In February, we delivered a day workshop at Borders Textile Towerhouse. Pupils were there to come up with ideas and put an exhibition together, Vision 2014, about their local High Street. They concentrated on their local delicatessen, Turnbull’s, a fabulous little vintage café/shop.
Here we are with some of the pupils, helping them to brainstorm ideas.
To inspire them, we started by delivering a brief presentation introducing them to design, typography and illustration from the Victorian era until now. Turnbull’s has a long history dating back to 1855. So we had the opportunity to show them some of our favourite artwork. One of the images we showed was this William Morris pattern.
By an extraordinary coincidence this is the wallpaper currently adorning the walls of Turnbull’s. We’d never set foot there before, and only found this out when we went there for lunch on the day.
The wallpaper looks green here but it was the exact same colour!
1940’s poster
Alphonse Mucha, 1899
George Barbier, illustrator
Antonio Lopez, illustrator
Erté
After lunch the girls announced that they wanted Sandra to create final artwork for two life-size figures based on their own drawings and ideas. We all did some more brainstorming together, and quick sketches were drawn for the final artwork Sandra would create back in Glasgow. Here is the result, and also the life-size cut out figures in situ at the exhibition opening on March 26th 2013 at Textile Borders Towerhouse.
Sandra’s drawings, life-size figures
Looking at the details, you can see that Sandra has incorporated some of the great drawings, pictured below, that the pupils did on the day.
Exhibition opening
The pupils setting up the displays
Ross Turnbull, the real proprietor of Turnbull’s, with his grandmother.
The pupils creating the displays
Brainstorming results!
It was a real pleasure to be part of this fantastic project. The pupils really did a wonderful job, and we’re glad to say they were really happy with Sandra’s finished artwork. Many thanks to Kelsey Jubin for inviting us to take part. And what a great way to connect pupils to their local high street and history through art, design and creativity!
Do check out Turnbull’s website http://www.turnbullshop.com/about and pop in if you are in the area. It’s a lovely place for a cup of tea and a snack!
One behalf of Scottish Borders Council Creative Learning Network I want to say it has been a pleasure working with Metaphrog on this project. Sandra and John facilitated the pupils' exploration and learning relating to graphic design throughout this project in a fun and creative way. The pupils really enjoyed their experience and gained much from their time with Metaphrog. The final artwork created by Sandra is beautiful and contributed heavily to the pride the pupils felt in relation to their final exhibition at Borders Textile Towerhouse in Hawick.
Many thanks Sandra and John!
Kelsey Jubin Scottish Borders Council Creative Learning Assistant
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April 26, 2013 @ 11:08 am
One behalf of Scottish Borders Council Creative Learning Network I want to say it has been a pleasure working with Metaphrog on this project. Sandra and John facilitated the pupils' exploration and learning relating to graphic design throughout this project in a fun and creative way. The pupils really enjoyed their experience and gained much from their time with Metaphrog. The final artwork created by Sandra is beautiful and contributed heavily to the pride the pupils felt in relation to their final exhibition at Borders Textile Towerhouse in Hawick.
Many thanks Sandra and John!
Kelsey Jubin
Scottish Borders Council Creative Learning Assistant