ART TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND
SEPTEMBER 2019
The Art Teachers’ Association of Ireland (ATAI) is a renowned organisation working to encourage schools to recognise the value of Arts as an integral part of the educative process. The annual ATAI conference is a fantastic ressource for teachers where they can share their techniques and ideas among fellow teachers.
In 2019, I was invited by the ATAI, in collaboration with Specialist Crafts, to give a 2 hour interactive masterclass to ATAI members. In this class I taught them how to create portraits using Specialist Crafts’ water soluble oil pastels.
I chose to focus on SC water soluble pastels as they are an extremely versatile medium. These specific pastels can be used as an oil pastel or apply water over them to create a watercolour effect. By choosing to focus on this product I was able to demonstrate to the teachers how one product can be used in a multitude of ways to cover various techniques and make their resources stretch further.
I also illustrated how teachers could transfer these newly learned techniques into their classrooms to cover many strands of the curriculum, including landscape and still life.
I was delighted to share my knowledge of oil pastels and ressources with my fellow teachers.
