Artist Melissa Pierce Murray worked with teenagers from AccessArt’s Experimental Drawing Class on a series of workshops which physically explored drawing and sculptural responses to form, forces and anatomy.

Beginning with Bones

Teenagers make observational drawings of a 1/4 life size model of a skeleton to understand the structure of the human body and looked at work by Alberto Giacometti and Henri Matisse.
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Day of the Dead Skulls

This workshop combined students\’ studies of the skull with ideas borrowed from the Mexican traditions for Dia de Muertos – The Day of the Dead.
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Dancing Bones

Inspired by real anatomical drawings of human, ape, cat, lion, horse and dog skeletons, teenagers build \’life size\’ and \’oversize\’ collages of \’dancing skeletons.\’
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Working with Ink

In this one hour session, led by artist Melissa Pierce Murray, students explore techniques and properties of Quink and Black India Inks, and how to build up a drawing using the medium.
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Magnets and Forces

Secondary school students are likely to study properties of magnets in their science classes, but in this workshop, artist Melissa Pierce Murray, encourages teenagers to explore playful and aesthetic responses to magnets, rather than analytic and quantifiable ones. Using artistic and scientific approaches together aid in developing curiosity and imagination.
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The Opposite of Light

Teenagers work on a range of explorations looking at light and contrasts. This workshop explores contemporary themes around placement, object and meaning.
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Two and Four Legged Creatures

Two and Four Legged Creatures with oil based clay over a simple wire armature to make delicate, extended structures.
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Snowflakes

Artist Melissa Pierce Murray leads teenagers in a festive workshop exploring snowflakes and decorating Christmas cookies with piping and egg tempura.
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To Connect

At the beginning of the project it was important to take time getting used to each other, the learning space and the surrounding environment. Below is a list of considerations you may find helpful to use in your own learning spaces. Be aware of the daily sounds, smells and other textures of life in your learning space; a constant humming noise or flickering light may be stressful for a child with autism. Allow time for everyone to feel their way in the space; connections may be made through the use of different senses and body parts.

To Conceal

During the six week project, the group explored different themes and actions, some of these were displayed through learning schemas. In week 2 we experimented with different ways to conceal ourselves and objects; schemas such as enveloping and enclosure were exhibited by the group.

To Colour

Two of the sessions explored the theme of colour. The first was rather abstract, I asked questions such as; What does colour smell like? What does colour feel like?
For a child on the autistic spectrum, a question like this may be confusing, some autistic people think and understand literally. So instead of directing these questions at the children, I answered and speculated on them myself. These abstract questions became vehicles for the workshops documented below.

To Construct

In my final post on the project, I want to reflect on the theme of To Construct… looking at the different ways we constructed during the project. Please remember this is a personal and artistic reflection, based on the ideas I presented and the (emotional and physical) reactions and responses of the children and their families, who inspired changes and the development of the project as we experienced it.

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