The after-school Creative Writing and Art course at Llanover Hall finally started again on Thursday after months of lockdown with three new participants and three returning, aged between 8 and 11. A while ago, a friend (see her blog here), showed me how to make an eight page mini book, and it was great to … Continue reading Dragon Bloom and Other Magical Tales
Children’s art
Murals and Sculptures: Cynefin – Week Four
A lovely day for a walk to Penllwyn Manor in Blackwood accompanied by three of the children's fathers. Unfortunately, my attempts to gain access to the house proved unfruitful, though Douglas, the kind man at the council did his best to persuade the present owners of the building to let us have a look around. We … Continue reading Murals and Sculptures: Cynefin – Week Four
Freedom: Cynefin – Week Three
Week three of working with Year 4 and 5 children on the ACW Cynefin project. We had planned to go on a walk to Penllwyn Manor, a local house that was known until recently as the Penllwyn Arms. It was built in the 16th century by Thomas Morgan of the infamous Morgan Family of Tredegar. … Continue reading Freedom: Cynefin – Week Three
Acting Out: Cynefin – Week Two
Week two of working with year 4 and 5 children on the ACW Cynefin project. Ceri, the teacher and I made plans for the next few weeks leading up to June's visit. June is going to work with the children on a short performance that will be captured on film by Nick and Marcus from … Continue reading Acting Out: Cynefin – Week Two
Mapping our Journey: Cynefin – Week One
I have been paired with a primary school in the Caerphilly County Borough to work with Year 4 and 5 children and their teacher on the Arts Council of Wales Cynefin project. After an exciting online planning session, the teacher and I formulated a question to encompass the school's priorities and the requirements of the … Continue reading Mapping our Journey: Cynefin – Week One
Cut-out Critters
I've been cutting out creatures from the experimental print textures as examples of what can be added to The Weaving Tree, an exciting project at Wales Millennium Centre. I planned the birds and hare, but the two creatures below emerged from random marks made in the print-making process, and I love how kooky they are. … Continue reading Cut-out Critters
Mythical Monsters
Kids love monsters; they never tire of stories from myth and legend. At the beginning of the Story telling and Art course, we travelled around the world, exploring stories from many different cultures, finding out about the spirits and mythical creatures that populate these tales. We encountered trolls from Iceland, dragons in China, a host … Continue reading Mythical Monsters
Printmaking Fun
The children I've been working with from the Gypsy, Roman and Traveller community in Cardiff had a go at etching into styrofoam. They did self-portraits, and things they liked. Then I asked them to draw onto acetates so that I could print their drawings onto material using cyanotype technique. The finished prints.
Animating the Aliens
On the after-school Storytelling and Art course at Llanover Hall, the children decided to create a theatre out of cardboard. As our theme for that week was Sci-fi, everyone made alien characters to star in the show. On the first week, the parents got a preview of act one, with one boy being narrator, others … Continue reading Animating the Aliens
Into the Magical Forest: Creative Schools
Dod yn ôl at fynghoed: this is the title of the latest Creative Schools project I am working on in Tonypandy. In Welsh, it translates as "to return to my trees", or "to return to a balanced state of mind". The aim is to bring the children back into contact with nature through outings, stories, … Continue reading Into the Magical Forest: Creative Schools
Sarah J Featherstone 