SHEEPFOLDS AND PRINTED TEXTILES

Jane Dudman, a multi-media artist, worked with about thirty Key Stage 2 pupils at Skelton School, near Penrith, to produce a large printed textile for the school entrance hall. Although the final piece was a textile wall-hanging, its manufacture involved the children in developing skills in drawing, photography, printing and creative writing.

The preliminary visit to the folds at Mungrisdale provided the opportunity for the children to collect data in sketchbooks and with a digital camera. The circular nature of the Red Mire Farm fold suggested seeing it almost as a viewing platform from which a 360 degree panorama could be recorded. This idea led to the pupils working on segments of fabric which were dyed to suggest bands of sky, land and wall. Onto these were printed the photographic images of the landscape and, using simple string and card printing blocks which the children had made, textures of stone and grass were added to the surface. Some significant descriptive text was also added by blockprinting technique. Each completed sector was then sewn together as a large wall-hanging echoing the circular form of the fold in its landscape setting.

The success of Jane's printmaking and textile work was supported by further activities initiated by the staff in the school including writing poetry and music stimulated by the experience of visiting the sheepfolds.

Artist Jane Dudman
Contact teacher Graham Morley, Headteacher. Tel: 017684 84367

Photographs: Jane Dudman helping assemble the textile segments; pupils working on the printed textiles; the finished textile piece.