Kids in Action - art workshops

Kids in Action is a Environmental Projects day as part of Australia Post's Kids Teching Week.  The 2012 Australia Post's Kids Teaching Kids Week is an annual event educating children on enviromental issues, hosted as a free national program for kids helping them to find solutions to complex environmental problems like climate change, water, waste, conservation, energy, drought, population and pollution.  Throughout the week school kids will perform songs, comedy, dance, routines, poems, plays etc., for their classmates to deliver messages about the environment.

Kids in Action official title; Sunshine Coast Kids in Action Conference is designed for kids to learn through workshop processess. The event provides an opportunity for Sunshine Coast youth to develop skills, capabilities and confidence in taking action and building leadership around environmental issues. It builds on the Kids Teaching Kids model, in engaging and supporting local schools to address a local environmental issue, though curriculum inquiry and strategic teacher resourcing and training in effective environmental education.

Karen Shaw from Brush Turkey Enterprises Coordinator along with Clare Kiltley have invited four artists; Tricia Dobson, Noela Mills, Jill  Braiden and myself to each facilitate a workshop (consisting of four forty minute block sessions) as part of their Environmental Projects Day for the kids on the theme "Tree of Life" at the end of the workshop sessions the artworks created will feature in an installation (at the conference dinner conducted by kids for kids) onto a Tree - the Tree of Life a three dimensional wooden structure/scuplture designed by Tricia.

Each artists concept addresses the theme, Noela's 'Leaves of Life' will consist of recycled fabric dyed with onion skins using all natural/non-chemical dyes, Jill is making paper clay objects - semi abstract forms representing the human population, and my component is focused on 'foundation to awareness' making tree roots from recycled cord, jute, and fabric. Tricia who is co-ordinating the arts component of the Kids in Action conference and will be assisting us on the day.

A couple of images I came across of exposed tree roots for inspiration...

 

My box of goodies for the day...cords, jute, string etc.,

Using a mixture of different textures and an example to go by on the day, my 3D draft - a metre length tree root coiled around itself,

Another view; each tree root created on the day will be tied to the base of the three dimensional wooded Tree (Tree of Life).

 

 I really enjoy workshops and creating with kids, the spontaneity and their sense of fun and is infectous - its going to be a whole load of fun!