Art and design pupils are a sensation

Jan 28 2009

High school pupils from across South Lanarkshire are showcasing their work at the Sensation display at the National Museum of Rural Life.

Art and design pupils from Hamilton Grammar, Larkhall Academy, Cathkin High School, and St Andrew's and St Bride's High School contributed their own work as part of a 10-week project to further develop their participation in specialist design areas.

The project also aims to promote and reinforce the importance of the design process and expose the pupils to practising, professional designers.

The groups worked to the 'Sensation' theme while exploring a range of different design areas including jewellery, ceramics, digital design and product design.

Throughout the course of designer-led workshops the focus was on the design process rather than an end product. Split into three distinct sections, the programme addressed the research and exploration of themes and resource materials; the creative development of ideas; and execution of the final pieces in the display.

Larkhall pupils studied digital design which involved making initial drawings, manipulating them using computer software and had their fabrics printed at the Centre for Advanced Textiles at Glasgow School of Art. They also used their own fabrics and a range of other materials to design and make bags along with a number of canvases.

Pupils at Hamilton Grammar studied product design, researching what products they could develop to make lunchtime easier by photographing and recording information and then developed these ideas for products, made mock ups and tested them before making final models of their products.

St Andrew's and St Bride's pupils studied ceramics and carried out a range of experiments with clay before designing and making finished pieces relating to the sensation theme. Their work at the display showcases ceramic tiles, pots, and various shapes including a shoe, guitar and mobile phones.

And pupils at Cathkin tried a range of experiments with jewellery and working with sketchbooks designed a finished idea which they developed into a piece of jewellery. Both their sketchbooks and final pieces of jewellery are part of the display.

A number of the pupils also visited exhibitions at the Brazen and WASP studios and the Centre for Advanced Textiles at Glasgow School of Art. Pupils also visited the Mackintosh Re-Interpreted exhibition at the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery.

Organised and funded by the council's cultural co-ordinators, the project was delivered by designers Suilven Plazalska (Jewellery), Lorraine Robson (Ceramics), Louise Chappell (Digital Design) and Florence Andrews (Product Design). The project has also been supported by the staff in the art departments at each school.

Stephanie Toms, cultural co-ordinator, said: "I'm delighted the Sensation project has celebrated its third very successful year. It's a fantastic achievement for the pupils to have the opportunity to showcase their skills at the National Museum of Rural Life."

And Sharon McMachon, art and design teacher at Larkhall Academy, added: "This has been a wonderful experience for the pupils and myself. It has opened a whole new approach to design in the school curriculum. We now have the Photoshop software on our network and can incorporate it into many aspects of our courses.

"The pupils soon understood the opportunities afforded by the technology and were soon creating some fantastic images. The pupils loved this project and turned up full of ideas and enthusiasm every week. Jenny and Louise, the designers, were great with the group and were fantastic role models. The trip to the Art school and the CAT centre was very educational as it allowed the pupils to see how their designs were printed."

The work can be seen at the National Museum of Rural Life in East Kilbride until Wednesday 18 February.