The half term workshops looked at pattern and design from the 1950s (which tied in with the current Italians in Wales exhibition). We looked at numerous examples of design from Italy (such as Bruno Munari) and other famous designers such as Lucienne Day as well as clothing and fabrics from our collection.

Taking these patterns as inspriation everyone created fantastic artwork using collage and print (potato prints, monoprints and stencils) and some of the pictures that were made are shown below.

Detail from a 1950s dress from our handling collection which was used as inspiration for the workshops

Monoprint based on the flowered pattern

Drawing developed from flowered pattern and the monoprint

Images from nature were often used in 1950s designs, so we made a leaf potato print which looks fantastic in this picure!

This picture is beautiful. I love the use of collage, stencil and monoprinting here and the colours are great too.

We also looked at the artists Rex Ray who is a contemporary artist influenced by 1950s design. This fantastic collage was based on one of Ray's paingtings.

More pictures to come!

In early December we looked forward to an early spring but then the cold weather slowed everything down. Now, with temperatures slowly rising, school scientists are reporting new signs of spring across Wales! My shoots have also started to come through!

In Pentrepoeth Junior School, Swansea. Pupils were very excited to find crocus, daffodil and mystery bulbs peeping through the soil. They were surprised how some of their shoots varied in size and love recording the temperature and rainfall.

On the really Welsh farm, in Bridgend. Farmers have finally started picking daffodils and sending them out across South Wales. They report: 'Still not huge volumes really, we are extremely disappointed at how slow the daffodils are growing this year. We are about 5 weeks behind for the earliest varieties and are keeping our fingers crossed that we will have plenty of daffodils for St.Davids Day'.

• Win a trip to a really Welsh farm
• Daffodil Drawing Competition
• Newsletter
• Investigation ideas

Professor Plant's bulb blog:

20/02/10 My crocus opened today! First the flower bud appeared, then when the sun came out at lunch time - the flower popped open. The colours were amazing, bright purple petals and bright orange anthers & stigma.  It's so nice to finally have some colour in the garden. Later in the afternoon, when the sunshine disappeared the flower closed again. I'll upload my pictures tomorrow. Does your crocus do this? Why not try out some of my investigation ideas. See link below.

15/02/10 Both my daffodil and crocus shoots have started to come through. They are no taller than 2cms which is quiet small for this time of year. In 2008, when the winter was mild my crocus flowers had already opened and the daffodils were 11cms tall!

Which shoot is which? The daffodil shoots have smooth curved, light green tips. They are much broader than the crocus tips. The crocus shoots have narrow pointed shoots that normally appear in clusters of five. They have dark green edges - making them look slightly stripey.

Crocus - 13/02/10

Daffodil 10/02/10

Daffodil 10/02/10

25/01/10 Pentrepoeth Junior School, Morriston, Swansea.

Crocus - 10/02/10

I received the call on Monday. "It's in the post. Should be with you in three-to-five working days". The words put me in a geeky flutter: finally, the Thurible was on its way here!

Now, for those of you wondering, a thurible is basically a very nice incense burner indeed. It comes attached to a chain, meaning the incense can be swung at arm's length.

Still used in many churches, temples and shrines across the world, incense can play a very important role in a worshipper's experience of a sacred place. Smell, we are often reminded, is a short-circuit to our memories. The mixture of Frankinsence, Myrrh, and citrus oils usually favoured by the Catholic Church - though perhaps not as evocative as mothballs or freshly-baked bread - is a heavy mix which can transport you to some quite fantastical places. Some of these smells have been used in ceremonies and perfumes since the age of the ancient Egyptians and beyond. It is no surprise, then, that one's imagination can wander quite far off its leash when this stuff is burning.

Now, before i get too Herbal Essences, I should probably 'fess up - i'm an incense fiend. Not just any incense either. I'll snobbishly breeze past the day-glo, wood based tendrils and cones, and go straight for the resin. Usually made from sap collected from trees, each kind has its own history and associations. Frankinsence comes in rounded, amber-coloured blobs. Myrrh looks a bit more like the discarded pupae of a creepy-crawly. Damar looks like pear drops, and smells like a delicate, citrussy nectar...

Anyway, back to the thurible. Ours is replica, to be used in St Teilo's Church. Past experiments (using a thurible kindly loaned from St David's College) have yielded mixed results. Some enjoyed the experience, saying it gave an air of religious calm to the building. Others took two huffs and turned on their heels, coughing. Some just felt uncomfortable, perhaps due to their own religious instruction or beliefs about worship. We propose to use the thurible during re-enactments at first (more on those later...), along with period music and liturgy, to see whether we can really re-create the atmosphere of a Mass in 1500.

Only problem is that the Curator who commissioned the replica is on holiday. The parcel sits tantalisingly intact in the strong room. I'm trying my best not to take a peek - though, it would take considerable effort, seeing as I don't have the keys. We will have to wait, then, until Monday, when we'll have a very different unboxing video to show you!

We've been making amazing prints and collages throughout the week. I'll put up all the rest of the work next monday and tuesday! Thank you to everyone who came to the workshops and I hope you enjoyed them!