Dissertation

I am currently researching for my dissertation and hope to have a first draft written by the start of September.

I am looking at school and classroom design and the impact it can have primary children’s education and learning.

I visited my old primary school at the start of June. I was able to spend the morning observing a primary 3 class, looking at how the teacher and children use the classroom. I then spent the afternoon looking round other years and their classrooms. I spoke to some teachers who taught me when I was in primary school and some other teachers that have not long qualified. I also talked to the children about their classrooms and what they liked and disliked. I found some of their suggestions very interesting and it reminded me how creative children can be.

One of the girls in the Primary 3 class made this card for me.

Balmerino

This Spanish Chestnut is in the grounds of Balmerino Abbey in Fife and is thought to be about 450 years old.

I really like the textures and form of the tree.

Simulate Stimulate - Salt Lake Bothy

The final project of third year, started very different to the other projects. It was a much more expressive brief, making us experiment with different materials and drawing styles.

We were to find 3 sites in and around Dundee and investigate these sites through drawing.
My 3 sites were:
1. An a banded area of land looking onto a Pylon
2. A ruin on the coast just south of St Andrews
3. An abandoned set of stairs on the road to Broughty Ferry

After exploring all 3 sites through drawing and mixed media, I choose to look more closely at the coastal ruin. I loved the location of the ruin and the materials and textures on the site.

After further research, I discovered the ruin is on the Fife Coastal Path, which is a popular walking route. I then decided that I wanted to bring new life into this ruin for walkers, that is why I choose to design a bothy. Bothys are usually found in the mountains and provide shelter for walkers.
I wanted to keep as much of the old ruin as possible, I wanted my design to respect the sandstone structure and compliment it. I designed a glass structure that slots into the existing sandstone walls.

Trip to Lugano, Switzerland

As part of the GIDE project, we were to join seven other schools in Lugano to present our projects. While we were there, we were split into groups of about thirteen to complete a different project.

We were all given different places to visit in Lugano, my group going to the culture museum. The museum was full of artefacts from Africa, Indonesia and South America.

After our visit to the museum, we were to create something in a wooden frame cube which represented our visit to the museum.

The great challenge of this project was communicating with everyone. It is very difficult to get your ideas and thoughts over to other people when you don’t speak the same language. It cause some frustration in my group to start with but we all ended up working well together.

Our group split into smaller groups and worked on different elements we wanted to represent in the box. My small group designed a light box using the pattern from clothing and had some music from Botswana playing from inside the light box. Another group created a cardboard representation of the masks we had seen in the museum and then the other group make a sort of web with string which linked the different cultures together.

Whinny Brae

Whinny brae was the second project of third year and the brief was given to us by GIDE (Group for International Design Education). The brief title was ‘Innovative community's’ and given to eight schools across Europe. It was then up to each school to tailor a brief from this title. Our sight, Whinny Brae is located in Broughty Ferry, just outside of Dundee.

Whinny Brae is used mainly by parents and children going to the school at the bottom of the hill, but the steep gradient makes it a challenge for all users.
Our brief was to redesign this space for the community, working in groups of three. For the brae, we proposed Whinny Park. Whinny Park is a space for the whole community and not just about the journey from the top of the steep hill to the bottom but about fun, education and self sufficiency. Creating three pods staggered up the hill there are new and interesting spaces for all the community of Broughty Ferry to enjoy.

The Glass House will be a communal garden for keen gardeners and also a useful space for Eastern Primary and cross curriculum education. It is a space that children of all ages can understand and grow their own plants and fruit and vegetables. The suspended glass pond to the back of the glass house also acts as a water collector, contributing to its self sufficiency. It is heated and lit at night by solar gain during the day.

The Teaching zone offers an alternative space to the classroom to help enthuse and inspire, providing a space in keeping with modern teaching methods. It has been greatly inspired by the whaling history of the area. The tall whale bone like structure acts as a semi shelter and creates a classroom like space that can be used by various groups within the community, Eastern Primary and Girl Guide or Scout Groups as well as any adult organisations.

The Play zone provides a space for use by the parents and children of Eastern Primary School. It is somewhere parents can drop their children or wait for them after school. Using rubber mounds and a climbing wall on the back curve creates a fun environment. A raised level crossing leading from the play zone to the other side of the road provides a safe place for children to cross. The use of grass and integrated mesh has an impact on drivers speed as it is an unfamiliar surface and defines clearly that the space is different and encourages cautious driving.

Early Years of Uni and College

College

I attened West Lothian College where I completed my HNC in Art and Design before going to Duncan of Jordanstone.

Various still life drawing classes.



These images are from a sculpture project I done at College about the relationships between nature and man made products.


This is an item I made durning a Ceramics class.

University

Life Drawing

Throughout first year we attened life drawing classes to help our drawing skills.

Illumination

The last project of first year was Illumination. We were given a light fitting and bulb and told to design and make a lamp. I made hundreds of wire discs and dripped them into a liquid coloured plastic.

Furniture

Furniture Project was the first group project we took part in. It was great fun to be able to design something and then get into the workshop and actually make what you have designed.

Book Making

As part of a sustainable project, we attended a book binding course at the DCA.