Inspirational artist shares insights with Pocklington School students

Published on isbi School News dated Wednesday 13th of December 2017

Renowned artist Tom Wood visited Pocklington School’s new £2.5m Art and Design Technology Centre recently to give students an inspirational insight into his work. Tom Wood’s portraits of Prince Charles, Professor Robert Winston and Alan Bennett have all been exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery, and he has paintings in galleries all over the world. He ran workshops for Pocklington School Fifth and Sixth Form students, then chatted to them about his work, which is often abstract and figurative, built up using many layers of paint, printing processes and glazing techniques. Students were delighted to be given the chance to leaf though his sketchbooks, revealing his work process and the formulation of ideas. Many of his sketchbooks are in permanent collections of eminent museums and galleries around the world. Dan Cimmermann, Head of Art at Pocklington School, said: “It was a great pleasure to have Tom Wood working with our students. Not only is his work beautiful but his mantra about working hard at what you really believe in, in whatever aspect of your life, is incredibly inspirational for the students. “It is always so exciting to see his sketchbooks, and Tom’s approachability and willingness to allow students to browse through them and ask him questions about techniques and processes is so valuable. “Tom also ran a drawing workshop reaffirming just how important it is to look and draw from observation. It was immensely rewarding for both students and staff alike to chat and work with him - long may the relationship continue between the two of us.” Pocklington School’s new £2.5 million Art and Design Technology Centre is aimed at inspiring future careers in the creative industries by encouraging students to explore fresh ways of creating Art and Design in both traditional and new mediums. The new Art and Design Technology Centre has been the focus of a major fundraising campaign launched by the School in 2015, which to date has raised £1.92 million. The Campaign still needs to raise a further £80,000 to reach its target of £2 million, to ensure that the new Centre is fitted out to the same high standards applied to the building’s construction.