Visual Arts 

News from the Art Room…

In Art, the Foundation/Grade 1 students have been learning about a range of different artists, while continuing to practice their cutting and pasting skills. They have busily been cutting ‘ovalos’ to replicate Kandinsky’s concentric circles, as well as cutting a range of different ‘formas’ (from triangles, circles, squares, hearts and hexagons) to create a cubist inspired Picasso self-portrait. During these sessions, students have been learning how to arrange and move pieces in a collage, prior to sticking down items with ‘pegamento’ (glue). Finally, they have extended their knowledge of shapes by looking at irregular shapes to create a Matisse collage in which students cut a range of organic shapes to show that they could ‘draw with scissors’. 

Grade 2/3 students were extending their knowledge and use of acuerlas (watercolours)to create a range of different art tasks. As part of this unit students have explored the use of colour, pattern and proportion. They have used the ‘Parjaro series’ of Bolivian artist, Graceila Rodo Boulanger, to inspire students to design and paint their own representations of birds, using bright, bold colours and patterns. In preparation for Cultural Week, students have been exploring the artwork of famous Coloumbian artist, Fernando Botero. They have been discussing his use of exaggerated volume and shape to create almost ‘Ruebenesque’ like human and animal figures within his paintings. Next week, they will be painting their own examples which use elements of his distinctive style.

Students in the Grade 4/5/6 area are nearly finished creating their large child-sized model. As part of this unit, they have been learning about how to cast a mold as well as successfully developing their collaborative learning skills in Visual Arts. During the process of making their figures, students considered whether their sculpture needed reinforcement or whether they would sacrifice the transparent appearance of their sculpture by stuffing it with paper.