Harrow Way Year 8 Art students enjoyed a trip to the Chalk Hill Blue restaurant, not for a slap up dinner, but to view the artefacts and artwork on display for their ‘Art Shop’ project. Butterlies, in partcular the Chalk Hill Blue, which is native to this area, formed the basis of the students’ initial research from which they had to design and make their own piece. The creative brief was to ensure their work would sit comfortably alongside the artwork displayed in the restaurant and could also be considered for sale.
Once back in the Art studios at Harrow Way the students created their artwork which ranged from ceramics, paintings and photographs in products such as plates, mugs, paintings, hangings and clay butterflies.
Chrissy Collins, Curriculum Leader for Art said: “The Chalk Hill Blue was the ideal location for the students to research this project. The restaurant has some interesting artwork and artefacts on display from a large wooden shape of a butterfly which has a sepia photograph of Andover on it to spoons and forks which have been cast in plaster. The students could see the variety in style and format and consider in which area of the restaurant they could hang their artwork in order to appeal to a potential new owner which was an important aspect of the project briefâ€.
It seems butterflies are inspiring a number of creative projects this summer as they also formed the basis of ‘Young Art in the Park’ which Harrow Way took part in at the Hampshire Collegiate School. Working alongside a number of other secondary schools the Harrow Way artists were tasked with creating an art trail of hand-painted butterflies in the grounds of Embley Park, once the home of Florence Nightingale.
Chrissy Collins continues: “ A number of exhibits from the trial at Embley Park were subsequently selected selected by Hillier Gardens to go into their Art in the Garden 2016 exhibition, including a number of pieces from Harrow Way which we were particularly proud aboutâ€.