The writing on the Whale

Recently I completed a large wall at Falmouth Marine School for Cornwall College Student Union...

Besides the marine biology, there is also sailing, boat engines, boat building, kayaking, diving and marine science (weather etc) in the painting. All these subjects and activities are taught at the college.

All ideas were generated with students during an open day in the famous Cornish maritime college's fresher week in September, by sketching ideas on the wall that was going to be painted.

There were some great ideas, but when someone mentioned that the humpback whale was their favourite it sparked a whole round of unanimous approval that this was in fact everyone's favourite whale! The same thing happened when someone mentioned Hokusai's "Great Wave off Kanagawa" print, the most famous Japanese image of all time. So those two images where high on the list!

The college was open as I was working on the mural and all staff and students were encouraged to stop and get involved with more ideas and even some painting!

The turtle in the picture is based on the caretaker, Pete, who is seen as the 'backbone' of the college and the Puffer fish on the wall is based on his namesake, Pete Jnr, who lives in a tank in the Marine Biology department.

Sketches

Someone mentioned the 'wild' rubber ducks that float around the oceans of the world.

CN4C what's inside?

Yesterday I ran a Drawing On Things workshop to help the youth work team at CN4C (Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change) in Redruth, Cornwall create visual communication for the street outside which reflects in an instant what goes on inside their building.

There was a lot to squeeze in. This place is not only a center for youth work but also a training center for adults, employment advice, arts, hotdesks, information, community activities, a radio station and much more.

In this picture there are signs bursting out of the roof which symbolize the kinds of beneficial activities that can be found within and the whole community coming together to get the most out of the center. We also made sign boards with the same coloured background as this main board.

Young artists at CN4C activities day.

Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change (CN4C) is a tenant led regeneration organisation tackling issues connected with social conditions and the local environment.

Yesterday they held a massive activities day at the Astro turf pitch in Penzance for local young people from some of the more disadvantaged communities in the area.

A drawingonthings workshop was on hand for the creative and discerning.


We had a huge sheet of tarpaulin as a roof, just incase the rain (which was sitting in huge dark clouds above us the whole time) actually fell.


So, the theme for the workshop was "outdoors".


I helped a bit with some outlines and details but all of the designs and ideas were from those taking part and all of the colouring was completed by them too!


Amazingly, the rain held off until we were packing up.


There was a huge amount of effort from the young people involved plus a lot of laughter and serious skill development! Vibrant results like this highlight the importance of art activities in everyday life.

The artwork is to be hung in the CN4C offices in Redruth.