Mini-residency at Lord Grey school - week 1

 



Working for MK gallery so far has been a fantastically diverse experience and last month I was asked if I would undertake a mini-residency at a secondary school in Bletchley, Milton Keynes, working with a group of year 9 students. The primary aims of the residency were to get mixed ability students supporting each other and boost confidence by giving them the opportunity to exhibit in the gallery at the end of the 5 week project. I was given the loose theme of 'similarities and differences' and asked to do some painting work with them.

I always think collage is a great starting point with any project and it is accessible to all. So we started off working in pairs, with a newspaper and magazine each, and creating collages of interesting colours, textures, shapes and patterns. We then moved from 2D to £D, looking for and photographing similarly interesting things in and around the school. Students worked together to identify and capture things like stones, bark, benches, pavements and grass - thinking about the different textures, shapes and patterns presented in natural and man-made surfaces.