Ground Up is an immersive eco-art program where students create paintings using only natural materials gathered from meaningful locations. Through hands-on exploration, students learn how to ethically and sustainably transform grass, fallen branches and a cup of tea into vibrant inks and drawing charcoal they'll use to paint their pieces, deepening their understanding of art’s relationship with the environment. The program fosters creativity, appreciation for nature, and an understanding of the cultural and historical significance of natural materials in artistic traditions.

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What Students Will Learn
- How to gather and transform natural materials into eco-friendly inks, charcoal, and pigments.
- The historical and cultural significance of trees, soil, and plant life in art.
- Artistic techniques that embrace spontaneity and organic expression.
- Environmental conservation and the importance of preserving local ecosystems.
- The role of nature in shaping human expression, traditions, and creative heritage.

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Program Structure
- Duration: Six-weeks
- Weekly one-hour session per class
- Up-to three classes per day
- Rate: £60 per hour

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Age-Conscious Learning
The program is tailored to different student groups:
- Foundation Level, P1 & P2 – Simplified, sensory-based exploration of nature and colors.
- P3 & P4 – Hands-on creative learning with deeper discussions on nature and culture.
- Upper Classes – Advanced techniques, artistic development, and cultural ecology.

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Weekly Breakdown
Week 1: Introduction, Conversation & Vision
- Overview of the programme and its objectives.
- Outlining the natural ink-making process.
- Discussion on the relationship between art and nature.
- Students share personal connections to meaningful places.
- Selection of landscapes or other subjects for their paintings.

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Week 2: Gathering Branches, Studying Art and Nature & Charcoal Making
- Outdoor excursion to collect fallen branches on school grounds or at a meaningful site nearby.
- Detailing or demonstrating the process of rendering charcoal from sticks.
- Discussing the ecological and cultural significance of regional trees, grass and flora.
- Understanding how to make charcoal for sketching, and the history of the artform.

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Week 3: Exploring Composition & Sketching With Charcoal
- Introduction to different charcoal types and their artistic uses.
- Examining the charcoal sticks made from the branches collected during previous session.
- Guided walkthrough of the basic fundamentals of scene composition and framing.
- Students experiment with sketching techniques.
- Outlining and composing the underlying structure of their paintings.

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Week 4: Transforming Tea  Into Ink & The Meaning of Colour
- Creating inks from tea, and it's cultural significance to the island.
- Introduction to inking and painting techniques.
- Painting the first layers using natural beige, brown and orange hues.

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Week 5: Rendering Local Grass Into Ink & Examining Its Unique Role
- Extracting green ink from locally gathered grass.
- Discussing the cultural, artistic, and ecological significance of grass.
- Painting the next layer of their artwork with natural green pigments.

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Week 6: Producing Charcoal Powder, Final Touches & Reflection
- Making and using charcoal powder for shading and depth.
- Adding finishing details and textures.
- Peeling away masking to reveal finished pieces and signing their work.
- Group showcase and discussion on the creative process.

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About the Instructor
Jake de Souza is a fine artist, educator, and recipient of the Lord Mayor’s Certificate. Originally from Los Angeles, he has lived in Northern Ireland for ten years and is a passionate advocate for artistic and environmental education, encouraging students to explore self-expression through sustainable and meaningful art practices.