Blogging back-log. Nearly a month ago, the final work was unveiled at Lockerbie Academy, the work of three artists (myself, Morag Macpherson and Kirsty Turpie), the teaching staff at Lockerbie Academy, and nearly 150 students from the school who were involved variously designing fabrics, collaging and casting. The final piece now has pride of place in the schools main foyer.

It’s been a rewarding project ultimately, as over a period of five weeks we built up relationships with students, got pretty indepth into our cuttlefish knowledge, actively encouraged risk-taking and mistake making designs, and for everyone to find ‘one think they liked about their work’… They surprised me too in the end, as we had arguements over sharing art work, and heated discussions about the value of public art, and the point of art making in the first place. Pretty deep stuff from an intelligent bunch. Even if they did think MacDonald’s would ultimately make Lockerbie the town of their dreams.

There was a pretty orange theme running through my workshops. On a side note, has anyone ever managed to buy these gloves in SMALL sizes? Really, large ones are clearly designed for giants.

What is art for? Why do we make art? Who do we make art for? I worked with three first year class groups, all of whom were buzzing with ideas and potential answers for these questions, as well as suggestions for improvement in their own locale. Debate over the cost of bronze sheep these days rose high over the classroom, I as the ever unhelpful answer could give no definitive value as to the current market value of bronze… but hey, artists can’t know all the answers, right?

Finally, a big THANK YOU to Spring Fling, the amazing enthusiastic arts department at Lockerbie Academy, the three classes I worked with and the wonderful students, Kirsty, Morag for all your patience and insight, and Barry Young for taking the photographs. Thank you!