Writing and materials workshop

Writing is a fundamental part of every human being’s education. From their earliest years, children learn to master this mode of expression. It is one of the pillars of our societies, enabling us to communicate and preserve the memory of previous generations. It is an integral part of human history. Words have power.

This writing, which has become so common in our daily lives that we no longer pay attention to it, was the subject of a workshop for the Entertainment Prep students, who experimented with it in various forms. Conceiving a word or a sentence with objects is very different from using a pencil! Imagination and reflection are at the very heart of this workshop.

To carry out this experiment, the students benefited from three workshops.

The first session was devoted to practising on white paper: how to obtain a word from a sheet of paper by twisting, folding, crumpling, tearing or incising it. The second session was an opportunity to try out materials: giving free rein to their imagination, the students had to arm themselves with items of their choice (wire, foodstuffs, wool, nails, matches, textiles, etc.) in order to work with them in various ways.

The aim of these first two sessions was to encourage the students to exploit both their imagination and the potential of the object and its expressive power. Finally, the workshop ended with the third session, during which the students had to choose a material and produce a free text/figurative form combination.

SUBJECT OF THE EXERCISE

Divided into three four-hour workshops, the aim was for the students to grasp the material and use it to create a word or sentence.

EXERCISE INSTRUCTIONS

• Workshop 1: experiment with paper in order to write and represent.
• Workshop 2: Experiment with materials to test their expressive potential.
• Workshop 3: Over a set period of time, create a personal project using a material – of your choice – to produce a combination of text and form in relation to each other.