and how unfortunate it is that we could not continue.

A striking event that would stay with me occurred this day, after we let the younger pupils go and got a group photo with them, one of the pupils were going home early and their mother came over to talk to us. She said how the family had been away and only arrived home late last night, she was going to let him stay home for the day to rest, yet her son demanded to go into school because he didn't want to miss our lesson. We could see how these workshops had become an important part of their routine and this particular case being the proof. If a pupil as young as 7 years of age responds in that way to a structured and skillbased art course being tutored by a professional artist in only six months then it would be extremely interesting to see what a regularly implemented art curriculum could do for schools and the progress of young pupils. Like all subjects i.e. english, maths, irish, geography etc, one teacher will never be able to engage the full interest of every child within every subject. However what are the chances of those few children who show aptitude in art going to have in pursuing their talents if art is seen as a lesser subject in comparison to others? Art fills in what the other subjects don't, it remains isolated and unheard, they all occupy their own importance yet art is not receiving the time and attention it needs for a pupil's learning to be fully comprehensive. Maybe it starts with how the teachers are trained in understanding art, maybe it has to start with getting projects like this to expand and be more inclusive, maybe it has to start with a higher recognition of what art does for the individual pupil and in doing so supporting the local artists to step in. In whatever way it starts, it must start with the next generation whom will move and grow into a world where their treatment of art and what it is, will be different.