Nathalia de Azevedo Marques was the artist-in-residence for the BLAST project in Scoil Íosagáin Infant School, Mallow.

Nathalia worked alongside Ms. Guerin and the girls and boys of Junior and Senior Infants.

The theme of the residency was drama.

Nathalia introduced many fun games for the children to play where they interacted with each other in a creative manner with the support of the adults around them.

The children also created stories and performed them for each other.

Artist Nathalia de Azevedo Marques led the BLAST residency in Bishopstown Community School where she worked with the Transition Year students and their teacher, Leanne Ryan.

The students participated in a host of drama workshops to get their creativity moving.

As a group, they worked on projects in the name of ‘Diversity and Inclusivity'.

These themes were explored through the workshops.

Nathalia engaged the students in acting, scripting and confidence boosting activities.

Julie Forrester led the BLAST residency in Walterstown National School.

The residency was available to the Junior Infants class and 2nd class.

Initial sessions began with nature walks, connecting with the outdoors and individual findings there.

The children explored ideas beginning with observational drawings from their own collections.

Following sessions incorporated paintings and print from memory and imagination.

We explored drawing with charcoal and chalk from primary source material, then leapt into a world of colour as the children found their way with materials and ideas.

The residency continued with junior infants working collaboratively and individually on a class piece.

The long frieze will be shown in the school corridor and will be divided up in a way the children will decide for taking home at the end of term.

Artist Julie Forrester worked with the students at Coláiste Éamann Rís and their teacher, Lorraine Naughton.

Beginning with drawing and printmaking, the students discussed the David Hockney story, 'The Little Sea Hare', and made drawings exploring the theme as it arose individually for each student.

They shared their findings and began design work on the theme “concealing and revealing”.

Students developed work into etchings from their preparatory drawings.  

In later sessions, the students brought the theme into ceramic work using the techniques of slab building and clay modelling before finishing their pieces by glazing them.