Creative journeys begin with a residential in West Penwith

Year 12 Art, DT and English students enjoyed a fantastic two-day residential in West Penwith, where they began their creative journeys with an inspiring programme of workshops and exploration.

The trip began in the beautiful surroundings of Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, overlooking the iconic St Michael’s Mount. Here, Art and DT tutor and garden designer Mrs Cucknell introduced students to a series of mark-making workshops, encouraging them to collect visual inspiration from the subtropical gardens through textures, patterns and forms.

Head of DT Mr Baker then led a workshop exploring sculptural forms within the landscape, developing ideas and discussion around site-specific sculpture. Meanwhile, English students took part in a series of writing workshops led by Head of English and writer Mrs Selvey, exploring poetry and literature connected to Cornwall.

The group then travelled to West Penwith, stopping for lunch with a stunning view across to the Isles of Scilly from Priest Cove at Cape Cornwall. Art tutor and printmaker Mr Brett led a workshop in recording figures within the landscape, with the drawings produced set to be developed into new works back in the department’s print studio.

Head of Art and painter Mr Meads then showed students how to record the landscape through sketching, with these studies providing inspiration for paintings to be developed back in the studio.

As evening fell, a night walk to Cott Valley gave students the opportunity to explore the connection between words, atmosphere and history, led by English teacher Mrs Vaughan.

On Sunday morning, the group explored the Aleksandra Kasuba exhibition at Tate St Ives, as well as the sculptural work of Barbara Hepworth in her beautiful, tucked-away Studio Garden.

Throughout the weekend, students worked incredibly hard, learning new skills and producing a full portfolio of work to develop further back in the studio and classroom.

The residential was a great success, thanks to the enthusiasm, energy and full engagement of both the students and staff. It was a wonderful way for our new Sixth Form students to begin their creative journeys together, drawing inspiration from Cornwall’s unique landscapes, artists, writers and heritage.