Costs and Sessions
All my sessions count towards Artsmark and Arts Award status and I am widely experienced in working with schools
as an Arts and Creative Partner. I’ve also twice led my school to Gold Artsmark and can help you to achieve the same.
Full DBS clearance. Public Liability Insurance held. Established and experienced with recommendations on request.
MY STANDARD RATES (inclusive of tax, NI and all on-costs):
FREE
Whole school staff meetings ( theory and hands-on )
£120
PRICE BY NEGOTIATION
Staff sessions can include ANY of these activities OR specify your theme or requirements and I will plan and deliver this for you at no extra cost.
Scroll down to find even more sessions to have a go at…
Whether you are looking for exciting practical art sessions, reflective P4C, creative thinking skills with De Bono’s Six Hats or working towards your Artsmark or Arts Award, there’s something here for you. This list is not definitive so if you require a more personalised or specialised session please just ask.
All sessions are suitable for Early Years including Nursery, KS1, KS2 or KS3 except Stone Sculptures (which are too demanding for the littlest hands, but I also run an alternative tailor-made sculpture session especially for KS1 children so nobody gets left out!)
Willow and tissue 2D and 3D structures
Cost: £270 per day
Let me show you how to use a combination of flexible willow strips, tape, cling-film and tissue paper to explore the infinite number and styles of 2D and 3D constructions that can be made on almost any theme. Learn how to construct a basic skeleton to form a 2D shape, brace it to create a strong 3D shape, secure it and layer it over with tissue paper (wet strength or regular) to create colourful and impressive light-weight strutures which can be hung or displayed inside your building or art-space. A real hands-on activity with exciting results in a medium you may not have used before.
More details and photos to follow…
Mining Art Heritage Projects
Through the eyes of Ashington’s Pitmen Painters, Durham artist Norman Cornish and L.S.Lowry
Cost: £270 per day
Explore and learn about your local mining heritage through a range of different art media and creative techniques. Improve your artistic skills using chalk, charcoal, mono-printing, painting, sketching and drawing techniques to create images linking past to present in your local area. This is accompanied by local mining history facts and information to give you and your pupils a sense what life was like above and below ground for everyday people a century or more ago. It also encourages individual interpretation and can form part of a wider school project or a stand-alone activity for its own display.
Details and photos to follow…
William Morris clay tiles
Cost: £270 per day including all tools and designs
Get inspired by natureas we explore William Morris’sorganic designsmost often seen on fabrics, wallpapers, soift furnishings and tiles.I will show you how tocreate your own individual clay tile in the style of William Morris without simply copying one of his. This session includes some obervational drawing, self-directed design (with support where needed), experimentation and of course hands-on clay tile cutting and scribing using a range of tools and markers to indent the clay. Be bold, be creative and be delighted by what you can produce.
Details and photos to follow…
Stone sculpture and carving workshops
Cost: £270 per day including all tools and safety equipment.
Small additional charge at cost for Thermalite blocks
(approx £3 each – two pupils can share a block).
Fully risk-assessed activity to create individual, permanent, light-weight weather-proof sculptures to display indoors or out which look great, are truly rewarding and improve the appearance of your learning environment. Work with me to carve individual Thermalite blocks with your own designs, creating long-lasting pieces which will complement any area in your school, gardens or grounds. All work is carried out in complete safety with small groups at a time (6 maximum for safety and rotated to give everyone a good experience). Price includes all safety equipment including safety gloves, goggles, dust masks and all tools needed. Outdoor space to work in (ideally under cover) necessary for dusty work. We can create individual pieces or collaborative artwork by placing them together for maximum visual impact.
A great way to increase creativity, positive thinking, develop social awareness and collaborative artistic skills, as well as creating beautiful artwork your staff and children will be proud to keep on display indoors or out. You choose the theme or I can bring ideas for you.
Scarecrow Making
Cost: £270 per day including all tools and safety equipment.
Combining a sturdy wooden frame, recycled clothing and eco-friendly filling, watch as your scarecrow takes shape, gets his or her own character and stands proudly on duty against the birds in all weathers. They look great in a school garden guarding your well-tended plants, mounted on a wooden stand inside the building to welcome and surprise visitors or they can be secured to a fence or wall if open space is already in demand.
Bodies are stuffed with straw inside a weatherproof membrane to give each scarecrow a fair chance against the elements. Finished scarecrows can be displayed indoors or out, have their own scarecrow assembly or parade before finally being sited wherever you’d like them to live in the school grounds.
Modroc Modelling
Cost: £270 per day plus Modroc (approx £30 per project)
More than one class can take part during the day
I will introduce to you and your class (or extend your previous experience) Modroc plaster bandage as a versatile and alternative medium with which to create solid 3D models and structures. Beginning with drawings, we will form a skeletal structure (usually cardboard or light wood for smaller models up to sturdy wooden skeletons for larger creations) with chicken wire for shape.We will then design and build the model by soaking, layering and shaping Modroc onto the frame to create solid structures with fast results. Modroc creates solid and lasting sculptures which can be painted, sprayed and pierced or added to with other embellishments on any theme or topic.
Models can be free-standing, table-op designs or wall-mounted. Previous examples have included animals (including at 3D tiger), a pupil of the world (see pictures), cars and buildings, historical people and places, famous local landmarks, 3D puppet figures and masks, but I will work with you to make anything you want to.
This activity is messy and requires a “wet area” for working but I never leave without clearing up completely and the results are always extremely rewarding and original!
Printing workshops
Cost: £270 per day including materials
More than one class can take part during the day
Your children will learn how to make mono-prints using Easiprint soft tiles to create their own unique designs to print onto paper or cloth. These could be portraits, animals, themed ideas or anything else you choose. Multiple prints can be made with the same printing block in different colours to create repeated patterns or wrapping paper effects.
Children love seeing the magic of their own print revealed for the first time and the results make fantastic and rewarding displays. Designs can also be used as individual pictures, calendars, part of a group or class display or even a whole school portrait gallery. Even the used printing blocks themselves make fascinating and unique display pieces. I provide all materials, guidance and support for your children and staff to lean basic printing techniques which they can use again in the future.
Silk Painting Workshops
Cost: £270 per day including materials. More than one class can take part during the day
Create beautiful hangings, drapes or display pieces using bright and blendable silk paints on real silk. These can be hung loosely for display or framed for wall mounting and made in almost any size or shape in any indoor location. I will show you how to master the techniques by planning and designing your image, outlining on silk and filling and flooding using brushes and silk paints. We can use traditional patterns and shapes or your own designs on any theme. Learn how to produce beautiful artworks that you can keep and display and be proud of. (Warning- silk painting is guaranteed to become addictive!)
Dip dying
Cost: £270 per day including materials
More than one class can take part during the day
Learn to create beautiful patterns on cotton with vivd colours using dipping and tying tecniques, brusho inks and silk paints. Find out how tying and binding the cloth with string before dying and tying in pebbles or beads can affect the design you create. This process, self-contained on a table or worktop, just requires some hanging space for drying (I’ll even bring a portable washing line) so that by the end of the day you will have an array of bright and colourful hand-made pieces to show in class or assembly. No two pieces are ever the same and as this process is suitable for any age-group the results are always amazing. Children love to see their creation emerge as the cloth is unfolded for the first time to reveal their own colourful design which can be used for display, framing, calendars or hemmed to make a display cloth or doily. Pieces can also be sewn together to make a patchwork if desired.
Drawing and painting skills development day
Cost: £270 per day
More than one class can take part during the day
Starting with classroom-based techniques, I will work with you to develop observation skills and show you ways to re-create what you see in and around your school using simple drawing materials.
Take drawing inspiration from stimulating objects, the building around you and the school grounds to create unique pieces of artwork which will help both pupils and staff to develop drawing skills and confidence. Learn how to use proportion to create drawings which look more realistic, use viewfinders to focus on the important bits, find out how to create texture instead of flat lifeless shapes and discover depth to your drawing using simple perspective techniques. We will also gather sensory reminders and inspiring images sketch-book style throughout the day to improve ability and confidence in future drawing and artwork.
De Bono Thinking Skills Days
Cost: £270 per day including materials
(Staff training sessions also available- staff meetings, twilights or full / half training days)
Edward De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats days will introduce you and your class to creative and imaginative ideas using exciting critical thinking skills. By wearing one of the six thinking hats at a time, your pupils will learn to approach tasks and challenges in six different ways to develop positive can-do attitudes to learning and problem-solving. The day involves a series of different practical tasks, scenarios and puzzles to negotiate using individual and collaborative thinking skills. I encourage children to think laterally and originally to find solutions and positive outcomes as well as learning to work together and share their thinking for the common good. They can then apply these skills to their own work and learning beyond the session. This works well as a full day with one class or two half day sessions with a year group.
Philosophy For Children(P4C)
Cost: £270 per day including materials
(Staff training sessions also available- staff meetings, twilights or full / half training days)
I will give your class (or group) a full introduction to P4C- no previous experience needed- and engage them in thought-provoking scenarios and discussions to generate creative and rational thinking, new ideas and most of all a greater appreciation and understanding of each other. Using plenty of visual imagery, collaborative writing, chosen topics and discussion points, thought starters (aka “THUNKS”) and a host of creative ideas, we will explore the real issues most relevant to your class, school and society. You choose the topic or I can provide lots of relevant and stimulating Enquiry Questions. An ideal way to develop pupil voice, confidence in speaking and listening and encouraging greater co-operative and collaborative engagement within a class or group. Discussion, shared writing, and creative self-expression all take place within a Community of Enquiry ethos.
Amazing outdoor display
Cost: £270 per day including all weatherproofing/ varnishing, finishing off and returning to school for siting
I will work with you and your staff and pupils to create attractive, unique, weatherproof and long-lasting designs to display on school buildings or around your school grounds. Ideal for inspiring outdoor areas of the school such as walls, corners, developing garden areas, trellises, doorways or play areas, these can be tailor made and fixed to almost any surface. They can also be designed as free-standing images on posts which can easily be repositioned if necessary. Themes, shapes, sizes and designs are unlimited. Made on exterior plywood for durability, painted using acrylics and safe exterior varnish, your children’s designs will not only make your school environment much more attractive but give a unique and rewarding sense of ownership to the people who made them.
Murals, signs and permanent on-site paintings
Cost: £270 per day – materials charged only at cost
As well as working “solo” to create bespoke artwork and signage on almost any area or surface of your site, I am more than happy to work with pupils and staff to generate, collect and sample ideas for unique artwork. I work on your basic pre-prepared surfaces (eg. emulsioned wall or woodwork) or on MDF/ exterior ply boards using a mixture of acrylic, emulsion paints, outline marker pens and weatherproof lacquer to produce virtually any image to suit your preferred theme, size of artwork and colour scheme. Children’s designs can also be incorporated. Schools on limited budgets often choose to enhance one area at a time whilst others choose a whole room, area or corridor for example. Individual signs or slogans specified by you can be created off-site and brought to you when finished (usually within 3 weeks depending on size). Be as adventurous, innovative or complementary as you wish with your design ideas and I will turn them into reality for you .
And finally…
I try to minimise costs to you as much as possible by using free or existing resources or sourcing quality best value materials at cost only.
Please contact me without obligation to discuss your requirements. All sessions can be varied to suit your particular needs or specialisms.
Christopher Howlett
Creative Arts Consultant,Teacher and Education Artist
Full DBS clearance. Public Liability Insurance held. Experienced with recommendations on request.