The summer term began with great aplomb for Years 1, 4 and 5. Miss Raduca invited visual artist Jessica Mason to spend a day in the art room making and talking all things ceramics.
Jessica Mason is a contemporary British artist who has developed an art practice that sits at the border between ceramics and sculpture. Her work touches on issues around material culture. Jessica uses metal, ceramics and textiles. The materials imply traditional methods of making such as wheel-throwing, casting or hand spinning.
Year 1 had the opportunity to watch a demonstration of the latter and to observe how wool gets turned into a thin thread through gentle movements of the hand. Jessica talked to Year 1 about the history of the craft and the importance of passing on these skills.
Year 4 were encouraged to play with texture and mark making. They made a functional object inspired by one of Jessica Mason’s projects. She developed the concept while on an artist residency in Spain. The boys’ making efforts resulted in beautiful explorations of organic marine forms.
We will not say much about the Year 5 project. You will be able to have a good look at the work during Expressive Arts Week but we do want to mention that their project has an interesting conceptual twist.
We are grateful to have had Jessica in our art room. We loved watching her share her passion and knowledge in such a graceful manner. We wish her all the best in her creative adventures and we promise to keep an eye out on her work for future inspiration.
You should too!
https://www.jessica-mason.com/
https://www.jessica-mason.com/instagram
