More info on Former Exhibitors

Former Art @ the incubator exhibitor Desdemona McCannon, who showed "Under a Victorian Microscope" and "Characters in Search of Science has been in touch about developments for her project


NWSAD staff and students will be running a 'Character Lab' creating 3d characters with scientific properties in collaboration with children during Wrexham Science Week
1st- 10th July 2010
Festival link is http://www.wrexhamsf.com/en/

"Characters in Search of Science was a very successful research project we ran with students from NWSAD and Rhosddu school in 2007, introducing children to scientific ideas using drawing, making, storytelling and animation. We asked them to create characters that embodied concepts in the school curriculum, and it was a great experience for all involved.

Since then I have given conference papers and talks in Oxford, Tokyo and Mumbai on the project, and have had a great response from educators, students and children as to the use of creativity in teaching traditionally 'dry' subjects in schools. We exhibited the puppets and animations from the project at the Wrexham Science festival in 2007, and have been invited to run a 'Character Lab' during this year's Festival in July.

The Festival runs from Thursday 1st - Saturday 10th July 2010, and we aim to run the 'lab' on two days including the Saturday. We would like to use the character lab to encourage children to make a 'science monster' in 3d, which we will photograph on the stand, and rate as to its scientific abilities. This may be part of its personality or make up or may be embedded in the character- magnets, propellors, lights etc."

Characters in the Search of Science opening

Our latest opening for the current exhibition Characters in the Search of Science

Characters in Search of Science

incubator

Our next exhibition at the incubator will be some artwork produced during an investigative project undertaken by Desdemona McCannon(our current exhibitor until 22nd of April) with primary school children from North Wales in 2007.

Des' work as a designer and illustrator is all about communicating ideas , and trying to use visual language that is easy for all to understand.

Her artistic background is both wide and varied. She has written and illustrated several children’s books, worked on editorial commissions , and produced many book jackets and packaging solutions for clients. In her employment at Glyndwr University (since 2003) she has focused on academic and theoretical aspects of design thinking, and has gained many skills in presenting and teaching to groups of people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse ages and skills.

As a lecturer in Illustration at North Wales School of Art, she instigated an action research project called ‘Characters in Search of Science’ in 2007. This explored the use of drawing in facilitating conceptual thinking in 6-7 year old children at Rhosddu school in Wrexham. Her project was well received by policy makers, educators and academics when she presented a paper based on the findings at an international conference on ‘Visual Literacy’ at Mansfield College, Oxford (summer 2007).

She has designed and illustrated several pictographic representations of conceptual narratives to demonstrate this hypothesis. One was based on the ideas in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’, in another she collaborated with a biochemist on an explanation of the Periodic table, called ‘The Atom Family’.

She is interested in facilitating ‘visual thinking’ and the empowerment that comes from realising intelligence is not always expressed verbally, that ideas are not always located in words.

We are delighted to have a second opportunity to show work from this talented artist.

Desdemona's opening

Here are some snaps taken at the opening of Desdemona's exhibition at MerseyBio on the 26th of February.