​​​​​​​Daily Cloud Art Project with Chris Judge.

The Daily Cloud Art Project is being held in ten schools across county Fingal. Dublin artist Chris Judge is hosting a series of events in the schools, where students will be invited to draw directly onto Chris’ very own cloud photographs.  Chris will engage with almost 4,000 students and create 15,000 pieces of artwork. The schools will display all of their pieces of art in a large exhibition on their walls. Participants will be encouraged to take their own artwork home, or trade with another pupil, or send them as postcards to friends or family around the world.

This Fingal ‘Cruinniú na nÓg’ commission will be a collaborative, interactive art project between Chris, the students, and teachers in ten schools in Fingal. The project will be based on Chris’ ‘Daily Cloud’ artworks, that he has been creating every day since July 2020. Participants can expect to learn about Chris’ work as a professional illustrator, and how this project came about initially in 2020. It started during the first lockdown when everything slowed down, and people started to engage with the natural world again. Chris spent a lot of time at home with his family, and together they started to notice plants, insects, birds and many other things that are easily forgotten about during busier times.

Through these workshops Chris intends to show the students how he works as an artist, and how the ‘Daily Cloud Project’ came about and developed over time. Each student will receive two to three postcards featuring the cloud photographs, and will be encouraged to find shapes, faces and characters in the clouds to draw on to the photos. Students will also be encouraged to display their work in a public-school space, to keep them, or send them as postcards to friends, and family around the world. Hopefully many of the artworks will live on walls for years to come.

Chris is also creating a professional 30-minute workshop video to share with each participating school so engagement can continue and develop long after his in-person visit.

On the occasion of Fingal Cruinniú na nÓg 2022 Mayor of Fingal Cllr Seána Ó Rodaigh, said: “Cruinniú na nÓg through its many innovative events and projects like Daily Cloud calls us to celebrate children and young people’s innate creativity and to make space for art in our lives”

Chris Judge commented “One of the most exciting things is seeing what the students come up with themselves with a small bit of guidance from an artist. It is also wonderful to see projects grow beyond the original brief when teachers expand upon them into new areas after the projects have been completed”

Julie Clarke Youth & Education Officer with Fingal Arts Office said: “Chris reminds us all to be less precious with our creativity, and to make art every day and have fun doing it”.

Saturday June 11th saw various creative projects take place throughout the county, with some continuing to unfold over the next two weeks. For more information visit www.fingalarts.ie  https://www.fingal.ie/cruinniu-na-nog-2022  

Images:

 Author and illustrator Chris Judge at Balbriggan Educate Together National School June 2022