Blessed with very mild autumn temperatures and glorious sunshine, Year 10 GCSE Art and Textile students were more than happy to visit the stunning Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew on Wednesday 10th October.
As London’s largest UNESCO World Heritage site, Kew Gardens offered students with an extensive range of landscapes and iconic architecture to be inspired by, not to mention the largest and most diverse collection of living plants in the world.
Spoilt with a choice of what to draw first, the day was filled with workshops which took place in a range of interesting locations including, The Hive, the Princess of Wales Conservatory and the Temperate House. Students also managed to squeeze in a visit to see the Botanical Illustrations on display at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery.
For many, the most interesting (and fragrant!) species of plant they observed was the Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum), which only grows in the forests of Sumatra and emits a nauseating odour of rotten meat. The smell is so bad, this giant is also known as the ‘corpse flower’ – it’s safe to say some students were quite pleased this plant is limited to a small Indonesian island!
Having thoroughly enjoyed adding a variety of interesting plant species to their sketchbooks, students will work from the various resources they have all collected from Kew and develop an individual sustained piece for their coursework on Structures and Forms.
“All of the students were fantastic on the trip and fully engaged in every opportunity that was thrown at them.” Commented Elaine King, Art teacher.
We can’t wait to see some of the work inspired by the visit!
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