SENIOR SCHOOL

Earlier this month, all Year 12 and 13 art students were given the opportunity to take part in a two day intensive course in Life Drawing led by Dora Paynter. Saturday concentrated on short poses, executed in a range of media, in order to train the eye and focus students’ attention on the proportions of the human body. Sunday allowed for more extended poses where all were able to complete a canvas or multi-media piece, which clearly showed the developments and improvements from the previous day’s work. This was a great opportunity for both students and members of staff who took part, to really concentrate for an extended period of time and some excellent results were produced.

The following week, 27 GCSE and A level students enjoyed an extended one day workshop with Adrienne Craddock, a specialist fine art printmaker who produces unique, limited edition, hand coloured, drypoint & collagragh prints.

Her images conjure fabulous narratives of characters from dreams, myths and fable.
She uses her experiences of living in a Northern Pennine landscape and of growing up in rural Herefordshire to inform her striking images of birds and beasts.

After showing her own work and explaining her sources of inspiration, Adrienne worked with the girls to produce prints taken from their own drawings. She gave a series of useful demonstrations after which students were able to work enthusiastically to create a range of prints using both drypoint and collagraph techniques.

It was a very rewarding day in which students and staff learnt new and exciting techniques which can be further explored in class.