On Monday 5 June, the Art Department went on the annual Art Scholars’ Trip, this year to The Phoenix Studio, near Thame. They took a range of year groups from Year 7 through to Year 12, which included eleven Art Scholars and nine Art Ambassadors who had been selected by their teachers for their excellent contributions to the arts this year.
The following write up is by Head of Art, Miss Jiggens:
'Last year, we went on a trip to Bournemouth Beach but this time, we went to the Phoenix Studio for a lino printing workshop. It was run by the brilliantly talented Lizzie Wheeler LIZZIE WHEELER - Gallery who had the studio set up with printing stations and inking areas. The Phoenix Studio is run by our good Shiplake friend, James Ort James Ort – Ceramic & wire sculptor.
The students did an amazing job printing and all of them got it first time! At lunchtime, James gave us a tour of the studio, gardens, and kiln rooms. The students loved this and hopefully got a lot out of seeing a working artist's environment.
The whole day was a wonderful success, and the students were brilliant. The print outcomes were fantastic! I would like to thank Lizzie and James. My personal highlight was seeing all the different ages interact with one another; it was lovely to see.'
Brothers Freddie and R Stewart were on the trip with Year 12 Art Scholar Freddie saying:
'I had an enjoyable trip to Phoenix Studios on Monday. The studio itself was a really creative environment, with a calm and light atmosphere almost closeted from the outside world.
The trip was a nice opportunity to branch out and get to know the other artists from different year groups, whilst learning from the lovely people at Phoenix Studio. This was my first-time doing lino prints and I really enjoyed using the tools and learning about how to get a good finish with the inks.
The whole environment was topped off by all the chickens running around and the sun being out. All in all, it was a lovely day with lots of learning opportunities and really fun socially too. Thank you!'
R Stewart, a Year 8 Art Scholar, added:
'Since I am new to the Shiplake Scholar programme, it was great to be included on such a trip. Learning about lino prints with a real artist at The Phoenix Studio was a brilliant experience.
I loved learning a new skill, especially one that was so delicate and intricate. It was also great to go with my brother who has talked about Shiplake scholar trips before and how interesting they have been.
Phoenix Studio was light and peaceful, and it really felt connected to nature (especially with the chickens wandering around). It was a very creative place and it felt good spending a day creating in an such an artistic environment – thank you to the Art Department for organising this trip!'
