Well I woke up early this morning as I had loads to do before I finally got on the road. -1deg and my icy windscreen took about 5 minutes to clear. By the time I got to Enniscorthy the temperature had risen to 2 deg and the road was frosty and busy. I still had some way to go and I had forgotten about commuting and what a pain being stuck in traffic could be. Anyhow I was listening to some jockey on Radio 1 who went to live in America and who practised the art of 'flipping'. I had no idea what that was, but it turns out, it's the same thing as bulemia, and most of the American jockeys do it to keep their weight down, without them having to worry about what they eat. It got me thinking again about people who leave 'home' for a better life somewhere else and end up trying to fit in with what is the norm were they are, and how it turns you into someone you never thought you would become.
Before I knew it I arrived at the school. It was a lovely country school on the top of a hill. I found my way to the art room where the Artist had a couple of kids helping set up the tables etc. I joined in mixing the paste for the papier mache project they were going to continue working on today. They were fortunate in that they had a designated art room so there was lots of room, despite the class being large, and today 27 out of the 31 were in attendance. They had previously started on the heads for the project. They were basing the heads on the 'Louise Bourgeois' piece they had chosen. This week they were going to attach the head to the 'shoulders'. We made the bases with 2L milk bottles that were half filled with water. The water in the bottle was it give it some weight to enable them to work with it in an upright position. There was lots of sticking cutting and pasting and curious questions being asked about my 'funny accent'. One little boy asked me if I was from Northern Ireland. It was such a pleasure to be among happy kids for a change. They were all very helpful and eager to get on with the task. I was also amazed at how they all were so attentive during the demonstrations the artist was giving. She has a lot of experience working in the schools and it showed. So much of the work is done before you ever get to the school and I know from experience, if you not prepared when the class comes through the door, you are in trouble. I learnt that her husband was the guy that gave me my bike lessons a couple of years ago too. After the big clean up, it was lunch time and I headed home. I had a great morning and am looking forward to going back next Wednesday to see how the 'heads' dried. They are going to prime them and then the real fun begins.. painting them up... I can't wait to see how they turn out. I wanted to find the image that they saw but wasn't sure which one it was so I am just adding a little clip about some of Louise Bourgeois work. I think she was a remarkable woman, considering she was discovered so late and also because she worked up until she died in her late 90's.
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