Pine Cone Elves
Our third and final day at Murton Trust this summer was designed for younger creatives to have a go at making and also the perfect opportunity for anyone to try out the Explore Play Create sessions who had been curious before but perhaps couldn’t join us for the longer sessions or series.
We had a whole mixture of folk joining us, from the very young right up to P7 age. We even had a parent join in with one of the really little ones – the workshops are a lovely opportunity for parents to enjoy the shared experience of making with their wee ones.
We started off with a double session of pine cone elf making. This involved a number of processes, including cutting, sewing, sticking and drawing. I demonstrated the very simple stitches used to make the elves hat – each one made with a choice of up-cycled fabric or felt – topped off with a little jingle bell! Further details were added such as the head, wings and feet. The children all made such a great effort, each creating a unique and utterly adorable fairy which they are sure to treasure for a long time.
Land Art
The afternoon session was all about making Land Art. We spent a little time looking at examples of Land Art, from such artists as Richard Long and Andy Goldsworthy. We talked about colour, pattern, shapes and symmetry. The children were then shown round the various materials they could use to make their creations. I had brought a mass of objects from my studio and garden including flowers, leaves, herbs and grasses. I also gave them some objects from my hoarding(!) drawers, such as seashells, stones, feathers and pine cones. Murton Trust kindly left a whole load of wood of all shapes and sizes for us to use as well. They playfully explored the objects, making patterns, playing with colour and textures and composing artworks of all shapes and sizes. The finished artworks were photographed and the children will each get a framed photo of their artworks to keep as a reminder of their ephemeral creations.
