Specialist Speakers in Art & Design
(Posted on 19/09/17)
September 2017 was special in Art! We had three speakers who all inspired us about further study, careers and professional practice. Students in Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 attended the talks and some got to hear more than one of the visitors who were:
Jackie Hallmark whose work can be seen on Twitter @jackiediane72
Jackie is a Chester based illustrator and published author. She showed us her work, shared the ways she makes art within her business and told us how a career in illustration can work. Jackie was an interesting and informative visitor and her visit was kindly set up in part by Sophie Penk Year 9BY1.
Stefan Efobi who was the Graduate Fashion Week winner for 2017.
Stefan is a former Christleton Art student who is succeeding in the world of fashion. He told us to keep putting our work forward for competitions and to be resilient in the face of knock-backs and criticism as we develop as artists. Stefan was an engaging and exciting public speaker and his visit was kindly set up by Sarah Efobi Year 10LA2.
Lynn Hedgecoe who issued us with a graphics commission on behalf of the Vital Signs Foundation - details of which can be found @vsfheartcheck
The VSF is a charity which carries out heart checks to find heart defects which, previously undetected can then be treated. Lyn has commissioned our Key Stage S4 and 5 students to create a bank of graphic files which the charity can go on to use for fundraising. We are very happy to take up this commision. Lynn described her vision for the collaboration with CHS Art very with energy and enthusiasm. Look out for our submissions @ChristletonArt
Here is what some of our students thought of their experiences:
Jackie Hallmark
Jackie came into our lesson and told us all about her career as an illustrator and artist. It was very interesting hearing all about it and she said that it took her six hours to draw a beautiful picture! She even has her own book with amazing drawings. I really enjoyed that lesson and hope to see more like that soon. Emily Edmondson Year 8La1
Jackie came into our lesson to show us her paintings and she told us about her job which was lovely to listen to. Her job is to make paintings from photos that people send her. Lots of her paintings are detailed and were great to look at as they went around the classroom. She told us about when her career started and how she got into painting and became an illustrator. She has her own book which has got some amazing artwork in it. I really enjoyed this lesson and hope to see more like that soon. Stephanie Jones Year 8La1
Stefan Efobi
On September 20th, we had a special guest visit in the Art Department. Former CHS student, Stefan Efobi came to tell us about his journey through Art & Design, including visits to different countries. First of all, Stefan started by telling the class about what it’s like to take Art (Fashion) at university, and how his choice of going to Manchester University changed his life completely. He definitely inspired some of the class and really taught people valuable lessons about life. He went on to show us some of his artwork from his portfolio. He said that some of his art was inspired by things that he had seen in some of the countries that he had been to, including Ghana. Some of the work, which won The Textile Innovation Prize, involved spinning waste wire from landfill to make very soft fibre which he then used to make knitwear designs, which included the jumper he was wearing. As well as the Textile Innovation Prize, Stefan was the 2017 winner of Graduate Fashion Week. More visits from people like this should be organised in school, as it teaches students lessons about their futures and what they can do in their careers.
Will Nuttall & Isaac Colhoun Year 10 GCSE Fine Art students
An award-winning fashion designer came into our school to give a talk. Stefan Efobi went to Manchester MET University’s Art Department to study fashion. I found the talk with Stefan extremely inspirational, despite not wanting to become a fashion designer myself, because he gave us tips about making decisions about our futures. On top of being extremely humble about his huge success he really brought the whole eye-opening experience home when he explained to us that he too sat in classroom A13 when he was a student at Christleton High School. The fact that a previous Christleton student was able to go on to win graduate fashion designer of 2017 fashion week was brilliant! He is now going on to work with Victoria Beckham, Paul smith and many other big names. Everyone at Christleton High, wishes him the best of luck, and we hope to see his shops in London, Tokyo and SoHo very soon.
Georgia Thomas Year 10 GCSE Fine Art
Lynn Hedgecoe - Vital Signs Foundation
In Art, in September, we had a talk by a volunteer from a small charity called VSF. The Vital Signs Foundation is a small North West charity which is making a massive difference in identifying previously undiagnosed heart defects and potentially saving lives in young people aged 15 - 35 years old. Its work is inspired by a 25 year old young man named Chris, who passed away unexpectedly due to sudden cardiac arrest. The charity was set up by his family, who aim to provide free and effective heart screening events for young people.
After a brief explanation about the charity, Art students in Years 10, 11 and 12 were commissioned to create a graphic design for the charity to use for fundraising purposes. We were given lots of freedom to create or own ideas and everyone will come up with something different. Some will then be turned into stickers or Christmas cards or other commercial or advertising materials. This will help the charity raise funds, whilst also giving us the experience of working as graphic designers, as well as artwork to add to our portfolios.
Millie Riddick and Meg Connor-Scahill Year 11 GCSE Fine Art Students
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