On Monday 10 February, we were delighted to welcome back ceramic and wire sculptor, James Ort, to the College for a day workshop with our Year 10 GCSE and Year 12 A-level art pupils.
James began the day by demonstrating to the pupils how they should start by drilling holes into a base, before threading wires through the holes to secure the feet onto the base. Our artists were then given pliers and other tools to bend and cut the wire, before James then talked our pupils through how they should shape the wire to define the muscles to provide an accurate initial shape. He also showed them how to bind the wires using zip ties initially, which our pupils would then later replace with thin wire to secure the shape of the animal.
For our pupils, it would have been the first time many of them have constructed anything with wire, and they would find it to be very exciting and enjoyable. One of the challenges when working with this material is achieving the right shape as with wire, everything is interlinked. However, come the end of the day and end of the workshop, our pupils had created spectacular shapes and pieces of work in the shape of animals.
Head of Art, Miss Jiggens, says:
‘We were thrilled to have the incredible James Ort host an all-day workshop in the Art Department for all our Year 10 GCSE and Year 12 A-level art students! This marks the 6th time James has visited Shiplake, and we couldn't be happier to welcome him back. His ability to inspire students to experiment with new materials is fantastic, and it was an amazing opportunity for our students to elevate their coursework by working three-dimensionally for the entire day. Creating their own wire animal or insect sculptures with such a talented artist was simply fantastic!
Our students were fantastic, putting in tremendous effort all day. Wire is a challenging material, but they all rose to the occasion brilliantly. This year the outcomes were bigger and better! A huge thank you to James Ort for returning to Shiplake, and we eagerly look forward to having him back next year!’
Flickr album: James Ort Wire Workshop 2025 |
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