Clay Creatures

Each Monday over the past three weeks, 20-21 have been delighted hosts of Henderson Avenue Primary School's  year two classes!

The pupils came along to make clay sculptures, but before getting our hands mucky, we studied tabletop sculptures and their properties, as well as discussing how they might have been made.

Children got the rare chance to handle the artwork, touching what the sculptures felt like and discussing how we think the artist made them.

The classes are studying endangered animals at school, and were lucky enough to visit our All Things Bright and Beautiful exhibition, which features some endangered creatures.

After visiting the artworks and talking about them, the pupils were asked to draw a chosen endangered animal, keeping in mind that they'd be expected to make the drawing into a 3D model. 

Once the sketches were complete, we all played with our clay, softening it and understanding it's properties. We were using lots of different tools, to create interesting marks and shapes.  

All of the models were very creative and interesting to look at. They have spent quite some time in the gallery spaces drying out. We are becoming really rather attached to some of them!

Some of the classes were so good at sculpting, that we had some time to go and visit the main exhibitions in the church spaces.

"Winter Wonderland" in the Chancel Gallery. Some schools and young people have contributed trees and decorations to our very festive exhibition.

"Open 2012" in the Nave Gallery, a beautiful setting for an exhibition of local artists' work

Children walked around all our exhibitions and were asked to choose their favourite piece of work and explain why they liked it, and what they thought it was about.


 One young man chose Irene McGrath's "Allium" and explained: "The metal ball is for Dr Fake, who has died and this is his life source, and it's in the church because it's being protected"
Another young girl liked this piece, also, telling us: "This has been an explosion in space and the big ball is holding onto the exploded bits, which are the little balls."

A pupil chose Jon Cocks' "Facebox", as their favourite artwork: "This piece has nails in and you weave your gold thread around the nails in a way around the faces and when you find the funniest one, you stop there and fire comes out"

Children were asked to look aorund at the architecture of the building and think about the fact that it used to be a church. Here are some comments on the building, and it's previous uses (they cheered our day up, here at 20-21!):
"The altar is where they put the babies what have already been christened, to let them dry off"
"The rose window was where angels used to sit, one on each side, to look after all the children."
"I can't find god"
"My favourite thing, is that there!" (pointing at a fire detector)


All in all, each of the workshops with Henderson Avenue Primary School, were very productive, creative and exciting. The children are currently working on their posts for this blog... keep an eye out for us uploading them in the next few weeks! Thank you to all the teachers and pupils who gave us such a treat by visiting us here at 20-21!



A Winter Wonderland comes to 20-21

This Saturday is the opening of a brand new Audience Engagement exhibition called Winter Wonderland. Lots of artists and groups from across the region have been busy making wintery trees for a festive woodland in the Nave Gallery at 20-21. The opening is a free event with lots of fun activities for all the family.

It's been a spectacle to watch the artworks coming together in the space, especially with the light shining through the old church windows.



This snippet of a beautiful glass piece is the work of local artist Gill Hobson. The light coming through from the church windows makes it one of the prettiest artworks in the show.



A taster of Nicky Dillerstone's tree does the work no justice. Come to see the whole thing for a really inspirational piece of work. Nicky offers a workshop where children and young people can create a similar tree using textiles and wire. Get in touch for more information.



Kirsty Champ's stunning willow sculpture is the central piece to the exhibition, standing tall above the other trees. It's hauntingly pretty in the church setting, giving the Winter Wonderland an eery air. Kirsty is an artist we use regularly for workshops with schools and families. Get in touch for more information.  

This handsome fellow is one of the few creatures in the exhibition. He was created by Winterton Juniors alongside an art teacher, in their school.

For more information on any of the artists, or about the exhibition, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the gallery on 01724 297070.