A LEARNING RESOURCE FOR TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOM

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1 A LEARNING RESOURCE FOR TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOM PRIMARY SCHOOLS PROGRAMME 2018

2 SCHOOL RESOURCES AND GALLERY TOURS Our school resources and Gallery tours are designed to assist Primary School teachers and students in understanding and enjoying the visual arts and exhibitions at Solstice Arts Centre. This resource can function as a classroom aide to familiarize teachers and students with artists and exhibitions before a visit to the gallery and can inspire ideas and discussion for groups. It includes brief introductions to exhibiting artists and artworks, introductions to arts terms and language, things to look out for on arrival, tools to inspire classroom discussion, as well as creative and cross-curricular activities post visit. A priority of our programme is for school children and their teachers to enjoy their interaction with the Gallery and the experience of learning through visual art. Our learning resources and tours should enable school groups to feel confident in engaging with what they are seeing when they arrive. We place an emphasis on active looking, discussion and creative thinking to embolden children to look, respond and form opinions, and for teachers to develop on ideas formed in the Gallery back in the classroom. This type of engagement with the arts can assist children in understanding the material world around them, enabling them to visually and intellectually explore objects, materials and structures. We hope that our programming can promote long term participation in the arts amongst schools and school children and can ignite an interest in and appreciation of the visual arts for personal fulfilment and enjoyment throughout their lives. We always welcome feedback from teachers and schools and we are interested in knowing if teachers find our resources and programming useful or if they have further suggestions or ideas. Please contact Edel at ecox@solsticeartscentre.ie or with any feedback or queries, or for further information on our exhibitions or schools programme. Teachers can book Gallery tours for free by contacting Edel at the details above.

3 INDUSTRY industry (n.): /'.nd.stri/, pl. industries 1. diligence in an employment or pursuit 2. systematic labour, especially for some useful purpose or the creation of something of value 3. economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods Industry brings together a diverse group of Irish and international artists whose work relates either thematically, or in terms of the processes and materials used to industries traditionally associated with County Meath. The exhibition examines how the work that many people living and working in Meath have found themselves employed with over the past hundred years is reflected in contemporary art practice, emphasising both the potential for creativity that lies in the everyday and the inspiration that professional artists draw from other peoples work. Agriculture, furniture design and production, stud farming, construction, carpet and textile-making, engineering, food production, small industry and mining are all represented in the show. Exhibition Themes: Represented Strands: History of People and Place Drawing Constructing and Making Painting Craft and Labour Construction Memories and Fabric and Fibre Remembering The following pages contain information on a selection of artists from our current exhibition. Teachers can use as much or as little of this document as they wish and we hope that it can inspire curiosity, engagement and discussion. Enjoy!

4 KEVIN COSGROVE Kevin Cosgrove, Cabin, 2016, oil on linen, 140 x 160 cm

5 KEVIN COSGROVE Kevin is an artist from Navan, Co. Meath. He is a painter and uses a type of paint called oil paint. Oil paint is different to regular paint in that the colours are more vibrant and it can take a long time to dry, sometimes days or even months. The subjects of his paintings are places where people work, especially people who work with their hands, for example farmers, mechanics, carpenters and builders. In his paintings, you will see workshops, sheds and factories. You will see machines being fixed, tools, benches and ladders. Kevin wants us to think about people at work, to show us that they work hard at their jobs or craft and that they practice their skills every day, like an artist. The Process Kevin explores Meath and Ireland looking for sheds and buildings that he thinks would look good in a painting. First he takes photographs of the scene he wants, he will then use the photograph in his studio to make his painting. He thinks about lots of things before he takes his photos. One of these things is composition, for example, how much of the shed to include in his painting, how much of the car to include, where to put the tractor in his picture. He also thinks about light when taking his photo, maybe it s better to take the photo in the morning when the light shines in the window onto the tractor, maybe it s best to take it at night time using the electric lights. When he is finished taking photos, he brings them back to his studio in Dublin. Kevin will then make a canvas and draw the picture from the photograph onto the canvas. Then he will take out his palette and put out colours of paint that he thinks he will use. Kevin will spend a lot of time mixing his colours to ensure that he gets the right shade. Kevin sometimes likes to start and finish his paintings in one day. When they are finished he will leave them to dry for a good few days before moving them.

6 GLOSSARY Painter An artist who uses paint to make his work. Subjects An idea or thing that is being discussed or reflected on Workshop Is a place where people go to work and make things, artists, carpenters, mechanics all use workshops. Craft A craft is an activity that involves a lot of skill, and is generally done by hand. Making clothes, baskets and furniture are all crafts. Scene A place selected for a photo or film. Composition The way an image is made up e.g. where the artist puts the tractor, how much of the door or car we see. Light Light is very important to artists, it help them to take good photos and make bright paintings in their studios. Canvas A canvas is made of a wooden frame and a piece of stretched material called canvas, this is what artists paint on and you can see them in the gallery. Palette - This is what artists put their paint out onto, they will squeeze out a variety of colours and use the palate for mixing their colours. Shade A shade of a colour is how light or dark it is, for example some shades of blue are brighter and some are darker.

7 Active Looking and Discussion: 1. Look at the artworks in the images, are they paintings, sculptures or something else? 2. Look at the first painting Cabin, what kind of place do you see in this image? What kind of job does the person who works here have? 3. Look at the colours in Cabin, how would you describe them? Are the bright and loud or soft and hazy? 4. Look at the colours in painting of the tractor, what colours do you see? 5. How does the artist use colour to create a certain mood or make you feel a certain way? Do the colours make the workshops look dusty and quiet? 6. In Cabin, where does the sunlight come into the shed? What time of day do you think it is by the light? What does the weather look like outside? 7. What do you think is happening in the painting with the tractor? Can you describe it? 8. Think about how these paintings are different from photographs. 9. What do you think the artist is trying to show us? What do they paintings make you think about? 10. Do these paintings remind you of something in your own life? 11. When you go to the gallery, see if you think the painting Cabin is bigger or smaller than you expected. 12. At the gallery, see if you can see Kevins other paintings, are they similar or different.

8 EIMEAR MURPHY Shallow Bend 2, Concrete and Wood.

9 EIMEAR MURPHY Eimear Murphy is an artist from Dublin who creates 2-Dimensional and 3-Dimensional art using common materials such as concrete and wood. She also sometimes uses paint and chalk for drawing. Her work shows her interest in buildings and homes and also explores ideas of surface, depth, texture and space. Her artworks can hang on walls like paintings or can sit on the floor like in these pictures. The Process Eimear constructs these artworks using molds. A mold is like an empty frame that allows you to create a shape, like the plastic molds you might use with playdoh or cookie cutters. First Eimear decides on the shape she wants to create and makes her mold or frame, then she places strips of wood into the frame and creates a composition, and finally she pours the concrete on top. Once the concrete hardens or sets, she then lifts the piece out of the mold. Eimear then decides whether she wants to add paint or markings to her work or leave it as it is straight from the mold. Glossary: 2-Dimensional A flat shape that has only length or width but no depth (thickness). 3-Dimensional A shape that has 3 dimensions, for example length, width and thickness (depth). Surface The outside layer of something, how the concrete and wood look from the top. Depth The thickness of something e.g. is the concrete thicker than the wood? Which has more depth? Texture The appearance or feel of an object, is it rough, smooth or bumpy. Process How the artist makes the work, what are the steps involved. Construction Something that is built or made. Composition How the different parts of an image or object are laid out e.g. where the wood sits within the shape as a whole, where the paint is put down. Sets When a material hardens e.g. concrete, or dough when baking a cake.

10 Active Looking and Discussion: 1. Look at the artworks in the images, are they paintings, sculptures or something else? 2. What materials has the artist used to make these artworks? Clue beside title. 3. What are these materials usually used for? Is there anything you can think of at home or school that s made from these materials? 4. Look at all the different shapes? Are the shapes unusual? Do some look like two shapes joined together? 5. Look at how some of the objects are flat, some are rounded and some are slightly bent. 6. Look at how the wood is slightly hidden from view, some pieces are slightly hidden in concrete, does it remind you of anything? E.g. objects floating in water. 7. What do you think they feel like? Do you think some parts feel different than others? Maybe some parts are rough, some are smooth. The wood would feel different than the concrete? 8. Look at the composition, see where the artist has placed the wood, look at the spaces around the wood, the spaces are filled with concrete. Is there more concrete space or wood space? 9. Look at the way the artist put some of these artworks on the wall and some on the floor, why do you think she did this? Do you think it s easier or nicer to look at this way? Maybe it s because you can see the back of the piece as well as the front when you walk around. 10. When you go to the gallery, think about the shapes she has made and how she might have made them.

11 EOIN MCHUGH Eoin Mc Hugh, once part of a living body 2016, wool, silk and mixed media, 112 x 64 cm / 44.1 x 25.2 in

12 EOIN MCHUGH Eoin McHugh is a multi-disciplinary artist, meaning he uses a number of different art forms when making his work, this includes painting, drawing and sculpture. He often uses textiles and fabrics, like this piece in the picture above. He often uses found objects like the rug above, this means that Eoin used a rug that he found rather than one that he made. He then changes this found object or rug into something new by cutting it up carefully and adding new pieces and materials. Eoin explores how our brains understand and process images, we see a lot of patterns and colours mixed together in his work and our brains have to focus hard to figure out what we are looking at in order to understand it. The Process The artist first finds some rugs and other fabrics and textiles that interest him, he often uses rugs from Persia and Turkey. The process he then uses is similar to collage, you may have used this before in school or at home, it involves cutting up a number of items and rearranging them into a new image. That is what the artist does here with these fabrics, he collects a few different fabrics and rugs and carefully cuts them up, he then mixes and sews these materials together to make the new rug that he wants. He thinks about the patterns and colour of the fabrics and textiles, the shapes he will cut out or stitch in and how it will look to you the viewer when it s finished. This artwork pictured here is made from wool, silk and mixed media. It might make you think of strange or foreign places, different countries and worlds, objects from the past, the people who made them and the people who used them.

13 Glossary: Multi-disciplinary An artist who uses a number of different types of artistry, such as painting, sculpture and video. Textiles A type of cloth or woven fabric. Found Objects Objects an artist has found. Process How your brain might understand something. Patterns A repeated design. Mixed media Using a variety of different materials. Weaving Linking threads together to make objects such as rugs and carpets.

14 Active Looking and Discussion: 1. Look at the artwork in the image, is it a painting, a sculpture or something else? 2. Look at the colours the artist uses in this artwork. Are they loud, bright and strong colours? How are they different to the colours in Kevins paintings? 3. Is it hard for your brain to figure out this image? It might be difficult with all the different patterns and colours mixed together. Can you see how the artist is trying to challenge the way we see and how our brain works when we look at something? 4. Can you see from the photo the areas that have been cut out and replaced by different fabrics? You might be able to tell from where the colour patterns change e.g. the bright blue grey material is new and the red patterns are the old rug. 5. What does this rug remind you off? Do you think of foreign countries and exotic places when you see this rug? Maybe Aladin and his magic carpet? 6. Think about how this artwork might feel? Rough or smooth? 7. Think about how rugs are created. Sometimes people make rugs by hand by weaving thread together over a long period of time. 8. Think about the place a rug maker or weaver would work, would it have looked like a room in one of Kevins painting? 9. When you go to the gallery, have a good look at the rug and try to see where the artist has added new pieces and taken bits away.

15 SELECT A RESPONSE ACTIVITY FOR THE CLASSROOM Pick an image from the notes or gallery that is your favourite, can you draw it? Can you colour it in thinking about the colours you are using? Try and match the colours as closely as possible. Use a variety of coloured papers, patterns and images to create a collage like the way Eoin made his rug. You can use old magazines or books. See how you can use old materials to create something new and unique. Using clay or plasticine, create objects or sculptures based on items found at home or in the classroom, just like Eimear. Pick an artwork from the notes or the Gallery, think about how it looked in the beginning when the artist started making it. They might have had all the materials laid out ready to use. Can you draw a picture of all the materials they used and what their studio would have looked like when they were starting to make this artwork. Write a story about your visit to Solstice Gallery. What kind of art did you see? Who did you meet? What was your favourite part of the visit? Can you describe in writing your favourite artwork from the notes or the Gallery? See if the person next to you can guess what it is. Write a short story about Eoin McHughs Rug, you could write about who made it, in what country, what year. Where did the person who owned it live? What else was in the room where it was placed? Look at the image of the tractor, can you write a story about this picture, who is the driver of the tractor? What happened to the wheel? Who is fixing it for him?

16 To download a printable PDF for your classroom, visit. Or contact Edel at ecox@solsticeartscentre.ie or for PDFs and tour bookings. Thank you!