26 May 2022
Students studying art and textiles recently enjoyed workshops led by external specialists. On Wednesday 18 May, Jeanette Barnes, award-winning artist, and senior tutor at the Royal Drawing School, worked with Year 10 art GCSE students. The following Tuesday, Lower Sixth art and textiles students explored heat sublimation printing with local artist Sally Pharo.
Mrs Lucy Darby, Teacher of Art
Jeanette shared her drawing techniques with the students to help them explore and create their own cityscapes. Working from images of cities including London and New York, our Year 10 artists created compositions in charcoal and felt tip pen. Jeanette asked the students to explore their mark-making, consider compositions and, most importantly, take risks with their work. The results were exciting and energetic.
“The workshop was pretty challenging because the majority of the exercises were drawing in quite an unfamiliar way with techniques most of us haven’t tried before. But I think it paid off in the final piece and stretched us to try new methods and styles. It was a really beneficial workshop.” Florence W-W
"I really enjoyed the workshop, despite the challenges, as it allowed me to expand my drawing technique. It was an amazing opportunity for everyone as we were all taken out of our comfort zones and learnt so much." Willow W
Millie C, Art Ribbon
In our Sixth Form workshop we learnt a range of dye sublimation printing methods using a heat press. First, we painted sheets of paper with block colours of transfer ink, which we could later use to layer on top of. We next experimented with creating stencils from photos of structures, animals and portraits, cutting away sections to show the colours. This was printed onto fabric to create an exciting variety of effects. We also used the transfer inks to create interesting marks on the paper using sponges, cardboard tubes and other items, which we used later when layering and printing images together. One of the most exciting and effective methods was layering different fabrics, such as lace and mesh, as well as a variety of natural forms, like fern leaves, grasses and flowers, on top of blocks of colour. This created a colourful and dynamic piece of fabric, adding texture and pattern.
Through this very enjoyable workshop, we not only gained skills in using the heat press and different methods of dye sublimation, but also confidence in layering and experimenting with different fabrics and colours.
