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Darrell Wakelam

@darrellwakelam.bsky.social

1.9K followers 880 following 1.2K posts

Freelance artist and provider of 3D ART workshops & training. Author of the best-selling book Art Shaped. Free ART ideas and projects at www.darrellwakelam.com

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Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · Dec 27

In 2025, if you like an artists work online, share it.
I see AI generated art getting thousands of views, while hard-working creatives go unnoticed. Artists don't exist in a vacuum, creative people need the oxygen of support to find their audience. Find what you love, and shout about it. 👍❤️
#edusky

A picture of me (the artist) with a variety of cardboard models that I've shared online, a Chinese dragon, a fish, a dodo, a crown, a warriors helmet and a chimpanzee, all made from simple scrap materials.

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Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 4h

😂

Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 6h

We've all been there, usually when you've left the copying till 10 minutes before the lesson starts 😆

a man wearing headphones is sweating and making a face

ALT: a man wearing headphones is sweating and making a face

media.tenor.com

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Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 7h

"Paper jam, please remove" 😮

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Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 7h

Thank you 😁

Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 13h

'Corrugated Cardboard Seahorses'
Sometimes, the materials enhance the subject matter.
My old design tutor Dennis used to tell us "the most successful designs look familiar, like you've seen them before somewhere." 👍
www.darrellwakelam.com
#edusky #seahorse #sculpture #artwork

Two cardboard seahorses decorated with corrugated card to create the surface texture and detail, both of these are raw and unpainted.

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Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 2d

You forget telly by the next day. This stuff makes memories and keeps my skills up. 😁

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Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks 😆 I don't even know, it was something I did last summer whenever I had time, maybe about 20 hours? The head is just one tube, I could make that in a few minutes. 👍

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Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 2d

😆👍 killing time last summer

Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 2d

Still making, still learning, still experimenting, still chasing.
www.darrellwakelam.com
#edusky #sculpture #artwork #recycle

A model of a T-Rex made entirely from recycled toilet roll tubes. Pictures show a simple head, made from one tube, and a complete 3D sculpture, something a little more complex, and made from many tubes.

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Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 2d

I used to work at an arts centre with three other staff, one guy, two women. The visiting kids always assumed that, behind the scenes, it was something like ABBA. 😆😆😆

Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 2d

I've been at Elmore Green Primary this week, helping Year 5 + 6 with a WWII project. We created a display in the style of a comic strip (with a nod to Lichtenstein) The detail in this kept them very busy, at one point it was about 60 different pieces.
www.darrellwakelam.com #edusky

A large-scale display piece created by Year 5/6 kids from Elmore Green Primary. Their topic was World War II, and our brief was to create a composite image in a 'comic strip' style, similar to the artwork of pop-artist Roy Lichtenstein) I broke that down into three elements, a blitz image of a bomber over London, a clip of the famous Churchill speech, and a 'Battle of Britain' image. At one point, this image was broken down into about 60 different elements, planes, houses, text, explosions, etc and eventually all came together into this one image.

Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 7d

Ah thanks, I'll make a note of this and take a look when I get a moment, thank you 😁

Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 7d

Hello to the new people who've popped up on here over the last few weeks. 🙂👋 . . . I'm Darrell, I'm a maker/artist/teacher and I've spent over 35 years convincing everyone that 'cutting & sticking' is a valid career. 😆
Please check out my work at www.darrellweakelam.com
#edusky

A model of a lions head made entirely from recycled cardboard tubes.

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Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 8d

Enjoyed this so much I thought I'd make another one. 🙂
www.darrellwakelam.com #edusky #sculpture #cardboard

The beginnings of another smaller cardboard seahorse. This small model is just cut from thin cardboard, scored, and folded to make it more three-dimensional.

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Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 8d

No worries, I guessed it was auto 😁

Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 8d

Thank you Isobel 🙂

Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 8d

It's a mixture of lots of techniques I use, scoring, rolling, using strips, making separate pieces and then combining them, paper mache (tissue) When you've got a broad age/ability range, you have to dissect the techniques and work out who can do what, when, and how.

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Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 8d

Thanks Marie, it was lovely on the last day, they all have to come down the stairs next to this to go home, and the sound of their gasps and their lovely comments to each other were very special.

Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 8d

This week's project took me up to Gastrells Primary in Stroud where the whole school took part, creating a new display area outside their school hall. This will be added to over the coming months.
www.darrellwakelam.com #edusky

This week, the children from Gastrells Primary made a tree in their corridor! Compete with birds, a resident squirrel and a fox. All of this was built in three days just using cardboard and simple sculpture techniques.

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Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 11d

😆

Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 12d

Thanks Jessica. I’m going to add more to this when I get time, and patience. 😁

Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 12d

Probably not with this, I’m not finished with it, I’m going to add even more detail to this one, but keep it as the raw card I think. 😁👍

Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 12d

😁😮 thanks

Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 12d

Sometimes I like quick results, sometimes I like a challenge. 😁😅
This ship is made entirely from recycled cardboard tubes.
darrellwakelam.com #edusky

A ship that I’m currently working on which is made entirely from recycled cardboard tubes.

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Darrell Wakelam @darrellwakelam.bsky.social · 14d

Thanks 😁 There's not many bits of household recycling I haven't transformed at some point. 😆