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We’re delighted to continue our guest blog series, sharing perspectives from the arts in education programme, Creativity in the Classroom.

Creativity in the Classroom: Colour, Curiosity and Collaboration

As a visiting artist working through Creativity in the Classroom, I’m fortunate to spend up to nine weeks at a time with each class group. That time matters: it gives children full authorship over their ideas, space to develop, and the confidence that comes from genuine collaboration. This term I worked with 5th Class boys and girls from Presentation Primary School Warrenmount, Dublin 8 and their energy shaped the whole project.

Getting started

We began with colour mixing, exploring a palette of blues, yellows and reds. Working in groups, each team used a hula hoop and circular templates to create intersecting shapes across large sheets of paper. These shapes became dedicated spaces for experimenting with colour. The children negotiated how to divide the page, shared discoveries, and surprised themselves with the range of tones they created together.

Colourful drawings with circles and bird shapes

5th Class students create colourful shapes during Creativity in the Classroom

Drawing techniques

Over the next sessions, we shifted into drawing techniques using 2B, 4B and 6B pencils. I brought in images of birds and demonstrated how I approach a drawing—where to begin, how to fill the page, and why mistakes are part of the process. The children started with A4 studies before enlarging their drawings to A3, focusing on observation, shading and texture. Their concentration and excitement for this technical challenge were remarkable.

3 pencil drawings of birds for Creativity in the Classroom

5th Class students pencil drawings of birds

Printmaking

When they were ready, they prepared their drawings for printmaking. Each child simplified their bird, transferred it onto foam board, and added texture through mark making. Printmaking with a large group can be lively, but with the right setup the children can take full control. Using their earlier colour‑mixing sheets as backgrounds, they produced vibrant collaborative prints, along with individual A3 prints finished in black marker. The results were joyful, confident and entirely their own.

In the first post of a new guest blog series, visual art facilitator Liz McMahon reflects on her 27 years of experience working on the Creativity in the Classroom arts in education programme.

Creativity in the Classroom is an artist – teacher collaborative programme involving five primary schools in Dublin 8 and 12. Established in 1997, this innovative school-based arts programme was set up in the belief that the arts could actively and positively support the emotional and social wellbeing of the children in the area.

The success and longevity of Creativity in the Classroom (CIC) is due to a total commitment from the participant schools. Due to this strong belief in the CIC process, each participating school contributes €3,000 from its DEIS grant, totalling €15,000. The vibrant CIC steering committee consists of a member from each school and one of the artists. The committee raise the remaining amount of €15,000 each year via a variety of grant applications. The CIC programme engages approximately 875 pupils annually, with each taking part in at least six sessions.

The CIC committee continually reflect and plan throughout the project, which keeps it up to date on the needs of the children. Wellbeing has now been recognised as a necessity for learning, and it’s been at the heart of CIC since it’s inception.

Twenty nine years ago CIC realised that the visual arts helped children to express and make sense of their emotions, in particular when they might not always have the words to describe what they’re feeling.

It’s easy to lose the original principles of a project over time however the results of the steering committee meetings are fed back to the teachers and artists who participate in the schools. Time is always given to the artist and class teacher to meet throughout the sessions. Every teacher and artist’s relationship differs but all have the children’s wellbeing at heart.

Visual Artist Liz McMahon and a student with a sculpture made from twigs and moss during Creativity in the Classroom

Visual Artist Liz McMahon and a student working together for Creativity in the Classroom programme.

Rather than instructing, the adults scaffold the learning/playing by asking open-ended questions, extending creativity, and introducing new ideas through story, materials, techniques, exploring and wondering. The teacher and artist share their observations and reflect on each session to plan for the next.

During my time working on CIC I experienced extraordinary changes in children, the relationships between children with each other and with the teacher. Towards the end of a series of sessions the children invited their parents to work with them. Some parents who did not have a relationship with the school and had not come in for any other meetings came to these sessions.

Creativity in the Classroom was a recipient of an Arts in Education Portal 2025 Documentation Award.  You can watch the Documentation video below:


!!!! Blog 2: Deirdre O’Reilly, Visual Artist with Creativity in the Classroom

We’re delighted to continue our guest blog series, sharing perspectives from the arts in education programme, Creativity in the Classroom.

Creativity in the Classroom: Colour, Curiosity and Collaboration

As a visiting artist working through Creativity in the Classroom, I’m fortunate to spend up to nine weeks at a time with each class group. That time matters: it gives children full authorship over their ideas, space to develop, and the confidence that comes from genuine collaboration. This term I worked with 5th Class boys and girls from Presentation Primary School Warrenmount, Dublin 8 and their energy shaped the whole project.

Getting started

We began with colour mixing, exploring a palette of blues, yellows and reds. Working in groups, each team used a hula hoop and circular templates to create intersecting shapes across large sheets of paper. These shapes became dedicated spaces for experimenting with colour. The children negotiated how to divide the page, shared discoveries, and surprised themselves with the range of tones they created together.

Colourful drawings with circles and bird shapes

5th Class students create colourful shapes during Creativity in the Classroom

Drawing techniques

Over the next sessions, we shifted into drawing techniques using 2B, 4B and 6B pencils. I brought in images of birds and demonstrated how I approach a drawing—where to begin, how to fill the page, and why mistakes are part of the process. The children started with A4 studies before enlarging their drawings to A3, focusing on observation, shading and texture. Their concentration and excitement for this technical challenge were remarkable.

3 pencil drawings of birds for Creativity in the Classroom

5th Class students pencil drawings of birds

Printmaking

When they were ready, they prepared their drawings for printmaking. Each child simplified their bird, transferred it onto foam board, and added texture through mark making. Printmaking with a large group can be lively, but with the right setup the children can take full control. Using their earlier colour‑mixing sheets as backgrounds, they produced vibrant collaborative prints, along with individual A3 prints finished in black marker. The results were joyful, confident and entirely their own.

!!!! Blog 1: Liz McMahon, Visual Artist with Creativity in the Classroom

In the first post of a new guest blog series, visual art facilitator Liz McMahon reflects on her 27 years of experience working on the Creativity in the Classroom arts in education programme.

Creativity in the Classroom is an artist – teacher collaborative programme involving five primary schools in Dublin 8 and 12. Established in 1997, this innovative school-based arts programme was set up in the belief that the arts could actively and positively support the emotional and social wellbeing of the children in the area.

The success and longevity of Creativity in the Classroom (CIC) is due to a total commitment from the participant schools. Due to this strong belief in the CIC process, each participating school contributes €3,000 from its DEIS grant, totalling €15,000. The vibrant CIC steering committee consists of a member from each school and one of the artists. The committee raise the remaining amount of €15,000 each year via a variety of grant applications. The CIC programme engages approximately 875 pupils annually, with each taking part in at least six sessions.

The CIC committee continually reflect and plan throughout the project, which keeps it up to date on the needs of the children. Wellbeing has now been recognised as a necessity for learning, and it’s been at the heart of CIC since it’s inception.

Twenty nine years ago CIC realised that the visual arts helped children to express and make sense of their emotions, in particular when they might not always have the words to describe what they’re feeling.

It’s easy to lose the original principles of a project over time however the results of the steering committee meetings are fed back to the teachers and artists who participate in the schools. Time is always given to the artist and class teacher to meet throughout the sessions. Every teacher and artist’s relationship differs but all have the children’s wellbeing at heart.

Visual Artist Liz McMahon and a student with a sculpture made from twigs and moss during Creativity in the Classroom

Visual Artist Liz McMahon and a student working together for Creativity in the Classroom programme.

Rather than instructing, the adults scaffold the learning/playing by asking open-ended questions, extending creativity, and introducing new ideas through story, materials, techniques, exploring and wondering. The teacher and artist share their observations and reflect on each session to plan for the next.

During my time working on CIC I experienced extraordinary changes in children, the relationships between children with each other and with the teacher. Towards the end of a series of sessions the children invited their parents to work with them. Some parents who did not have a relationship with the school and had not come in for any other meetings came to these sessions.

Creativity in the Classroom was a recipient of an Arts in Education Portal 2025 Documentation Award.  You can watch the Documentation video below: