Posted: 14/09/10
Students bring art to life
Foundation diploma art and design students visited Mansfield’s market place today (10 September) armed with life-sized paper models of some of the town’s folk.
As part of an induction project their challenge was to venture into the community and take photographs of consenting members of the public and then return to the Chesterfield Road art studio to recreate the people out of just paper and tape.
Five paper models were created – two of Cecil the old man, Doris the lady with the cat, Ben the skater boy and the busker man. Despite the rain, students positioned the life-sized models around the market place to gather the interest of the public.
Student Katie Martin (26) said: “It’s been a great project to undertake. The public we approached to take part in this were very willing and welcomed our ideas’’.
“We have a number of options what to do with the models next. There’s the opportunity to display them in the Mansfield Town Hall, or we may place them in gardens and plant seeds in them and watch nature grown in and around them to see how they change.
“Another idea is to burn them and take photographs and then sketch the colourful scenes which are created from the flames.”
Art and design tutor Julian Bray added: “Getting the students involved in this communal project during their induction period has been very valuable.
“It’s been interesting to see the students working with art in a three-dimensional way and they’re looking forward to drawing the models before deciding on the place they will display them.
“I’m very pleased to see that this project has enabled them to work together creatively and has given them confidence in working with the public.”
