I am delighted to have been selected by We Are Staffordshire / Staffordshire County Council to be part of an art project celebrating what Staffordshire means to school pupils. The artwork I created with two Year 6 classes at Werrington Primary School to celebrate Staffordshire Day is on display at the World of Wedgwood from 29 April to 6 May.
Staffordshire Day is held on 1st May each year and is when the county comes together to share its pride and celebrate all that’s great about Staffordshire.
In my art workshops we started by discussing what Staffordshire means to the children and we all agreed it’s a large county with a diverse range of things to offer - from beautiful countryside to the Potteries industry to the well-known Alton Towers attraction. I focused on teaching the children different pen drawing techniques. They were all enthusiastic and had a go. Take a look at this We Are Staffordshire video to find out more.
Some children also incorporated collage work with printed material kindly provided by JCB, Alton Towers and Adam Ball, a Staffordshire based Arla farmer.
Each child designed a tile-sized piece of art (a nod to Staffordshire ceramics industries) that created a large artwork for each class. This mosaic of tiles helps show the breadth and diversity of what Staffordshire has to offer.
Simon Warburton, Executive Director of Lichfield Cathedral and We Are Staffordshire Place Board member said, “We Are Staffordshire recognises that pride in our County needs to start as young as possible. We were delighted to scale up last year’s successful project to involve even more schools this year and commission a number of artists to help inspire some of Staffordshire’s school children.”
Philip White, Deputy Leader at Staffordshire County Council said, “We have a lot to shout about here in Staffordshire, and over the last years we’ve used Staffordshire Day to tell the world what a wonderful place it is to live in and visit.
“The celebrations are for everyone and it’s great to see the children and young people getting involved in the day and showing what the county means to them. I’d encourage people to try and get along to see the displays during the week.
“1st May is the anniversary of Josiah Wedgwood setting up his pottery company in 1759 and helping to transform Staffordshire into the centre of the world’s ceramics industry so it’s fantastic to be able to display some of the work at World of Wedgwood.”
At the World of Wedgwood, I also have some of my art on the walls at the two Michelin-starred chef Niall Keatings restaurant Lunar. My art has been re-homed from the main restaurant into the intimate and aptly named Botanical Garden bar.
Please get in touch if you’d like know more about my work or are interested in attending one of my Kate Dawes Studio interactive pen drawing workshops or would like me to run one for your school, event or group.