First weaving project

After weeks of waiting for enough wool to arrive (then realising its all slightly different shades!) my first woven scarf is complete!

Warps measured....

onto the loom...

threaded heddles...

ready to weave...

halfway... 

and finished!

Ok so I got in a bit of a pickle with putting the warp on and the edges aren't exaclty straight, but for my first project, I'm rather proud of it! Just needs to be washed and it's ready to wear :)

First lesson...

10/11/11

After a busy morning of helping with my tutors assembly (about remembrance day, so moving i actually welled up) and pre-prep break (entailing cutting up 120 pieces of fruit and delivering it with boxes of bread and milk to the classes in a stylish tartan granny trolley), I finally taught my first ever art lesson!

Over the next half term, we will be looking at and making our own environmental art, and this weeks lesson was based on the work of Andy Goldsworthy. We looked at a sample of his work and discussed how and where it was made, what we like about it etc then went outside to make our own. (Yes, I had tested this on my art club a few weeks ago). I was so impressed with how excited and engaged the children were with the topic and they all worked really well, even those I had worries about.

I've now taken 2 groups with 4 more to go before I can move on to the next lesson, but it really is rewarding and I'm really enjoying it! Even if I cant go a day without being called Mrs instead of Miss and Beach instead of Hill, but we'll get there.....

Dresses and ducks

 

Textiles club- getting busy designing dresses and accesories for the fashion show project, very exciting!

The highlight of my week however, was being given a toy duck and asked to make a 'special' version of it as a prop for a year 7 play. Having never made a stuffed toy in my life I guessed my way through it, but am quite pleased with how he turned out, and have had dozens of  'can i have him?' and 'can you make me one?'s, from staff as well as the kids!
I am now on task of making Daddy duck, who is at least twice the size, not as cute and cuddly but I think more comical...

Birthdays and bonfires

3/11/11

I tried to keep my birthday quiet. No such luck. But having the entire boarding community sing happy birthday to you, a lovely cake from the kitchen staff and a card signed by all the boarders was worth the embaressment of trying to drink my morning tea whilst the whole canteen was mid song.




Art club was spent making pipecleaner and sgraffito fireworks, inspired by the display the following night, which was one of the best fireworks displays I have ever seen.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

Back to reality.
After a half-term break of relaxing/completing teacher training applications, I arrive back at Hazlegrove and straight into work.

Wednesday afternoon was spent with the year threes (both classes at once!) making clay sweet chestnuts. They really enjoyed themselves working in clay and I was very impressed with their efforts, which were rewarded with a bonfire, marshmallows and chestnut roasting outside.

A great welcome back.

Typical...

I have to admit, it was always art that I wanted to teach. But being realistic I concluded it would be far easier getting a job as a DT teacher -as there was an apparent shortage a couple of years ago- and I grew to be more and more comfortable with this decision.

This morning, however, I wake up to read this- A TES article that gives me no encouragement that I will find a job without difficulty once qualified.

'Things go from bad to worse for design and technology'   

 

First it was hit by the EBac, and now its compulsory status is at risk

It is the most popular non-statutory subject at GCSE, has been a compulsory part of the national curriculum since its inception and, its advocates say, is essential to Britain's economic growth. But the future of design and technology (D&T) is now under threat, according to a high-profile group of campaigners, including inventor Sir James Dyson, fashion designer Sir Paul Smith and yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur.
They fear the subject - currently compulsory between the ages of five and 14 - could be relegated to an optional part of the national curriculum under the Government's review, and that too few schools recognise its value.
The Design and Technology Association (DATA), which recruited the stars to its "Believe in D&T" campaign, says the English Baccalaureate has already damaged the subject. The league table measure, which requires GCSEs in English, science, maths, languages, and history or geography, is leading to job losses among D&T teachers, according to the association's research.
A survey of 170 members this summer found that 46 per cent said their schools had plans to reduce the number of D&T teachers or technicians. Three-quarters said they would have fewer pupils than the year before. The DATA also noted that there were no D&T jobs advertised in TES a fortnight ago - a situation it describes as "unprecedented".
Now it fears the new national curriculum could make things even worse by taking away the subject's compulsory status in favour of more "academic" options.
"For Britain, being better than our global competitors in the long term demands a generation of problem-solving, academically minded young people who are ready to use their hands and brains," Sir James said. But, depending on the forthcoming curriculum review, Britain risks being a less inventive place.
"To our economic detriment, D&T is under threat. D&T is the most popular optional subject. It mustn't be sidelined."
The curriculum review is facing lobbying from a variety of directions, with supporters of citizenship and ICT also fighting for their subjects' inclusion in the compulsory curriculum. But a strong campaign from RE supporters this year failed to get the subject added to the EBac alongside geography and history.
The DATA believes the UK's current economic problems give its case particular weight. It argues that D&T must remain compulsory if chancellor George Osborne is to give substance to his "made in Britain, created in Britain, designed in Britain and invented in Britain" rhetoric.
"D&T is about much more than woodwork and needlework," said DATA chief executive Richard Green. "It covers a wide range of knowledge and skills, including product design, electronics, computer programming, textiles, graphic design, as well as encouraging innovation and enterprise, which are all skills our economy clearly needs.
"The views of business leaders are clear. Removing it as a statutory subject will seriously undermine the country's economic prospects now and in the future."
A Department for Education spokesman said: "The EBac is not compulsory and is only one measure of success - pupils should study what is right for them. It makes up just five subjects, so there is plenty of time left for further study."
What is D&T?
In 1989, when D&T was created, England and Wales became the first countries in the world to have a compulsory technology curriculum.
Its roots are in craft subjects like woodwork and needlework. But today it also includes modern processes such as computer-aided design and manufacturing, and aims to encourage innovation and enterprise across science, engineering and technology.
The Design and Technology Association says it is the most popular subject at GCSE and the "least truanted" in the curriculum. - well that's some good news I suppose

http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6124278

Planning, planning, planning....

My half term week of relaxation is getting less relaxing each day...

Firstly, I gave myself the task of completing my PGCE applications this week. Having narrowed down my choices, which wasn't really too hard - Cornwall SCITT, Exeter Uni, South-west SCITT and Bath Spa Uni, all to do secondary DT - I'm now worrying about fees. We all know they're gonna go up next year but as of yet the government funding and bursaries plan hasn't been announced, and I really don't fancy adding best part of another 10 grand onto my student debt....
So I'm thinking about the GTP (Graduate Teacher Programme) where you train whilst actually working- and getting paid! But have no idea where to start applying for this... There's also the issue that there are no providers for DT in Devon or Cornwall, which is where I'd ideally wanna stay...
And even after deciding on all this I now need to write a personal statement, something I haven't done about me rather than my work in over 3 years... :S AND THEN there's references- who to choose? Uni tutor or senior staff at hazlegrove?

I MUST get this done today....

Once my life-planning is complete, I then need to work on lesson planning.
I've been told I'm to teach year 6 art after half-term, and the only instruction is to make it something to do with the environment....
Now my experience of lesson planning was to give a 15min lesson to 2 other 20-somethings during the SAS (Student Associate Scheme, not the more hardcore one), which went ok. But 3x 40min lessons a week to 15 11-year-olds.... another matter. Not to say I haven't thought of any lesson ideas, in fact I'm quite proud of some and think the kids would really enjoy them, but they mostly involve going outdoors, and I'm not sure this is a good idea during our miserable english winter...
But I'm up for the challenge, and figure this is the make-it or break-it scenario I need to really help me decide one way or another if teaching really is for me.

That's what this year is for, after all.

Vintage Crafts

Came across these babies in the art room the other day, going back to 1990. Shame there's no recent ones with my fellow crafties in...

Textiles Club

18/10/11 - Junior Textiles club. Teaching the little ones how to weave on the loom, they picked it up really quickly and I couldn't get them off! I think getting time on it to do my own project next half term may be a challenge....

 

I also set my seniors their 'Project Catwalk' brief this week. I've been looking forward to this for a while now and they're all very excited about it, especially the fashion show in front of the judges! aka me and other unexpecting teachers I manage persuade to do it....

Year 3

As part of year 3's last two art lessons, I took small groups to create a woodland scene along the dt corridor...

 Printing with strips of cardboard + leaves...

More weaving practise

Will hopefully get on to starting an actual project after half-term...

 

Pottery

Friday afternoons I help with the Pottery clubs. It's nice to be working with clay again, I kind of neglected it after the first year of my degree but I plan on getting my hands messy more this year :)

 7/10/11 - Harvest veggies

 

14/10/11 - Clowns

 Mine on the bottom right :)

Looooom

On hearing that I was interested in textiles, the art teacher went on the hunt for a loom they used to have in the department. It turned up a week later, completely in pieces and I was given the task of assembling (and learning how to use) it. This loom must be going on 50 years old and the only instructions I could find on the net were in Dutch.... but I think I managed to guess my way through it, with some help from the DT teacher making the parts that were missing.

The Louet W70 4 treadle loom

My first samples (they're not much to look at but are helping me get to grips with working the loom...)