On a bright summer evening driving home from a long day at school, my attention was grabbed by the huge roaring lion’s mouth that had been put on display in the window of The Outsiders Gallery on the quayside in Newcastle. After a few times driving by this lion – whose warm sweaty breath I could almost feel on my skin – I realised that there was more to this piece. Delicately dripped inky butterflies surrounded the lion’s head in pastel shades and warm feminine colours.
The work had initially grabbed me and after searching the artist online, I felt it was something I needed to share with my art students at Woodham Academy. I knew many of my students would appreciate the style of art after looking at artists working with similar media. The artist’s name was Sage Vaughn.
Most Year 10 students across the department looked at the artist and made work inspired by him, learning the techniques of whitewashing, layering, tone in pen and dripping. I was quite taken with Zoe Efthymiadou in particular who I repeatedly kept finding sitting in the art department long after the final bell had gone working on her own version of Vaughn’s work.
I decided to email the artist to see if he could offer any advice or feedback. No reply came from the artist himself, however his PA did ask for the school address. A few weeks later, a large package arrived with an American postage mark. Inside a beautiful book of the artist’s latest work and best of all, a handwritten note from the artist himself.
The feeling of joy that came from opening the package was nothing compared the pride I felt giving the book to my student and watching her slowly flick through the pages; her eyes lapping up every colour, shape and tiny detail.
After the excitement of the book arriving, I wasn’t ready to throw away the packaging with all the postage marks on it. The cardboard told its own story, so we decided that she would make a piece of work on the box and send it back to the artist. Who knows where this piece will end up… maybe his next book!?
