Mark Sherrington (RS 75–86) on teaching art through lockdown
Teaching Art online during lockdown was a challenge for Head of Art Mr Sherrington (RS 75–86) and Mrs Morris. The idea of teaching a practical, messy subject online filled them both with horror! Mr Sherrington writes...
We managed to get through it by coming up with creative ideas or projects which we delivered from home every week but at times we did feel a bit like a combination of Tony Hart and a 'Youtuber!'
One of the most surprising things about that period was how the GCSE and A-level student in most cases created more work. Not only were they obviously enjoying time away from the screen making Art but the work was also more personal and considered. The time doing Art quickly had become a time of solace and escape from their situation.
The online lessons quickly became a supportive, self-help group where each week one of us would share our artwork online and the rest of the group would give feedback.
This form of teaching reminded me of being back at Art school in seminars or 'group crit' sessions where we would all chip in and discuss each other’s work. The result of this more mature approach to criticism and peer assessment was that the pupils would respond and act upon the advice. Even the A-level photographers seemed to be motivated to make stronger images and relished the chance to visit different locations.
It was a period that reminded me too of the advice given to me on my Teacher Training when, a very experienced and gifted Art lecturer had said to me, that most of Art teaching could be summed up in one phase: ... 'spend longer on it'. And that is what the pupils were doing and with tremendous results. The exhibition at the end of the year was not only a success but perhaps more importantly it looked as strong and as thorough as any year.
Year 10: James Gilman, chalk on black paper
It was an important lesson to have learnt from the whole period of Covid; I needed to make time in the school year for more group assessment, peer assessment and time for discussion and reflection about the work. Most of making Art is after all reacting to what you have just done – it is recognising that one part or an area is working better than another and trying to respond to the work and make the work better. The lockdown online teaching period had brought that into very strong focus and demonstrated how imperative it is to Art education. I felt that in my busy school term I had perhaps lost sight of that a little.
On our return to almost normal lessons the priority has been trying to find the right balance between making sure the pupils catch up but also ensuring the lessons are fun and active as they should be... but also trying to stretch and challenge the pupils too. Not an easy juggling act! But in the back of my mind I was also conscious that it would be important to allow that old fashioned atmosphere of the Art room to be established again. Of course we all remember Art lessons at school as being the one where you could get up and move around, chat a little, make a mess, have the radio on, etc and this has been sorely missing in our department over the last 18 months, and the children needed that period in their school week.
Year 10: Hockney Painted Trees, with Mrs Morris
With Art we have recognised that drawing, particularly with the younger years, and understanding and even patience with drawing has suffered from time away from school. Rather than trying to give the pupils intensive drawing lessons or weeks of catch-up sessions we have tried to look for excellence elsewhere rather than concentrate on shortcomings in the observational drawing. After all, it is not the Pupil's fault that he or she is a little behind in terms of drawing, dexterity with materials and understanding of expressive qualities of materials, so there seems little point in reminding them of this. Instead we have taken a two pronged attack: 1) trying to make the PROCESS as technically good as possible, looking for excellence there (the etching/lino/print-making etc), and 2) finding new ways of tackling drawing and thinking and understanding over a longer period of time. But of course we have also been aware that we need the Art room to return to a place where children don't just sit in rows but move around, try things out and the atmosphere is relaxed but productive.
An example of our attempts at this can be seen in a recent graphics project we have been doing with Year 8, where the pupils were tasked with designing a box of clothes pegs to go on a supermarket shelf. I had to find ways in which the pupils could understand how a box was made or formed and how by having that understanding they could draw or describe that better on a flat surface.
We started by making cubes with straws, fixing them roughly with masking tape. I gave the pupils little instructions and let them find out for themselves how many lines or edges they would need. Just constructing those was tricky but by physically doing it, moving and making the pupils I hoped would understand the shape better for drawing. Next we drew their constructions, but covered the paper in charcoal first, rubbing out the lines or edges using a rubber, revealing the white paper as the straws were white. After that I was able to demonstrate how if they flattened their straw cube we could print it by covering it in ink and rolling it through the press creating a terrific flat representation of a cube. Next we had a go at making a small pyramid out of card, photographed it using strong lighting and drew that too. The results were both fun and active but also helped understanding. We were then ready to make the net of a cube, cut out of card, but of course it was easier now to both make that and draw it because we understood the shape, volume and mass better and the construction process.
Year 8: Printed 3D straw cube
Cubes on charcoal
We have now moved onto typeface and designing onto the cube but again this should be more interesting and dynamic because of the pupils understanding of the object they are designing or decorating is deeper.
We did a simple exercise I had done on my Foundation Course years ago where the only advice I gave the Year 8 pupils was to 'activate the white square using only a smaller black square'. This was completed in silence, and then of course I was able to put into practice what I had been advocating following the lockdown period, and we had a long and heated discussion about which one worked best and why that was. I am hoping that this simple design exercise will result in better design work on each face of the cube... time will tell!
The excellence will come through redrafting the box several times and improving the build quality and the drawing is improving, admittedly over a longer period and through many ways of working, but the progress is tangible.
Another example of studio practice is with Year 9, who missed out on lino printing and drawing as a group in Year 8 and so have taken these this year.
Activate the square
I chose 'The Tool Box' as our theme because most objects could be drawn around on the paper, helping the students to gain confidence, producing a recognisable drawing immediately (not a practice one would normally encourage or advocate with this year group). I tried not to be too judgmental of the drawings in terms of quality and standard but instead concentrated on trying to make their designs and prints as good as possible, looking for excellence again through a process, in this case lino printing. We have made the designs more complex than normal, creating a very definite and accurate three-colour pattern that we will cut out in turn.
Year 9: Three-colour lino designs
We are lucky to have the fabulous Albion Press (which has been unused for two years because of Covid!) and I am looking forward to seeing the pupils rolling out ink and lining up to use the press and being excited by the results. I fully expect the quality of the prints to be higher than one might normally expect from this year group even if the initial drawing for those prints is a little below par. Because of the extended lockdown periods the drawing may take a little longer to improve this year but the pupils just need time and practice in the studio, and as an Art teacher I need to be patient in that area and allow the pupils time to develop their skills over the coming terms.
The Albion lino cutting press
One student who has not been standing still is Sophie Madden who was awarded a Scholarship premium in Art following her Grade 9 at GCSE and her stunning exhibition. What sets Sophie apart is the pace at which she is improving but also her skill and handling of paint and drawing materials. She is still only 16 and I am excited to see what she can achieve over the next couple of years.
The future is looking healthy and strong within the Art Department over the next few years. The terrific purpose-built studios that Ken Cooper helped design and set up are still working their magic and it remains a place the pupils can escape, be creative, inventive and more importantly express themselves using through Art and visual language. The importance of Art and expression has perhaps never been as important during these difficult times. There is even talk of a permanent Art Gallery space within the main school building which would be a welcome addition and help celebrate the pupil work.
One very welcome guest at the end-of-year Exhibition this year was Mrs Ceri Leeder, who I am sure many of you will remember fondly. Ceri was as encouraging as ever about the work and remarked how 'some of the happiest days of my life had been in this building'. I am sure there are many of us who would agree with that statement. •
Sophie Madden
