Art

 Wow, what a term it has been, the students have all produced such amazing artwork! All term all year levels have been studying Aboriginal artists and many kinds of different art. The Foundation students learned that before there was paper and paint, First Nation people used to draw stories in the sand with symbols. The students had a go at making up their own symbols and telling stories in the sand using natural objects found in the garden.

In Grade 1 and 2 the students learned about Naomi Hobson who is a renowned Southern Kaantju/Umpila multidisciplinary artist based in Coen, Cape York Peninsula, known for vibrant, abstract paintings, ceramics and photography. Her work explores deep connections to Country, ancestral stories, and the vibrant, often overlooked, natural details of her environment. The students first used paint slicks to cover the paper using colours that reminded them of a special place and then painted symbols on top to represent what that place meant to them. These artworks tell a beautiful story:

To finish off the term the Grade 3 and 4 students learnt about Albert Namitjira who was a celebrated Western Arrernte Aboriginal artist famous for pioneering modern Indigenous Australian art through his iconic, Western-style watercolour landscapes of the Central Australian outback. He is renowned for his vibrant depictions of ghost gums and red-purple gorges, becoming the first prominent Aboriginal artist to bridge traditional connections to country with European painting techniques. 

Using creamy water colour paint the students sketched out and painted the mountains and bush in the background. Next they draw the ghost gum trees onto paper and glued onto their landscape. Grey water colour was mixed to create the texture of bark and shadows on the ghost gum tree, markers and green paint were used to create spindly bushes and leaves. These water colour landscapes capture the beauty of the Australian bush:

For the final project of the term the Grade 5 and 6 students learnt about Gippsland artist Mick Harding who belongs to the Nattarak Baluk and the Yowong-Illam Baluk clans of the Daung Wurrung, commonly known as the Taungurung people. He is an artist and owner of Ngarga Warendj, which means "dancing wombat". Mick Harding draws upon his Aboriginal heritage to create art that is both deeply traditional and boldly contemporary. From hand-carved woodenboomerangs and sculptures to screen-printed giftware and large-scale public installations, his work brings the visual culture of South-East Australia to new audiences.

Inspired by his gum leaf series, the students scratched out the lines of the gum leaves on scratch paper and added these intricate lines and patterns. I could easily see any of these artworks framed and hung on the wall with pride.