Coombeshead Academy hosts local artist Alistair Lambert for sculpture workshop
Year 10 3D Art students from Coombeshead Academy in Newton Abbot, part of Education South West, have taken part in a two day artist workshop funded by The Helen Foundation this month.
The Helen Foundation is a charity to enrich the experience of young people in all branches of the arts in Teignbridge, South Devon. They subsidise arts-based workshops in schools led by professional artists.
The funding from the foundation allowed Coombeshead Academy to connect and work with a Devon based sculptor Alistair Lambert in sessions arranged by DAISI. DAISI runs an ongoing programme of artist-led workshops in schools, non-formal education settings, and communities. Alistair Lambert studied at Norwich Art School before completing a BA in Sculpture at Chelsea School of Art and an MA at the Royal College of Art.
The students aim was to produce a large commemorative piece of sculpture, to hang in the new gallery stairwell in the CREATE department at the school. Initially the students did some research and drawings focusing on WW1 aviation. From the drawings and the large array of 3D materials on offer, the students were given the creative space to develop an individual large piece of sculpture supported by Mr Lambert.
The students were introduced to a range of techniques and processes to create their sculptures, such as drilling, manipulating and combing materials along with exploring a range of different colourful surfaces. The students really made the most of Alistair’s knowledge and got stuck in with the workshop, producing a wonderful selected of pieces linked to WW1 aviation and flight.
When asked at the end of the day to reflect on their experiences, participants said In my opinion, this was a very interesting and fun experience and I would love to do it again and my thoughts on doing this at first was crazy, but I really enjoyed it. I love the creativity that the artist showed us and he was really helpful throughout the workshop
Helen Coulson, Headteacher at Coombeshead Academy said:
“I am so grateful to The Helen Foundation for supporting us to put on this amazing workshop. Not only did the students take a huge amount away from spending two days with a successful professional artist, we now also have a new sculpture to hang in our gallery!”
Matthew Shanks, CEO of Education South West said:
“I was delighted to hear that these Coombeshead students got to take part in such an informative and creative workshop with a local artist. The CREATE Creative Arts Academy at Coombeshead provides such a brilliant arts education and I am proud of the range of creative disciplines they offer to Newton Abbot students.”
