s part of the public art commission for Foxenden Quarry Play Area, Tom Pearman worked with Year 5 pupils from Sandfield Primary School in Guildford.
The workshop formed part of Tom’s research and design process for a series of sandblasted granite boulders referencing the nearby Foxenden Quarry Deep Shelter, a Second World War underground air-raid shelter.
Doors and hidden spaces
Tom’s developing artwork explored the imagery of ladders, hatches, doors and openings, reflecting the ways in which people would have entered and moved through the underground shelter.
The workshop invited pupils to explore these ideas from a more imaginative perspective.
Using drawing and collage, the class created images of unexpected scenes revealed through open doors, transforming an everyday architectural feature into an entrance to another place.
Creative workshop
The activity encouraged pupils to think about what might exist beyond a doorway and how a simple opening can suggest a journey between real and imagined spaces.
The resulting work ranged from recognisable landscapes and cities to more unexpected environments, allowing ideas about history, architecture and imagination to develop through a playful visual exercise.
The workshop generated ideas, conversation and participation as part of Tom’s wider artistic process for the permanent Foxenden Quarry artworks.
From workshop to artwork
Ideas explored during the session complemented the developing language of the permanent commission: openings, hidden spaces, ladders and routes underground.
The final boulder artworks translate these themes into simple sandblasted symbols within the play-area landscape, connecting imaginative ideas about hidden places with the actual history beneath Foxenden Quarry.
