News Archive

Hundreds of brilliantly coloured drawings and postcards are swamping the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery and Berndt Museum.

Most are from child artists having fun with the Jimmy Pike Drawing Book and Postcard Art Book developed specially for the Jimmy Pike Artlines exhibition by the Gallery’s marketing manager Eve-Anne O’Regan , collection assistant Clare McFarlane and student Ashley Docherty.

Eve-Anne, who recently completed a PhD in fine art at the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts , said the books encouraged children – and adults – to imagine themselves in the creative world of Jimmy Pike and draw like an artist after seeing the uplifting exhibition.

For example, one activity in the drawing book shows a photo of a storm cloud over a desert, Pike’s painting of a cloudy sky and a big facing blank page with a Pike aeroplane in the middle and the suggestion to draw a colourful sky for the plane.

Both books have tear-outs for budding artists to fill in and send back to UWA to be displayed in the Gallery foyer soon.

Children from Mount Claremont’s Moerlina Primary School visited Artlines recently to be inspired by Jimmy Pike’s work and life in the Great Sandy Desert. With them were Master of Teaching (Early Childhood and Primary) students from the Graduate School of Education (GSE).

Associate Professor Val Faulkner coordinated the visit as part of the GSE’s commitment to building bridges between the University and the wider community.

The pre-service teachers even used Faculty-issued iPads to explain bird’s eye perspective using Google Maps. After an exploration of the exhibition, each group found a cosy spot in the foyer or outside in the sunshine to enjoy filling their drawing and postcard books.

Pre-service teachers Lisette Rooney, Sharon McCleary and Michael Webb found the event rewarding and educational. Lisette was struck by how comprehensive a learning experience the children were able to have: “It has made me think how important it is to plan and consider excursions carefully to ensure children are given as many opportunities from every learning perspective as possible and to personally apply the experience.”

Sharon was thrilled that the activities confirmed for the children “their ability to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, and use art as a means of communication and self-expression.”

Michael spoke of the pre-service teachers’ motivations to become teachers. “The opportunity was a terrific and timely reminder of why each of us had chosen to take the teaching journey,” he said.

Sally Cloake, one of the Moerlina teachers, praised the morning as “a rich learning experience”, noting that “the children loved Jimmy Pike’s style, as well as the rapport they enjoyed with the student teachers”.

Published in UWA News , 15 October 2012