Trading Places/CR.E.A.T.E. Programme

Third Phase Residencies

Back to residencies

SEELB, South Eastern Education and Library Board

finale

Written by artist Nicola on 16 May 2005

Having spent a few days preparing all the sections of movement and sculptures, we headed over to the Island arts centre where we took over the studio theatre for the morning. The black box space gave us a chance to glow-in-the-dark with florescent spray, UV Light and torches. Whilst time was very tight, the young people in Primary 7 worked very efficiently taking turns to perform their movement within the bamboo sculptures, playing with EL Wire and the sculptures.

With the lighter wire in the black box a group improvised movement with their bodies and the wire. This looked like a chalk drawing that had come to life!

We also played with weaving not just our bodies but the brighter EL Wire through one of the sculptures also, it looked a bit like a snake moving slowly through the bamboo!

Finally we were able to play with lighting the space with torches. We used the entire group on the stage and asked them to begin to use the torch as an extension of themselves and begin to improvise movement and respond to some instructionform the sideline! The resulting images remind us of constellations of stars, shooting stars, comets and other mysterious unexplained object!

Open day Nicola and Sharon

Written by artist Sharon on 15 May 2005

Final day open day

Written by artist Sharon on 15 May 2005

Our final day, the open day, was our chance to show the rest of the school what we had all been doing.
The big hall was used and lower primary classes sat in rows on the stage while video images of our adventures with UV light and torches was projected onto a screen at the front of the hall. We displayed our drawings on the walls and our structures, which were miraculously still in good shape after their travels to the Island Arts Centre, were placed throughout the hall itself. A TV was set up in a dark corner which showed our 'torch light' sequence' to the side.

Nicola gave a brief introduction to all present and all enjoyed the morning.
The P7 class invited the younger children to climb through their structures.
P7 were very proud of their work and the young ones had fun squeezing in and out of the shapes.

Nicola and Sharon were presented with two lovely bunches of flowers!

fast movers

Written by artist Nicola on 24 March 2005

Fast movers

Written by artist Nicola on 24 March 2005

Hi this is Sharon - updating under Nicola's name. Nicola has written about what we did together with the children on Monday and so Tuesday's session began by showing the children the evolving/moving drawing video piece of my own work called LIFE DRAWING. This at least set the scene for the work to follow.
Nicola and I took half the group down to the hall to work on moving and drawing.
One of the things we tried was to record the children moving around a table with a blank sheet secured on to it. The children were asked to keep drawing while they moved. Another child took photographs of these fast movers! Nicola recorded this exercise with a video camera also. The video camera was placed overhead, so she had a bird's eye view of the table top.

The children were asked to move at different pace - so slow then faster and eventually as a child made a mark, the next hand that came round smudged the previous marks out of the way. What they ended up with was a continual smudge. We also recorded the children erasing these smudges. This was very hard work!!

The children will see when they next check the website that when a photograph is taken of a moving thing - it will be blurred.

The second group of children then came down and we tried some improvisational drawings using string. Each child was asked to lay a piece of string down onto a flat surface joining their string to the prvious child's. By this means a whole drawing grew and grew. The best of these exercises was onto a black sheet spread out on the floor, onto which white string was laid. The resulting drawing was really strange - a little bit like lots of things.... it was some suggested an ambiguous camel!

Nicola recorded this sequence with the video camera and then we asked the children to each take a piece off - in this way the drawing de-constructed itself in a totally different way.

The afternoon session was spent showing the children what each group had done and discussing the work. We went to the IT suite and the children had the chance to check the website and see the images that Nicola had uploaded from the previous day. The children also looked at other work on the website.

One of the children ,when we were clearing up the string pieces, began to hang the string onto my body, insted of putting it in my hand, so this might be a start for some ideas using the LED wire and exploring space and restricted space.
I would like to explore other means of making lines visible, perhaps with flourescent ink or invisible ink..........

Alternative Drawing

Written by artist Nicola on 21 March 2005

Following an introduction to Sharon Kelly's work, the children began making charcoal drawings using different concepts including, life drawing (of a friend), positive and negative aspects (of selected objects) and a group drawing. Each group employed different approaches to decision making, organising and completing their drawing.

In the afternoon we created four stations in the hall with different materials for drawing, the groups could use only the material and their imagination to begin making a drawing in a completley different way to the drawings from earlier on in the day. The tools we had included, scissors and card, black cloth and white string, fabric and white card and green wool. With the large fabric with no other tools, the groups responded by drawing with body parts including, heads, knees and feet, creating unusual shapes and letting them disappear when the fabric was stretched. In the other stations some abstract shapes appeared and some familiar faces also!

Fabrication

Written by artist Nicola on 14 March 2005

Using a large piece of stetchy fabric we had a lot of fun during the day creating shapes togther and individually later on. The images created reminded us of landscapes such a sand dunes in the desert.

Later we created a very sophisticated system of pulling and stretching to create a canvas for movement. Here's a few images, what do they remind you of?

Opposites

Written by artist Nicola on 14 March 2005

Today we were able to review the trip to the museum and also the artist's response residency. From watching the DVD, the group discussed ideas and themes emerging from the piece and we focused on idea if opposites (internal - external, light and dark). From this we drew up a list of opposites to work from, including fast & slow, up and down, hot & cold. Taking these words as staring points for movement, each person created a short sequence of movement and them working with a larger group began to make choices in how to tie them together and present them to the rest of the class. This was a first step in making a dance. We explored fast & slow with speed limits in the room, ranging from 1 being stop and 10 very fast. Everyone found moving slowly a real challange!

Also in our groups we looked briefly at patterns and body shapes, here are a few examples..

Introductions....

Written by artist Nicola on 11 March 2005

St Joseph's Primary 7 visit the Linen Museum, we found lots of interesting facts about Linen including dyes, how linen is made, life inside the Mills, weaving, spinning and how different life was back then. We feel very lucky to live in this modern age as some could not imagine life without a playstation!

The class were introduced to artists Sharon Kelly and Nicola Curry who will be working with them on this final residency.

Wide eyed with wonder

Written by artist Nicola on 27 January 2005

The Winter School in January gave artists the opportunity to share their work with teachers and pupils. Artists lead workshops exploring themes from the pieces on exhibition. On viewing the work, some young people felt the sound and images were 'spooky' and 'sinister' and the figure moving like a ghost or because of the light distortion a monster! Using the projector as a light source the young people were invited to make their own fun shadow movements. We were treated to sculptures, air guitar, underwater creatures, and more.

The sharing of work and chance to discuss ideas have given us all great expectation and excitment for the third and final residency.