PTC Weekly #3: Kids Make Their Puppets Come To Life.
Last week, the marionette madness continued, with the children creating their very own puppet shows and stop-motion films! As a triumphant finale to our amazing two-week puppet series, the children at the Spandau and Pankow shelters used the puppets, that they had created the previous week, to make their own stop-motion films, and puppet theatre shows. As we discussed in our recent post, puppetry as an art form can help bridge the gap between visual and performance art, and f
Our external appearance does not define who we are: Our thoughts on Children's Mental Health Wee
In honor of UK Children's Mental Health Week, we take a closer look at the newly launched organisation, Place2Be; explore this year's theme of #BeingOurselves; and ask ourselves, "Why is there such a rise in youth mental health issues-- and how can we help!?" 'With one in ten children aged between five and sixteen having a mental health problem’ children’s mental health is clearly something we need to continue talking about. Here at Pass the Crayon we are reflecting on activi
AOTW #3: Miscegenation, Metaphors and Marionettes- the artistic world of Maëlle Foix.
Maëlle Foix, our friend and long-term artistic partner, is this weeks Artist of the Week! She speaks with Manon Jourdan about her work, past and present, and her exciting future plans. We also speak about the power of creation, dreams and metaphor as a tool to help young people communicate and connect with other people- and themselves. Maëlle is an inspiring graphic designer and talented illustrator from the ''School of Art and Design'' (Ensaama) of Paris. Looking through her
PTC Weekly #2: Puppets Flat & Round.
This week we were delighted to welcome back our much loved friend, and long-term PTC artistic partner, Maille Fox. Maille has been leading our latest two-week long workshop series, and we have been making Puppets! SPANDAU
In Week 1, the children built their hand-held puppets out of fabric and polystyrene foam balls. The children painted all the puppets themselves, including the face and clothes- their puppet is meant to represent themselves. Next week, we will get to play w
AOTW #2: Puppetry Bridges The Gap Between Visual and Performance Art.
This week at Pass the Crayon, our workshop theme is Puppets! So, we thought it would be nice to dedicate this week's Artist of the Week post to the oldest puppetry association in the world, UNIMA! Founded in 1929, UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionnette) is an international non-profit organisation and UNESCO partner, operating in over 90 countries worldwide. As a collective, UNIMA connects and supports thousands of puppeteers from all over the globe, promoting puppetry
PTC Weekly #1: Space Aliens and Glitter
Welcome to 'PTC Weekly', our brand new blog series dedicated to bringing you all the latest arty updates from our workshops in Spandau, Pankow and Wedding! :) Last week, our theme was SPACE. KREATIVHAUS In addition to our regular workshops, this week we hosted a special four-day series at Kreativhaus, a community space dedicated to promoting the arts and culture through creative play and performance art. We hosted afternoon sessions from Monday to Thursday, where we explored
A Child's Mind: A PTC Poem
In honour of Children's Mental Health Week UK, one of our volunteers has created this beautiful poem about what it is like inside the mind of a child... This years theme for Children's Mental Health Week is 'Being Ourselves', and we will be exploring this in more detail in one of our upcoming articles! :) A Child's Mind Round run run round Sweet sugar sun and sound Climb the sky and jump the town Wheels turn and why sit down Pick the berries, sip the juice Bat the ball and al
Who Is A Refugee? : Part 2
We finally bring you the second installment of ‘Who Is A Refugee?’, our two-part review of a recent UCL debate, featuring esteemed refugee academics Professor Elsbeth Guild, Ahmad Al Rashid and Dr Phillip Cole. In Part 1 the talk centered around defining refugeehood under the current UN convention, establishing its parameters, and discussing whether these parameters remain compatible with our contemporary geopolitical and environmental landscape. All speakers recognised the f
AOTW #1: Tomás Saraceno Uses Spider Webs, Hot Air and Space Dust to Create Art Like You Have Never
At Pass the Crayon we have been exploring the theme of Space in our recent art workshops, so it seems fitting to kick off our new 'Artist of the Week' series with astro enthusiast and visionary artist, Tomás Saraceno. In recent years we have seen Art and Science come together to create unique avenues of creative expression. Both of these disciplines challenge our perception of reality in profound ways, and when combined, can produce astonishing art forms which are not only ae
