Tree activity with External Group

1. The ‘Family’ Tree
For one of our facilitations with a group of St. Hilda’s service users we engaged in a group activity which revolved around the creation of a large scale painted tree. Although each member of the group was working on a communal piece, each individual had their own section. These individual sections allowed each person to express themselves in any way they wished, using a variety of different mediums. This benefited the group as several members were not comfortable using paint while it excited others. Many members engaged in collage work, using newspaper and magazine clippings, to exhibit their likes and dislikes. A great aspect of this activity is that it allows individual expression, but the end creation is a communal piece which brings everyone together and allows individuals to interact with one another whilst engaging in the activity. This basically just enhances the enjoyment of the activity for those engaging. Also many people are more confident working on an individual level as they feel in communal work their contribution is being judged, this activity eliminates this as it incorporates both individual and group work.
This activity involved and extensive amount of prep, however it was not very difficult. We used sellotape to stick together sixteen sheet of A3 paper. Once secure, we painted a large scale tree on the pages which had several branches. We also painted a several flowers on the bottom of the picture to ensure that each participant would have an area to work on.

2. ‘Volcano Eruption’
Blog entry
For our last facilitation with the group from St. Hilda’s we wanted to engage in an exciting and fun science based art activity. This method of ‘Volcano making and eruption’ was the perfect activity.
There are many different methods for creating a small scale volcano (using soil, tinfoil, clay etc), and various recipes to create an eruption. We choose this particular method as the structure looked the most realistic, and the recipe for eruption had the most accessible ingredients. Prior to creating the structures we collected materials, including: cardboard (cereal boxes), empty bottles (coke bottles, sprite etc.), tape, crepe paper, newspaper, plaster paras, vinegar, water, red food colouring, washing up liquid and baking soda.
It is rather simple to create the volcano model, yet can be time consuming depending on the amount you are making. We created twelve models as we were not sure of the number of participants we would be facilitating. To create the structure you start by cutting out a circular shaped piece of cardboard. You then place an empty bottle to the centre of the cardboard, taping it on place until it is secure. You then use tape and scrunched up paper to form the volcano shaped structure- taping balls of scrunched up paper to the bottle and base, forming a shape which is wider at the bottom. The scrunched pieces of paper gave a nice lumpy, natural effect to the structure. When you have this finished, you cover the structure in sheets of plaster paras and leave it to dry.
After finishing each volcano model to this degree we were ready for our facilitation. We supplied each participant with a volcano, and supplied them with materials to finish and design their models (paints, markers, crepe paper, and glitter). When they were close to finished we showed them a demonstration of the eruption, using a spare model. We then supplied them with the ingredients necessary to create

3. an explosion, and once again reiterated the order they must go in: first you add a small amount of water to the bottle, then add the vinegar, washing up liquid and food colouring mixture, and finally add the baking soda to trigger the eruption. In our exercise we decided to add ‘popping candy’ along with the baking soda for an extra sound effect. The reaction of the participants to the eruption was spectacular, they were overwhelmed with excitement.