Wedneday 16th March was a very special day, as Yorkshire watercolour artist Ashley Jackson undertook a master class with a difference. Children from St Peter’s C of E school Brotton joined Ashley in Newton Wood at the location of the fifth installed ‘Framing the Landscape’ frames to see how an artist can utilise a frame to focus on a particular area of the landscape, in this case the iconic Roseberry Topping.
As Ashley explained throughout the outdoor art class,’ As an artist I have been fortunate to view the moors with an honest clarity, the drama of the sky with an approaching storm, the crispness of fresh fallen snow under foot or the damp chill of drizzling rain. The landscape is more than a passing view from a car window it is our heritage, culture and more personally it forms part of our thoughts and feelings. There is so much for us to appreciate, enjoy, embrace and be inspired by, if we choose to see’
Although the weather was overcast it was a fantastic day, to see the children enthusiastic not only in the way they approached their own sketching but also in their enthusiasm for the landscape, which is most important for they will be the next guardians entrusted with the protecting the land once we are gone
Grand Central Rail as sponsor of the frame at Roseberry Topping, provided further support with hospitality for the children at a local farm tearoom.
Whilst Area Ranger for the National Trust at Roseberry Topping, Gareth Wilson who was also present at the masterclass added,’ We’re hoping the project’s education programme will inspire the next generation, helping us to engage with possible future volunteers and conservationists’.
The children were a credit to the school and their parents and did not allow the weather to dampen their spirit or creativity.
