Polly Bennett
Langton Green Primary School Artist Facilitator Residency 2024: Colour, Curiosity & Chaos
As Artist in Residence at Langton Green Primary School, my focus was to inspire younger generations by showing how vibrant, beautiful colours can be created entirely from natural materials. Through hands-on workshops and collaborative sessions, I introduced students to traditional pigment-making techniques using plants, minerals, and other organic sources. Over the course of three months, pupils were taught a wide range of heritage craft and environmentally friendly techniques using foraged and organic materials on three-metre-long cotton sheets. The residency aimed not only to spark creativity and curiosity but also to foster a deeper appreciation for the environment, encouraging sustainable, mindful art-making from an early age.
The project culminated in Colour, Curiosity & Chaos, a showcase of the creative minds at Langton Green Primary School, centred around a large floor-to-ceiling textile installation.
Early Years and Year 1 experimented with dye powders, plants, and oak gall inks. Years 2 and 3 painted with chlorophyll, buckthorn berry, and madder dye paints, and enjoyed the energetic process of hammer-dyeing. Meanwhile, Years 4, 5, and 6 transformed earth pigments into egg tempera to make expressive marks and handprints reminiscent of cave paintings. In forest school, we even made our own charcoal to contribute additional drawings to the textiles.
Other activities included crafting horsehair brushes, pouring nature candles using acorn caps, shells, and beeswax, and creating plaster-cast nature shrines. Each encouraged playful, hands-on engagement with the natural world.
