Inspiring creativity during Art and Design PGCE placements

During her placement at Heathfield Community College, one of our Art and Design PGCE students Liao Hsien-Yi introduced Year 12 students to the art of plaster sculpture, inspired by artist Maria Bartuszova.  

The workshop was designed to encourage students to experience beyond 2D art and really have a hands-on experience with 3D materials.  

“When I first started the placement at Heathfield, I was looking at some of the Year 13 students’ sketchbooks and found the content was mostly covered with the exploration of 2D material experiment,” Liao explained. “This inspired me to come up with the idea of planning some of the 3D material experiments into the Year 12 scheme with Mrs. Damazer”. 

Drawing on her experience teaching Year 11 students at an IB school in Taiwan, Liao planned a lesson introducing students to plaster as an artistic medium. They found inspiration in the works of Maria Bartuszova, who is known for delicate thin-shell plaster sculptures.  

By Week 8 of her placement, Liao was ready to deliver the lesson. “The students are mostly new to the plaster, but they were all engaged during the session with our step-by-step demonstration and instructions. After the plaster sculpture, we planned for the students to do a photoshoot with their own sculptures and then draw the sculpture from the photo with graphite powder.” 

Liao’s workshop shows how innovative teaching approaches can inspire students to go beyond their artistic horizons. The workshop allowed students to think creatively and develop practical skills with materials and techniques they’d never used before. 

It also shows the importance of placements in teacher training as it gives students like Liao the opportunity to bring fresh ideas and practices into the classroom while learning from experienced educators in a real-world setting.  

Ready to inspire the next generation of artists? Learn more about our Art and Design PGCE course today!