On the 13th January, myself and Jane Newcombe, Microbiologist and Education Volunteer at Forty Hall, went to Aylward Academy to meet two Year 10 Art and Design classes and a Year 12 Photography class.
We brought with us several digital microscopes, specimens of different plants from the Forty Hall Estate and a selection of images of artworks from Rob Kesseler’s ‘Silken Cells’ exhibition at Forty Hall.
The classes were introduced to the work of the artist, were asked to express for themselves what they thought each image looked like (for example a planet, a jellyfish or a Yorkshire pudding), and then had to try and work out what each image was actually of (seeds and pollen grains magnified).
They completed some analysis of images for their project sketch books, found out how the artworks were made and then used the microscopes and slides to create their own images of plant parts from Forty Hall & Estate.
The students’ artworks after being developed at school for their coursework then were on display at Forty Hall alongside Rob Kesseler’s exhibition and some more artworks by other local school students. Visitors and Forty Hall staff found them very impressive!
Here is a selection of them, we hope you enjoy looking at them.
Frances Cherry, Learning and Outreach Education Officer for Forty Hall.