ARTSCO Service - GIN Posters & Ushering

This week ARTSCO has been working on making posters for the Hunger Banquet for GIN. We were assigned the task of creating three panels to sit behind each of the three tables at the banquet - a panel for high income families, middle income families, and low income families. We found the panels and measured out the sizes of paper, and decided to do white chalk drawings on black paper. I thought that this was a good idea as it creates a very stark and powerful effect. The club met for our meeting in the art room and we set out the three pieces of paper, splitting into three groups to design what we were going to do.

The low income group decided to do a landscape type design with a road snaking up the paper and small huts and fields on the sides. There was also a city on the horizon with large factories spouting out fumes, and piles of trash at the front of the picture. We wanted to show how impoverished members of the community often live extremely close to large cities, and we thought it would be a good way to highlight the contrast between the two lifestyles (and diets).

The middle income group struggled the most with their design. It is very difficult to capture what it means to be a middle income family. In the end, they decided to do a mixture of different things that they felt represented their current lifestyles. At the front of the picture was an artcafe table with two cups of coffee sitting on it, whilst above was a globe and aeroplane, graduation cap, and manner of other objects.

The high income group had the easiest job out of the three. Their picture had a crystal chandelier hanging at the top with piles of coins and champagne at the bottom. It was all very regal, and got the point and atmosphere across extremely well.

We met a total of three times to finish the posters, but we managed to wrap them up in time. The group worked extremely diligently on these, and I loved the mood in the room as we all worked. The medium of chalk and paper was slightly difficult, as it smudged a great deal, but we all got the hang of it as time progressed.

The second service event that ARTSCO has helped out with is the play. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday ARTSCO members helped to usher at this event. We were required to wear white tops and black pants for the event, and had to be there half an hour before the play started. Our roles included handing out programs, ripping tickets for those entering, waiting outside after to direct people through the back entrance, and assisting during intermissions. It was a pretty stressful role to play, but everyone did an incredible job and stayed calm throughout. I ushered on Friday night, and I think that without ARTSCO there would've been a great deal of complications during the event (especially as there was food and drink being sold outside and we were the ones who had to make sure that no food or dink was brought into the auditorium). I hope that ARTSCO made a valuable contribution to the play, and I know that I personally enjoyed it a lot. I hope that we will be able to usher again for the next production!

HeArts Trip - Hospital visit!

On November 5th I went on another HeArts trip. This trip was a little different from the other ones that I have attended, as this time we went to Gertrude's hospital to work with the kids there. I was a little apprehensive before we set out, as I knew that the kids would be a lot smaller than the ones we'd been working with, that they may never have really done art before, and that they'd be difficult to interact with. We loaded up the bus with two huge boxes full of supplies and when we arrived traipsed down to a little playground at the bottom of the hospital. Next to the playground were two small rooms where we decided to do painting and mosaics. Outside we set up for bracelet and mask making, which I thought were quite good ideas for activities.

I decided to spend my time outside working on bracelets with the kids, as I've never done this activity before. I must admit that even I was struggling with the technique at first, but luckily I soon got the hand of it. At first there weren't many children with us, but as time went by we became one of the most popular groups. First the kids had to choose three colors of string, and then had to loop them around each other (making a 4 shape) and tie knots. I worked mostly with two young kids, a boy and a girl. They were both 10 years old, and the girl was a resident at the hospital (she had a drip in her hand) and the boy was visiting (as his mother worked at Gertrude's). It was surprisingly difficult to explain to them how to make the bracelets, as they had trouble understanding which way to loop the string round, and how to pull the knots up and tighten them. However, I sat with them both for quite a while, and by the end they were successfully making the bracelets. They both finished two bracelets in the time we were there, and left with them on both wrists. I think that this was a really beneficial activity for me personally, as I effectively developed my communication and interpersonal skills through the explanations that I had to give. Working with children who aren't as healthy as those I have been interacting with before really does offer up new challenges and perspectives.

I had a lovely time making bracelets with the kids, but I feel that I need to work on getting them to open up to me more. They were very quiet at the beginning, and though they did grow more talkative as time went by, they were still pretty closed off to me. I think that this trip was great because it's different from any service I've ever done before - I've never had the opportunity to work with hospitalised kids, and it resounded with me. Next trip I think that we should bring along more supplies and maybe have a few more activities planned though. Maybe asking the kids themselves what they'd like would be helpful.

[Pictures coming soon!]