Artists Annemie Melis-Dewitte and Helen Kenny worked with Paula Briggs and Sheila Ceccarelli from AccessArt, at Green Hedges School in Stapleford, leading a series of workshops which enabled children with moderate to severe autism to explore colour. The workshop sessions took place in April and May 2002 with year one pupils (6-7yrs old). The artists made three visits to the school over three consecutive weeks. The workshops were each one-hour long.

Prior to each workshop the room was specially prepared to enhance the experience of colour, and children were able to experiment with making colour by dying water, sand and play-dough, experimenting with paint, sorting shapes and objects and making prints.

The workshops were hugely successful - the children concentrated well, often for an hour (we had been warned to expect an attention span of 5 to 20 minutes). They enjoyed the physical exploration of materials (despite some being tactile-defensive). The learning support assistants and teachers welcomed the chance for the children to concentrate on art activities for a prolonged period, and all commented on how well catered for their pupils had been and how much the children had enjoyed the workshops.

The artists involved also felt they had gained a lot in terms of understanding the types of activity which these children responded best too - and also built good relationships with individual children. Just as importantly Paula and Sheila of AccessArt gained a new understanding of how colour might be explored through the online resource which was planned for part two of the project, below.

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The online resource

• This on-line workshop was created with in mind children with severe learning difficulties or who cannot yet read. The resource is easily navigable with a mouse, or touch-screen. The resource relies on the child's intuition to move around the resource - passive observation of animations is then reiterated by the child navigating through colour and image preference. By repeatedly visiting the pages within the resource and navigating freely through it, the child creates his or her own learning pathways and builds an understanding of the relationships between colours.
• The imagery created in the resource was carefully developed to be relevant and suitable for the target age group - pre-school and key stage one.

After discussion with the IT co-ordinator at Green Hedges about which software the children currently respond best to, and how children use the software, the resource has been designed to be of maximum use to learning at both home and school.

A child will start the on-line workshop by selecting a primary colour and exploring it through a simple flash-based animation. The child can then choose to add another primary colour to the first and explore the relationship between the two colours. The child is then taken, to a page which, again through animation illustrates how the two colours mix to make a secondary colour. The individual child's learning journey may be guided by their colour preference of just random selection, but will be led by their curiosity and ability to interact with the resource. The online workshop is flexible and the journey can end or continue to another colour for as long as the child wishes.

Navigation is through colour, text and sound, - but always in a very simple format. The use of text and sound are aimed at aiding language development and early reading skills. A simple flash animation of the BSL sign for individual colours is shown on each primary colour page, again to reinforce language development and to make the resource accessible to more users. Users can navigate the finished resource with a mouse, or by touch-screen.

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The Practical Workshops in Green Hedges School, Stapleford, Cambridge

Aims of the workshops

• For pupils to work with artists on practical workshops introducing properties and experience of colour.
• For artists to work closely with the teachers of the pupils to make sure that the activities were appropriate and being enjoyed by the pupils.

Questions asked by the artists, to the teachers, prior to the visit

Artist - How do we introduce ourselves to the pupils? Are there any specific ways we should address the pupils?
Teacher - Give clear, literal instructions.

Artist - Which children should we work with and how many?
Teacher - We will give you the children that we feel will most
benefit from this workshop. We suggest a ratio of one artist to one pupil.

Artist - Are there any 'triggers' that the children don't like - do they show any like or dislike of certain colours? (Colour preference?)
Teacher - No triggers. Some children know their colours very well. One girl seems to have no idea of which colour is which, we think she may be colour blind.

Artist - Are there some children who will not like being messy - some that will - should they be grouped accordingly or shall we create activities for both natures simultaneously?
Teacher - Yes, some children are tactile defensive - they don't like being messy. Also some children may be overwhelmed if presented with too much activity. A varied approach would be helpful

Artist - How do the pupils explore things - Should this limit the sorts of objects and materials that they have contact with?
Teacher - These children should be fine with objects. Close supervision should be made when working with small objects (paper fasteners, pins etc.). Some children put things in their mouths.

Artist - The pupils relationship with the representational? Do we have to make out exercises very literal or is there scope
for using objects out of context, for example an iron for printing or milk bottle tops for sorting?
Teacher -These children should be fine. Try and find out!

Artist - Would it be appropriate to work on a communal activity such as a giant collage?
Teacher - Yes, but not all children will want to participate

Artist - How do you start lessons?
Teacher - We address the whole class and bring them together. As the pupil's levels of ability are varied, individual tasks are set out

The Workshops

The activities were brain stormed by the artists prior to the workshop and after observation of teaching in the school. The workshop ideas were further developed over the period in which the workshops were taking place, in response to the children and their reaction to the processes offered.
Though many of the activities were familiar to the children (e.g. play-dough) they were put into the specific context of exploring colour.

Week one

Colour preference and selection
Introducing the three primary colours

• Room divided into three separate areas, with similar activities in each.
  Red
  Yellow
  Blue

Activities

Prior to the workshop the room was prepared. Three tables were set up with appropriate colour covering. Windows were covered in tissue paper.Tables were set up with activities outlined below

Three tables set up with activities exploring the primary colours including:

• Sorting - a collection of objects and boxes painted in the primary colours (red, yellow and blue, prior to the workshop), in a bin bag to be sorted by putting the appropriate colour on the right table.
• Paint - exploring the potential of paint as a material, splodging, squirting, painting. Different tools made available for exploring the paint e.g. toy car, feathers, sponges, pipe-cleaners etc.
• Printing activity - printing with simple shapes to create patterns repetition and texture.
• Water - dyed with food colouring and in a tray with glitter.
• Play-dough - home made with glitter and food colouring added.
• Glue - for sticking and constructing with the coloured boxes.

The room was set up in such a way as not to be too overwhelming but yet to offer a selection of processes and a variety of materials. The sessions were child led and children were free to select their own activity and move freely from activity to activity, at their own pace and within their own
capabilities. Artists worked in a ratio of one - one with the pupils.

Results

The pupils all seemed to respond well to the freedom offered and the chance to use liberal quantities of paint and materials. Some children were very comfortable with naming the colours where as a couple confused colours. One child in particular named all colours, as 'orange'. The artists spoke clearly and reinforced the names of the colours as they were working with them - 'yellow, yellow, yellow'.
Though the workshop was process based one child in particular was interested in making a finished object and worked closely with Annemie to create a parrot. Helen worked with a boy whose main interest was in the sparkling water and painting it onto thin sheets of paper with a feather! Sheila worked with two boys who loved squirting paint and driving the match box car through it. Most of the children enjoyed printing with the large wooden shaped blocks (triangle, square, circle). All the children concentrated for a full hour.

Tips

Play-dough recipe

2 cups of plain white flour
1 cup of salt
2 cups of water
2tbs cream of tarter
2tbs oil
Food colouring
Glitter

Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and heat gently stirring continuously. As the mixture heats up you will notice that it starts to gather and stick around the sides of the pan. Keep stirring and it will mass together as one lump of play-dough!

Week two

Colour Mixing - The Colour Wheel

The room was set up with tissue paper on the windows - layers of primary colours:
Blue + Yellow = Green
Blue + Red = Purple
Yellow + Red = Orange

Activities

• Collage - using layers of tissue paper to explore colour mixing.
• Collage - using large tissue paper circles (like pixels) or stickers to create the effect of colour mixing without using layers.
• Collage on the wall with large tissue paper circles.
• Mixing paint - exploring the colour wheel by painting an area or sheet of paper starting in one primary colour and then adding measured paint and painting on a new sheet and adding pigment and painting on a new sheet until we create a rainbow or wheel. Can be done on a large scale.
• Mixing paint - individual exploration of paint.
• Inks and water - Watching water change colour as drops of ink are added.
• Acetate on the windows.

Results

The favourite activity of this day was working with glass jars, pipettes, water and food colouring. Glass jars were filled with water and food colouring (red, yellow, and blue) was squirted into them with pipettes. The colour changing was observed as the primary colours mixed. The children loved learning how to use the pipettes and were all fascinated by the colour changing. Some children engaged with this activity alone for 20 minuets. At one stage the activity was transferred to the sink where there was more space.
One child in particular loved working with the tissue paper on a large sheet of paper on the wall making the colour wheel.
The matchbox car featured again as one boy spent a considerable amount of time squirting layers of paint on it and then driving it through - he made orange and green in this way!

Week Three

The Colourful world
Installation, creating an environment in the room, similar to that of the beach with full immersion into colour.

The room was prepared with tissue paper on the windows and over the light fittings to create coloured light. The floor was lined in paper and objects from the beach placed on it. A sand-pit was set up with sand and coloured water and glitter near by. Walls covered in paper. A quiet area was set up for children who may have found the space overwhelming, where they could work with Annemie on making articulated shapes

Activities

• Sand - coloured water and glitter.
• Footprints on the beach - paper and paint.
• Paper articulated shapes - paper fasteners and card.

Results

The pupils enjoyed the sand and watching it change colour as the dye was added. The sand got richer and richer as more children participated in adding the glitter and dye. One girl loved walking through the paint and seeing her footprints all around the room - she mixed the colours with her feet and seemed fully immersed in this sensory experience. One boy shied away from playing with the sand and did not want to feel the paint. He worked with Annemie making an octopus that moved, out of bits of card, attached by paper fasteners. Again, the ratio was one pupil to one artist.

Materials used:

Water and bath
Rollers
Paper
Sponges/paintbrushes
Sheets of coloured acetate
Printing block shapes
Projector
Ink/blotting paper
Corrugated cardboard
Boxes
Circles of tissue paper
Sticker shapes
Sand
Paint
Print inks