Kingsland Creatives

At the end of February 2007, a group from Kingsland Primary visited the Richard Deacon exhibition at Ikon Gallery. They spent a day with artists Geoff Broadway and Jo Russell Lacy, exploring Deacon’s drawings and sculptures at Ikon before returning to school to continue the project.

Over the following 6 weeks, the pupils experimented with different creative techniques, quickly producing drawings, prints, sculptures, models and collages.  Each week, the aim was to experiment rather than to ‘finish’ or ‘complete’ a piece of work and in this way, pupils developed a real understanding of the way in which Deacon plays with materials and ideas. The project finished with a walk during which the pupils collected objects that interested them, something that Deacon himself often does.

Following their time in school, Geoff and Jo used the pupils’ explorations as the catalyst for new works. Geoff encased prints made by the pupils in resin, referencing Deacon’s brightly coloured resin bricks, set into the pavement outside Ikon. Jo used some of the plants collected by the pupils on their walk to produce her own prints, creating an embossed, textured surface.

This project was funded by Birmingham City Council’s Art Education Award scheme and kindly supported by the Erdington Town Centre Partnership.