La Rochelle, France: 15-22 November 2014

Activities in schools were conducted by teachers and students from the 5 participating countries (on Monday, Thursday and Friday), at Poitiers, Ré Island and La Rochelle (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). Students made friends with their colleagues from other countries, and especially with the French students who hosted them.

Our road to La Rochelle helped us reflect on the theme of the industrial design project of industrial objects where scientific, technical and artistic considerations give the definitive shape of the airplane or the fast trains.

The theme of the project, Art and Science, was well-documented by laboratory works to create organic dyes, highlighting techniques for repairing damaged paintings or old printed documents. Also, the Geogebra Program allowed students to create real mosaics, whose patterns they found in the decorations of some of the town's buildings. Art and science have blended harmoniously into the historic city center of La Rochelle (architecture specific to the site but also science exhibited in museums and exhibitions) as well as the architectural ensemble in the center of Poitiers, which is also evidenced by the French student presentation. Beekeeping (a predominant activity on the island of Ré) was also brought about as an argument of this harmony between nature, science and art. Young artists, as one can see, combine modern technology with personal grace to create objects that bear the mark of local specificity.

Several variants for the project logo were made in the workshops and one of them was voted.

At the teachers’ meetings were discussed ways to work with this mobility in students’ groups, but also the way how teachers can work. A consensus was reached on the activities that would take place until the second meeting in Bucharest, mainly the realization of the project logo on various material supports. The Romanian team chose the painting on the glass. But then, because the Romanian students were particularly enthusiastic, it was also done through the method of the tissue on wood, textile printing, arras and even a hologram logo. A French-style mosaic logo was made following these discussions, a painting in Byzantine style by the Turkish team, a carpet made in the central market of Spain after the local tradition of olive tree sawdust. It was also learned the linography technique for linoleum materialization of the logo at the meeting in Romania. Also, the handwritten logo of the French team has been processed with image editing programs to have a pleasant electronic form (by one of the Romanian students).

It was also presented by the team in Romania and discussed with colleagues the sketch of the program at the second meeting, the theme being Nature at the confluence between art and science, outlining some research themes in science and art, for example the anamorphic art presented by our team at this meeting.

So the teachers' meetings established the coordinates of the future collaboration from the first meeting.