Trinidad Art Society 2005  

Review of the Summer Programme 

The Trinidad Art Society recently concluded its successful 2005 Summer Programme. Approximately 45 children attended, divided into two daily Sessions, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., over a two week period.

The programme was available to children from 7 to 14 years of age, a disparity that posed a challenge to the children, and to the structure of the programme. It meant that sometimes small people had to make an intellectual leap across the gap.

The Society was offering two subjects, Painting and Sculpture, each being presented on alternate days.

The teachers were both professionals in their respective fields, one having had many years of teaching experience in Art at Secondary School level, and the other being a regular exhibitor at local galleries. They were ably assisted by the property manager, Mr Gregory Williams, whose affable and intuitive personality provided a calming influence that smoothed out rough moments and Miss Brenda Rivers, who learned about flasks of coffee and kept finger marks off the walls and paint off the floor! The clay programme charged the children with preparing the clay by wedging and kneading before they began to build their projects. In this way a knowledge of the material was gained, and an appreciation for its limitations and plasticity. They modeled clay heads, learned to produce coiled pots and constructed wind chimes.

The pictorial programme was arranged simply with the first week being devoted to basic design principles, moving into colour work in the second week. They painted with emulsion paint and large brushes on newspaper, 'drew' with string and used a variety of mediums and scraps from the fired pieces, to develope creative compositions of variety and interest.

The materials and the projects, whether two or three dimensional, inherently imposed their own discipline on the children, inviting a conscious response.

The children were from diverse schools, some of which did not offer Art as a subject within the syllabus, so they came to the course with no prior experience. Frequently this was challenging.

The hours were long and they got tired, but in spite of the drawbacks, the results often surprised even the teachers, with the 'little people' producing some of the best work.

The results showed that everyone had risen to the challenge in their own capacity, and it is hoped that each has taken away some new insight, which will influence the future course of their work or thought.