News from the Art Room

Curriculum Spotlight on The Arts

Over the last term, our Arts program has been buzzing with creativity, colour, imagination and fun! For those of you who might not know, at AGPS our Specialist subject, known as “The Arts”, is primarily a Visual Arts program that also incorporates Drama and Music experiences at each year level. Each class enjoys an hour in the Art Studio each week — and boy, have we been busy!

Here is a little insight into what our wonderful AGPS Artists have been creating, exploring and learning this term…

🌸 Preps

Our Preppies have been exploring all the wonderful ways that flowers can be represented in artworks, while experimenting with a variety of materials and techniques to create their own beautiful floral artworks. A particular highlight has been discovering the stunning artworks of Georgia O’Keeffe and taking inspiration from her close-up compositions. Students have created their own line-drawn and watercoloured flower artworks, with some wonderfully bold and detailed results!

🪁 Grade 1

The Grade 1s have been exploring the cultural and historical significance of kites from around the world, before designing and creating their very own kites. We have also begun an exciting new unit called “Masks and Movement”, where students are exploring mask-making, music and the ways that movement can be used to express different emotions and ideas.

🌿 Grade 2

This term, the Grade 2s have dug deep into the world of landscape art, studying the work of Australian artist Eugene von Guérard alongside Indigenous Australian artist Ginger Riley. Students have been developing their artistic skills and vocabulary while learning techniques such as using the “rule of thirds” to create interesting compositions, as well as layering paint, colour and detail to build depth and interest in their landscapes.

🌊 Grade 3

The Grade 3s have knocked it out of the park with their printmaking masterpieces exploring the theme of “Movement in Water.” We studied the iconic woodblock prints of Japanese artist Hokusai, investigating the different ways artists can capture movement, energy and the changing surface of water. Students then developed their own ideas, created individual printing plates from foam, and produced their own series of prints. The results have been fantastic!

🧩 Grade 4/5

Our Grade 4/5 students have been developing their skills as observational artists, and this has really shone through in their detailed pencil drawings of chess pieces. They have also embarked on a colourful investigation into some of the world's most famous mosaic artworks, before designing and creating their own mosaics using beans and lentils as their tesserae. It has been wonderful to see their patience, attention to detail and creativity develop throughout these projects.

🍕 Grade 6

After exploring the wonderfully entertaining and larger-than-life sculptures of American artist Claes Oldenburg, our Grade 6s were challenged to design and construct their own sculptures inspired by everyday objects. Their results have been seriously impressive! The Art Studio has been transformed into a colourful collection of everyday objects, including pizza slices, traffic cones and lights, shoes, ice creams and an eyeball with the optic nerve attached! The creativity and imagination on display have been fantastic, and it has been a wonderful way for our soon-to-be-graduating artists to explore sculpture.

A Little Help from Our AGPS Community

Looking ahead to next term, there are a few things that would be greatly appreciated to help keep our Arts program creative, sustainable and running smoothly.

📦 Small cardboard boxes: If you are able to donate small, clean cardboard boxes (no bigger than a tissue box), we would love to put them to good use in an upcoming architectural design unit with the Grade 3s. There is a tub in the foyer ready to receive donations.

👕 Art smocks: We are also looking for some more large-sized old shirts or art smocks, as our older year levels sometimes struggle to find enough smocks that fit comfortably.

🤝 Wednesday volunteers: If you have a current Working With Children Check and would enjoy volunteering for an hour or two on a Wednesday from 2pm, there are always plenty of little jobs where an extra pair of hands would make a huge difference! From organising materials to helping keep our Art Studio clean, organised and beautiful, your support would be very much appreciated.

Thank you to our wonderful AGPS community for continuing to support our Arts program and, most importantly, for encouraging our students to create, experiment, take risks and express themselves through the Arts.

Keep creating! 🎨

Julia Mills