Art
Observational drawing: the Peppercorns
The Treehouse Studio
We have had a wonderful start to Term Two up in the Tree House Studio. Art Club has been popular spot on Thursdays at lunch to come and draw, work on a particular art idea or have a go at trying something new. Last week a group of children created a sign for the new makerspace in the Fish Bowl. Anyone can join, Thursdays from 1pm (after you have eaten your lunch).
The children in the Lighthouse have been continuing their exploration of different art materials in their Art Inquiry into to how understanding materials can help you make art. Linking into Bush School, the children have begun to explore natural materials such as clay, with a focus on texture.
Last term, the Lofties may have come home with a rainbow of colour on their hands. As part of their inquiry into how artists make decisions about how they use art elements and principles to express themselves, we looked at line, shape and colour (with lots of tactile experimentation inspired by the Takehito Koganezawa video ‘From Warm Mud’ that they viewed on our excursion to Buxton Contemporary). This term we have begun looking at the decision making process. What decisions do artists make? How do they make them? How can they use art elements and principles to express or communicate something? We started exploring a range of artists work including Martu artists from the Western Desert (Pilbara Region, WA) and how they tell stories in their artworks without words. This term we will be working towards creating collaborative paintings that reflect their new understandings and tell a story of their own.
After their excursion to ACMI last term, the Sun Room students have been excited to get started on their own Stop Motion Animations. To help them understand how animation works we had a go at creating one of the earliest forms of animation, a thaumatrope. We have also been exploring the theme ‘listen’ in response to this year's ACMI Screen It Competition. We have looked at what makes a good listener, important stories, deep listening, and listening in. The children are working in small groups to create scripts, storyboards, sets, characters and props.
The Peppercorns have started a new unit inspired by their excursion to the Escher exhibition at the NGV, last term. They will be inquiring into how art can make the impossible seem possible. From optical illusions and infinity to perspective, form, space and depth, we will be using drawing, printmaking and collage to explore and challenge these ideas. Last week we did a whole session on drawing. We played games where you could not look at your subject or lift your pencil and also had a go at drawing as realistically as we could using observational techniques. Some students were so enthusiastic they started taking off their own shoes so that they could draw them, experimenting with how they look from different angles.
It is going to be a fun term! So that you can join us on our journey, the children and myself will be posting as much as possible on SeeSaw. Please check regularly for any new posts.
Claire Roberston
Art Teacher