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 … More Mapping our Journey: Cynefin – Week One
In this week’s Creative Wellbeing session, I asked participants to look though piles of old magazines, choosing and cutting out images that appealed to them, while trying not to think too much about why. The collection of images and/or words, could then be arranged and stuck down in a way that is pleasing to each … More Intuitive Collages
In the creative wellbeing sessions this week, I asked participants to create collages and sculptures to represent aspects of themselves. Searching through old magazines for words that resonated seemed to be conducive to both reflection and supportive conversations about elements of participants’ lives. I don’t initiate these conversations, as I am not an art therapist; … More Creative Journeys
I have been revisiting Max Ernst’s work, specifically his frottage, grattage and coulage techniques that prioritised automatism. Using his grattage (scraping) technique, Ernst covered his canvases completely with pattern and then interpreted the images that emerged, thus allowing texture to suggest composition in a spontaneous fashion. In The Forest the artist probably placed the canvas … More New Work
Recently, I have been asked to run a couple of taster sessions for YMCA Cardiff Design For Life. The learners were keen to work with clay, as this is something they hadn’t tried before. Clay is so tactile, soothing and grounding. Several learners commented that they had come reluctantly to the session, thinking it would … More Creative Sessions at the YMCA
Sarah J Featherstone 