Pre-Prep pupils and their families gathered at Lauderdale House this week to celebrate the launch of their botanic-inspired art exhibition, Down to Earth, which is now open for public viewing until Friday 2 June 2023.
The Down to Earth project launched at the start of summer term with a visit to this historic local house. Pupils met one of the exhibiting artists, Frank Creber, who taught the children about composition and sketching. Weekly sessions at school, thereafter, enabled pupils to develop their artistic creations. Using the grounds and artwork of Lauderdale House as inspiration for their own artwork, pupils embraced the opportunity to create modern, abstract works.
Gabrielle Letimier at Highgate Pre-Prep reflected: “Children were encouraged to be their most creative and experimental selves, the resulting artworks are very striking and playful. We hope members of the public enjoy looking at them as much as we enjoyed making them.”
Aavya (Pre-Prep pupil) described her experiences, saying: “I made a plant called Amazing Colourful and it has marshmallows on the pot and hidden crystals and it has a rainbow on the top and if you touch any colour you become that colour. My favourite part was writing the non-chronological report.”
Having a real-life audience for their artwork has been a huge motivation, encouraging children to think about how art provokes different feelings and responses for different people. The art they have created focuses on London nature and the crossover between the natural world and city life.
A parent who attended the exhibition, added: “It’s great for their creativity. The kids have had free reign, there’s no uniformity, they haven’t all done the same thing. I love it, and they’re so proud of their work. I think it’s great for their confidence.”
Lauderdale’s Education and Outreach Officer Liv Clements, concludes: “It’s lovely to see so many parents visiting and seeing families coming to be inspired by their children. Being situated in Waterlow Park we’re so lucky to use nature as a focus. Art can be a very subjective subject, so using nature and elements of the park that children enjoy, is a great way to facilitate that learning in a new format. They’ve all produced well-rounded and finished exhibition pieces.”
