In the final workshop, children each decorated a letter that spelled out the name of their school, The Mill Academy.
Worsborough Summer Art Project
In July and August 2022 Barnsley Art on your Doorstep undertook six workshop sessions.
We worked in conjunction with Worsborough Library, Worsborough History Society, students mostly of years 5 and 6 of the Mill Academy, Councillor John Clarke and Bright Box. We based the content of the workshops on some of the artists featured in our book and in the exhibition at the Cooper Gallery in 2014.
The top image is Blue Sky Barn painted by Barnsley born artist Barker Fairley. Below is how one of the children in the workshops interpreted his painting.
Each session was attended by at least 10 students and lasted for 2 hours. The project culminated in a display of their work in the library, chosen by the students themselves.
The sessions comprised:
- Making nests and drawing in the style of Abel Hold.
- The history of local glassmaking and the artistic works of the Tate Family and Kenneth Graham followed by painting glass jars and making playdoh shapes from moulds.
- A discussion of the work of Kenneth Graham in relation to Worsborough, followed by students interpreting his drawings.
- Lettering and the art of calligraphy.
- A discussion of the travels of Thomas Witlam Atkinson and creation by each student of a map of Central Asia depicting landscapes, flora and animals of the region.
- In our last session, students used their calligraphy skills to decorate the letters spelling out the name of their school, The Mill Academy.
We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Tricia Wilson and the Worsborough History Society in putting on the sessions.
On the left above is an interpretation of a local scene by one of the children in the workshop in the style of Barnsley artist Kenneth Leslie Graham. On the right is a map showing the travels of Thomas Witlam Atkinson in Central Asia, decorated by each of the children in the workshop.