The intimacy of clay

multiples

my student's creation is the small domed yurt in the foreground

The helter skelter is my favourite one

In art M's class have been making a city out of clay. They started by drawing 'footprints' on paper to determine the shapes of their buildings, and then using the coil process they built up the walls, added roofs and windows and doors, and other features for decoration. As my vision-impaired student has been off for two weeks of this seven-week term she's missed a lot of lessons, and when we returned to the class we were amazed to find what the others had achieved. We appreciated the progress of their constructions and worked hard to catch up with them so that ours could be part of the city too. As we did, I looked around for inspiration, and I was suddenly struck by something about their shapes. Many of the buildings were round and very tall, with domed, mushroom-like roofs…a couple of them even had a hole in the middle 'to let the smoke out'. I caught the art teacher's eye and nodded my head at these rather explicit creations. She winked and laughed, and agreed that all the other art teachers had remarked on this curious phenomenon. We looked down at my effort. Still in the early stages of construction, it was kidney shaped, with grey leathery walls which grew outwards. Strange, how clay inspires us to create such intimate reconstructions!

I hastily put a roof on mine - it's far more decent now.

I love paper work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKxUqgStyKk

another obsession

I'm obsessed with paper…there, I've said it! This is lovely, clever, and inspirational.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XpqeEcIoogE

all fun and games

Last year, owing to the financial constraints of the school budget, sports day was really only for the lower school. Years 7 and 8 were taken to a small local venue for an afternoon of activity and it was all rather low key and disappointing.

This year we returned to the full-fat excitement of the big sports stadium we usually use. The cycle there was a half-hour of uphill struggle (literally). I don't know what gradient it was but it felt almost perpendicular, and I got to the stadium limp and sweaty.

Enthusiasm ran high amongst staff and students, who turned up wearing their house colours, some with 'face paint' (water colour applied really thickly). They had made posters for each house, and had perfected chants of disdain about their adversaries. Mathew, Mark, Luke and John were dissed in turn, (don't know what Jesus was making of all this), as cheers/jeers were delivered, and then the events began.

The participants had either chosen their event or had been press-ganged into it. The blind student I support was allocated to the javelin competition. 'Whose idea was that?' I was asked by the alarmed adult-in-charge. Actually she did well, and was the most relaxed I've seen her in a while. We sat on the grass afterward and watched/listened to the relay races, tall pitted against short, leopards against hippos. Very exciting.

The star of the day was an athletic year 10 with that particular posture and walk demonstrated by the muscular runner. Her muscularity is extraordinary, and matched by her ego 'n' attitude, a diva-in-the-making. I've had run-ins with her before, astonished by her arrogance and disregard for others. Now I get it. She is a goddess. She had a lovely time parading her ease on the track before us all, and we had a great time watching her wipe the floor with the other runners.

Afterwards I cycled home again, downhill all the way this time - it took about ten minutes! Lovely end to a great day out.

new brooches

I've been playing around with ideas recently, and enjoying the feeling of ancient quilted feedsack between my fingers. Notions of childhood, half-buried memories of collecting things - pebbles, leaves, shells, bubble-gum wrappers (with funny cartoons on them), stamps from foreign countries, and scraps, which were taken into school to swap with  other collecters in the playground. I found some scraps on ebay which looked so familiar I bought them - angels with pink or blue wings, their  hair bobbed,  ruby lips and rosy cheeks an expression of innocence. I've made some pretty brooches and am in the process of putting them into my etsy shop. They will look good on a jeans jacket, a summer dress, a t-shirt…but you'll have your own ideas!

Stocking up…

I have fallen by the wayside. I see that every so often other bloggers do the same. Some are truly addicted and come back to share. Others, like me, find it harder to do this. I haven't had much to say 's all, so I haven't posted recently.

I've been invited by a local shop keeper, Anita, (in Brixton) to sell in her lovely shop, Diverse Gifts. She's taken my brooches, needlecases and a bag. Her shop has been around for 12 years, which is a long time by today's standards. Her main interest is jewellery, and she has some lovely things in her shop. Restocking might be difficult but Anita is happy to take stock as it's being made, so I think it may work well. She is a lovely, laid-back person and I like visiting, so if you are ever in Brixton, feel free to drop in!

Tho thith ith Chrithmath

'Hail Mary, full of Grathe,' lisped the archangel Gabriel. 'Blethed art thou amongtht women, you thall bear a tthild and itth name thall be dthethuth.' 'But how can that be?' Mary asked, amazed, 'for I am Not Married!' 'You thall be filled with the Holy Thpirit, that's how,' he thaid said, helpfully, and we all nodded sagely. The nativity play was acted out by the sweetest year sevens I've seen in a while, led by the truly angelic P, as the Archangel Himself. No sheep though, which was disappointing.