Art CPD for Schools: Creating free standing sculptures with Darrell Wakelam

The programme

The Creativity in the Classroom – Art CPD for Schools programme is designed for teachers of all stages of experience and expertise and offers a range of practical CPD workshops led by leading art educators.

Each CPD workshop will build your art teaching skills, extend your repertoire of art techniques and grow your subject knowledge to apply and use in the classroom.

Guest Artist Series

The workshops in the Guest Artist series are designed, devised and led by leading national arts educators for primary school teachers, primary Art Leads and professionals working in schools. These sessions will immerse you in practical, fun, hands-on activity that can be taken straight back to the classroom.

About Darrell

Darrell Wakelam has been creating artwork with children for almost 35 years. He focusses on making 3D artwork more accessible and exciting for children, and he has a strong reputation as an innovative and highly skilled workshop facilitator. Darrell originally trained in design and illustration, but working with children reignited his own childhood passion for model making, allowing him to revisit the world of ‘junk sculpture’ and papier maché with the eyes of a designer and teacher.

Darrell has provided workshops for countless clients, including many hundreds of schools, museums, theatres, and as a part of large-scale festivals and events. His involvement with projects nationwide has given Darrell the experience of working creatively with children of all ages, and from a wide variety of backgrounds, cultures, and abilities.

Most of Darrell’s artwork consists of 3D models, sculptures, and masks, made predominantly from scrap cardboard and other recycled materials. Over the years he has refined his methods and techniques, becoming more aware of the sustainability of his work, and more mindful of the materials he uses.

Darrell has also spent many years sharing his expertise, through training sessions, online tutorials, and more recently, through his highly acclaimed book ‘Art Shaped’.

What will this workshop involve?

Leading arts educationalist and published author Darrell Wakelam will introduce you to cardboard construction and sculptural techniques that are affordable, adaptable, and achievable.

This practical day offers fun, hands-on professional development about the ideas and practice of making free standing sculptures of up to 3 metres tall, using cardboard construction methods.

You’ll be designing and making your own sculptures to learn the techniques of 3D construction. You will learn how you can introduce and scaffold the learning of your pupils to do the same.

Darrell will share examples and reflect with you on how these approaches can be adapted to suit different age-groups and respond to cross curricular themes and topics.

Who is this workshop for?

• Primary teachers.
• Primary Art Leads.
• Professionals working in schools

What will I learn on the day?

On the day you will:

• Enhance your 3D sculpting skills.
• Discover new ways to use cardboard construction techniques.
• Learn creative ways to support pupils to express their ideas and imagination through 3D materials.
• Develop new techniques to build on pupils’ collaborative working experiences.
• Take away project ideas that can be embedded within your curriculum.