Tuesday 21 June 2011

Morriston Comprehensive school-pupils draw 'Tesserae Hospitalis'

Dr. Elena Isayev and Project Artist Catrin Webster delivered workshops at Morriston Comprehensive School on 20 June introducing concepts from the project using 2500-year-old tokens of long distance friendships (Tessera Hospitalis). Each pupil created their own token - Tessera - which will be made into a permanent sculpture to be sited in the city at the end of the project. This video slide- show, records each of the pupils' Tessera drawings.



Words, photographs and video production by Graham Parker

Sunday 19 June 2011

Project artist Catrin Webster paints at Morriston Comprehensive School

For project artist Catrin Webster, a contemporary concept of landscape is not static. In her work she challenges conventions of landscape composition seeking to capture and communicate the reality of our fragmented and multi-sensory experience of place. In this slide-show  compilation, Catrin brings her mobile van/studio to Morriston Comprehensive School to work on developing a large-scale painting in the school grounds.

Words, photographs and video production by Graham Parker.


Saturday 18 June 2011

Sea View Primary School Friday the 17th of June 2011 Pm

Once we got started it was a very good session. We started taking about pupils' routes to school and what colour doors they saw on their route. We then moved to the hall to start mapping; this is how we run this activity in rainy days. Once the lads settled down again we were able to continue and we asked where Swansea would be on the map and where people were born if it was not Swansea. We had one pupil born in Latvia and Lena in Russia. We then moved on to discuss where people would like to live, where people had family or friends and drawing them onto the map. Next we distributed stickers, which labelled each student with a Football player from either Swansea City or Manchester City; we got them to then look at who they play for and where they were born.


We then moved back to the class room for the next exercise, and a bit or archaeology. We passed round an Etruscan Tessera Hospitalis and another mystery object which the children had to work out what it was. I thought it may have been a plum line and I was very close.

We then gave the children clues and showed them pictures of old pots with weaving depicted, asking the children if they could see the object in the photo.



Then we explained a little more about the Tessera, and asked if the children would like to create their own to be placed permanently in Swansea. All were very excited!

We had a few ospreys’ logos and even a motorcross bike!











Gower College Friday the 17th of June 2011 Am

Today we went back to Gower College,  the discussion was strong and we all learnt a lot about people's home countries, cities and villages, and also the journeys made. We also discussed football; jobs people do like farming and construction.



Everyone very much enjoyed drawing maps of their journeys from their homes in Swansea to Gower College with the aid of interactive white boards and Google maps actually tracing each step.









Thursday 16 June 2011

Cwm Glas Primary School Thursday the 16th of June 2011

Today we went back to Cwm Glas Primary school, where the children were firstly asked to write all the objects, places, colours and smells that they saw on their route to school this morning.

Some saw animals, noticed signs, smelled the fish and chip shop and remembered cats sleeping on lampposts even!

We were blessed with a sunny but windy day so we then moved outside to the playground to draw a global map. We started by asking the children where they would place Swansea, leading on to ask where they were born, parents were born etc and to draw these locations using chalk. We then gave each child a footballers name from either Swansea City or Manchester City and asked them to place themselves firstly where they play and secondly where they were born.

We then passed around a loomweight , asking what the children thought it was used for, followed by photographs showing the weight being used by a Webster drawn onto ancient ceramics. We also passed around other archaeological artefacts which the children enjoyed handling and learning about.

We then showed the Tessera Hospitalis, asking again if the children knew what it was and the reasons for having one. This was followed by a short play which you are able to see in the video performed by Catrin Webster and Elena Isayev to demonstrate the use of the Tessera.

We then gave the children paper to draw their own Tessera Hospitalis, simply drawing the outline of a shape that they would like to be remembered by and that will be laser cut within stainless steel and placed in Swansea city centre.

As you can see once again the children created some very interesting designs! We even had a cross between a Dinosaur and an Elephant!

Emma Simmonds






























































Morriston Comprehensive School 'POSTCARD' video compilation

Morriston Comprehensive school-children used 'free-drawing' to deconstruct traditional methods of drawing ‘place’. Notions of ‘journey’ and ‘time’ were incorporated into the process as their individual drawings were made on postcards which were subsequently sent to historian and archaeologist, Dr Elena Isayev, Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Exeter. These postcards, alongside all of the others made by schoolchildren across Swansea, will return to Swansea to feature in a project exhibition at Oriel Bach Gallery, Mumbles which is due to open on 1st October 2011.


This video captures initial outcomes of the ‘free drawing on postcards’ activity at Morriston Comprehensive School on Monday 6 June 2011, the start of the school-children’s journey into ‘Future Memory in Place’.


Words, photographs and video production by Graham Parker.

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery 'Over 55 Art Group' Wednesday the 15th of June 2011


Today was our second session with the Glynn Vivian art group. The previous week we experimented using drawing skills to observe the surroundings at The National Waterfront Museum located next to Swansea harbour. In preparation for today Catrin enlarged the drawings and produced various sized copies for the group to work with using them as guides to make their printing plates.

By tracing their drawings through onto the plates underneath the plate becomes indented, therefore when ink is applied areas that have been indented are left white creating a print.

We then progressed by experimenting with various layerings of colour, creating different textures. Some also divided their plates into sections, using the various sections to print and layer.

Following this we then asked members of the group who had collected swabs of 'colours of blue' last week, to choose a tone and recreate the colour onto a rectangular canvas as part of the 1000 blues sector of the project.

We also asked the group to start drawing their own Tessera Hospitalis, after demonstrating their purpose and design.

It was extremely interesting to work once again with the group, it was great to also share ideas of current work and varying practices, another interesting afternoon!

Emma Simmonds :)








St Helens Primary Wednesday the 15th of June 2011





































































Today we went back to St Helens Primary school, where the children were firstly asked to write all the objects, places, colours and smells that they saw on their route to school this morning.

Despite the rain we then moved outside to the playground to draw a global map. We started by asking the children where they would place Swansea, leading on to ask where they were born, parents were born etc and to draw these locations using chalk. We then gave each child a footballers name from either Swansea City or Manchester City and asked them to place themselves firstly where they play and secondly where they were born.

We then passed around the weight lobe, asking what the children thought it was used for, followed by showing photographs of the weight being used by a Webster drawn onto ancient ceramics. We also passed around other archaeological artefacts which the children enjoyed handling and learning about.

We then showed the Tessera Hospitalis, asking again if the children knew what it was and the reasons for having one. This was followed by a short play which you are able to see in the video performed by Catrin Webster and Elena Isayev to demonstrate the use of the Tessera.

We then gave the children paper to draw their own Tessera Hospitalis, simply drawing the outline of a shape that they would like to be remembered by and that will be laser cut within stainless steel and placed in Swansea city centre.

Emma Simmonds