Putney Sculptor To Help Battersea Children Get Creative
Sophie Marsham will help create permanent artwork for garden project
Make art and picnic in a 5-star urban garden, this July - all ages and experience are invited to an afternoon of collaborative art making with Putney based sculptor Sophie Marsham, hosted by Christ Church CE primary school Battersea in their RHS registered 5 star garden on Saturday, 4 July. Art made will be installed to adorn a log cabin nestled at the back of the wonderful garden, used by teachers and pupils for indoor learning.
The art workshop will run from 1:30pm to 5:30pm on Saturday, 4 July at 17-19 Fownes Street, Battersea, SW11 2TJ. Individuals, families and other groups may drop-in at any time. This is a great opportunity for people from all walks of life to enjoy a group process of creation and self-expression. Sophie will guide participants in a supportive and collaborative way to create figures, from wooden picnic cutlery, to reflect the diversity of the local area. Ages 8 and under must be supervised by a parent or guardian at all times. Please wear clothes suitable for painting in the outdoors. Unfortunately there is no disabled access to the garden.
A free picnic lunch for all will be served at 12:45pm, which will be an opportunity to sample the impressive range of garden produce. Donations to the school gratefully received.
Commenting on collaborative art projects, Sophie said:
“They are exciting because even when individual participants are not confident about their own contribution, you often find that they feel very proud of the overall piece. This has a very positive effect on their self esteem. I find those with less experience often begin a session saying they can’t do something, but by the end they typically surprise themselves in realising that they most definitely can". Likewise, the act of doing something good for the garden takes the pressure off the individual contribution, and emphasises a collective experience of sharing, enabling children to learn together and feel good about what they each achieve.
| Headteacher Colette Morris commented: “We are thrilled to be hosting an art workshop to welcome new and familiar faces to our garden. Our pupils and their families need outdoor challenges. The majority live in flats with small balconies, and as many parents have long working hours their children can be restricted to sedentary indoor activities. Parents and staff would otherwise have limited access to outdoor learning”. Photograph: Michael Thomas Jones |
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Since 2009, the school and their local community have worked hard to transform the once disused allotment, ensconced between buildings on the Falcon Estate which borders the school, into a thriving and productive garden educational resource. Effort, funding and goodwill given over the years by volunteers, donors, pupils, parents, siblings and staff continues to be of immense value to existing pupils and residents, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds. The school has successfully developed the wider curriculum to include horticulture and outdoor learning, resulting in a real impact on their pupils.
March 17, 2015