Sculptural Constraints Workshop by Susie Olczak
By Susie Olczak
I believe strongly that arts education should do as much as possible to mimic what it is really like as a creative in the professional world.
This workshop, for students at AccessArt’s Experimental Drawing Class, looked at the idea of the constraints that might come up when creating a sculpture for a gallery or public space, and hoped to give a sense, that often the things that might initially hinder a project, can actually be a source of inspiration and good starting points for creativity.
First of all I talked to the group about some of the issues that you might have when creating sculpture: i.e. sticking to briefs, making sure it stands up, is safe, won’t fall over, can get into a van and into a gallery space etc.
I asked students to get into pairs/small groups. I prefer group work as it allows for collaboration, skill sharing and brings a lot of energy into the classroom.
The groups then had to pick a ‘constraint’ written on pieces of paper on the table.
To access all content, I would like to join as…
AccessArt is a UK Charity and we believe everyone has the right to be creative. AccessArt provides inspiration to help us all reach our creative potential.
Paula Briggs, AccessArt
June 23, 2017 @ 9:49 am
Thank you Susie what a wonderful resource… and what great work by the students! It reminds me of workshops Sheila and I used to run called “Belonging to the Ground” and “Belonging to the Sky”, when we used to invite participants to make sculpture in response to descriptive phrases such as “tendrils curling” or “long thin slab”. Thanks Susie – great to have more posts from you!