Can you tell us about your background and how the book came about?
DARRELL: I am originally from the West Midlands but I’m now based in Lyme Regis on Dorset’s ‘Jurassic Coast’. I've been working as an artist in educational settings for my entire career, initially at a residential arts centre in Staffordshire called Ingestre Hall, and then, for the last 20 years, as a self-employed artist working nationwide providing 3D art projects and workshops for children and training sessions for teachers and educators.
Over the years people have often said, “You should get some of your ideas down in a book, Darrell” and my reply was always the same: “If only I had six months off work, then I might do”. Then, in 2020 life threw me and many other people into that very situation. I lost eight months’ worth of hard-earned work in less than a week and it pushed me into revamping my website and embracing social media as a way of publicising my work and making my business more future proof. Luckily my simple online making ideas caught the attention of parents and also teachers, and as a result one of the editors at Bloomsbury contacted me with the idea of creating a book to expand on these ideas. This became Art Shaped.
What sorts of materials do children need to work on the projects in Art Shaped?
DARRELL: I try to keep my projects accessible and light on resources and I avoid plastics wherever possible. Most of the tools and materials are ones you might already have (scissors, tape, pencils, cardboard, tin foil) while others are cheap and easy to get hold of. I don’t use any fancy materials, all standard water-based paints and glue.
How do the projects in the book link to other subject areas across the curriculum?
DARRELL: In my day-to-day work in schools, I’m regularly asked to link artwork to all kinds of topics including those based on curriculum themes or tied to current events, or sometimes initiatives within the schools themselves to raise self-esteem or highlighting children's rights and issues. The projects in the book are all designed to be highly adaptable, so hopefully they will provide inspiration for all sorts of historical, scientific, or literacy themes, but with a little confidence they could honestly be the blueprint for an infinite range of ideas. The skills explored are the same ones that have seen me through over 30 years’ worth of work with children and young people.
As you grow in confidence try to adapt and explore the methods, add your own ingredients, change the subject matter, or make the work more complex or elaborate.
What’s been your favourite project to work on?
DARRELL: Many of the projects in the book hold a special place in my heart, not just because I enjoyed creating them, but also because many are ones I have adapted and honed over the years, making them a big part of my creative journey. Masks are a real passion of mine, so I love to explore any ideas relating to those, and obviously animals play a big part in my work: real ones, imaginary ones, and even extinct ones!
What’s your advice for parents wanting to try these projects at home?
DARRELL: My advice is to try to use the book like you would a recipe book. If you don't feel that confident, choose a project and stick to the recipe and ingredients. As you grow in confidence try to adapt and explore the methods, add your own ingredients, change the subject matter, or make the work more complex or elaborate. Before you know it, like any favourite recipe, you will begin to make it your own and that's where true creativity starts to happen.
Why do you think the book is relevant now?
DARRELL: In my opinion, I find some arts and crafts books for children tend to feel dated and off message, with only a loose connection between projects under the banner of ‘creativity’. Many of them use too many different materials, combining plastics, recyclables, and found objects. This can risk wasting some resources by potentially making things harder to recycle and more likely to go into landfill – the opposite of the message some of them are trying to promote. Also, popular online sites often seem to have taken a lot of originality out of ‘making’, because they tend to rehash the same kind of projects time and again.
I wanted Art Shaped to be different. I wanted the projects not to be standalone pieces, but to inspire creativity and innovation. The same basic materials are used throughout and all 50 of the projects use a combination of just four fey skills which are explained from the outset. I wanted to show clearly how each idea can be simplified or extended so that virtually all ages and abilities can adapt and use them. Above all I wanted to make art more accessible: you don’t need to be able to draw to be an artist, and you don’t need fancy materials to be creative.
