Last week I delivered a workshop for the Children's Art School in Wimbledon. The Victorians were a clever lot, before the invention of film they created magical ways to trick the eye into seeing moving images. During the morning we explored these tricks and deceived our own eyes by creating moving drawings. During the afternoon these marvelous techniques were developed further, exploring optical illusion using shadow puppets and light.
What I most enjoyed about the day was the gasps of delight as the children looked in wonder at what they had created. With card, tape, paper and their skill and imaginations they peeked into the past and experienced their power in transforming basic materials.
Mixing weather - thaumatrope in action
Adding to a pile of thaumatrope's
Zoetrope with frames being drawn
Spinning zoetrope, tricking the brain into seeing a moving image with the persistence of vision
