Catcliffe Primary Visit and Lino Workshop

On the 7th of June we made a visit to Catcliffe Primary School to show the Y6 students the wondrous technique that is lino printing. With us came Ashleigh Lofthouse, Nicole Nixon, Bushra Mahmood, Laura Turner and Katie Hamilton-Midlane who kindly volunteered to join us and help out. We decided to create two unique wall hangings, and to do this we asked the students to tell us what art meant to them, and the word they chose could be carved, printed and then attached to the fabric surrounding our own 'We need art because it is...' lino prints. These wonderfully enthusiastic students came up with some brilliant words to describe why art is important; 'Messy', 'Unique', 'Freaky', 'Inspirational' and so many more! We gave them the choice of freehand or using letter stencils to draw their word, but they didn't just leave it there! We had students taking initiative and including all sorts of other decorations like smiley faces, flowers, borders and my personal favourite... '#art#'.

Once these were traced on, we gave them a quick demonstration on how to use the lino cutters, and within no time at all they were loving it! Thankfully we only had about 5 lino cutter injuries... but even then, as one of the pupils remarked, "it was worth the cut". We had some wonderful comments from the class about how lino was their new favourite way of making art and they wanted to do it at home, how they wanted to be artists when they were older, and just generally all saying they were really enjoying the experience. 

And their ambition didn't stop at just drawing! As soon as we got the inks out we had pupils asking if they could make their prints "ombre", mixing up a variety of colours, and the most popular amongst everyone seemed to be rainbow striped prints! We asked the class to do one print on paper that they could take home with them, and two on fabric for us to put on each wall hanging. 

By the end our hangings were looking absolutely fabulous! Laura, Ashleigh, Nicole, Katie and Bushra did an amazing job showing the kids how to use the equipment properly, keeping everything in order (thanks Ashleigh for all that washing up!), and just generally being absolute stars! We have brought the fabric back with us so everything can be properly sewn together, and once they're ready we can send one back to Catcliffe for the students, and they can see all their lovely work displayed up on the wall. We had such an enjoyable morning and it was great to see the pupils so excited about art and being so creative. Thanks for having us! 

Where Are They Now? | Briony Canning

Below is a guest blog post by the lovely Briony Canning who studied both Fine Art and Photography here last year. Please take a look at her website too (https://brionycanning160.wixsite.com/photographyandvideo/welcome), for anyone interested in photography or film it is full of some really stunning and beautiful work! 

Thanks Briony!

Studying at TRC was the best decision I’ve ever made!

My name is Briony Canning and I’m an ex student from TRC, I studied Photography, Fine Art and Media Studies from 2015-2017. The art department were so welcoming, helpful and kind, I felt like I was able to fit in straight away. My two years at TRC flew by, I learnt so many new skills and knowledge along the way. I was taught about intaglio printing, lino printing, screen printing, darkroom exposures and all the terminology that comes with it, the list really is endless. The time and effort the art staff spend with me really set me up, ready and striving to go straight off to university to further my studies. I really can’t thank them enough. :)

I’m now studying Photography and Video at De Montfort University in Leicester! I adore photography and being at a university studying with groups of people who all share the same passion and love for the subject is inspiring. The facilities at DMU are amazing, once we were introduced to the photo studio and video studio and I was fixated. It’s such a mesmerizing space and provides influence for new and developing projects of mine. My first project in the studio was a dance piece focusing on different lighting setups, highlighting my contemporary dancer in various ways (See images below). As my course also includes video I’ve been introduced to different programs, ideas and structures to create unique pieces of footage. Videographers like Jacob Sutton with his pieces called ‘Ghost in the Machine/ Dancers – New York Times/ MOVEment’ are some favourites of mine, I’d advise you to go watch them if your drawn towards movement, editing, rhythm and pace like me. This part of my course has mentally opened new and exciting paths in my career, setting of a creative spark of mine to pursue.

Both studying at TRC and my first year DMU have built me up in confidence to go out into the real world with my camera and actually speak to people. Therefore, I’ve be able to make small connections with clients leading me to take portraits of dogs currently at Thornberry Animal Sanctuary. I’ve had the ability to help capture pictures of dogs, in need of a home, which will hopefully get them the attention they deserve to get adopted (The link for Thornberry is below if you want to see the dogs currently in their care). In addition, I was invited to oversee an event run by the charity and create a short video from the day. It just shows that one small opportunity can literally take you to one job to the other. I love love, loveee dogs, so bringing photography and dogs together is the dream job of mine! J

My advice to current students at TRC is to forever keep the passion for your subject in your mind and heart, stay inspired and embrace every opportunity that comes your way. You’ll never know where it’ll take you! Good luck with all your exams and I hope you all succeed in whatever to choose to pursue.

http://www.thornberryanimalsanctuary.org

 

For a project I was asked to create a website to display my work, so if you’re interested in what pieces I’ve been working on feel free to give it a look, the link is below.

https://brionycanning160.wixsite.com/photographyandvideo/welcome - Website

https://www.instagram.com/canningphotography/ - Instagram