Arte Visual

Foundation

What a wonderful introduction to Art that the Foundation students have had to the year! The focus so far has been on developing students' knowledge and use of primary colours through a variety of different colour mixing activities. For their first art session, students go messy and mixed 'los colores primarios; azul, amarillo y rojo' (the primary colours; blue, yellow and red) using shaving foam and inks. We reinforced that azul y amarillo make verde, as well as discovering that amarillo y rojo make naranja and finally, we made morado using azul y rojo. Throughout the lesson, students were encouraged to use the Spanish names for these colours.

Last week, students further built upon this knowledge by learning about the La Rueda de Color (colour wheel) and colores secundarios (secondary colours). Once again, students were given hands on experience in mixing colours using acrylic paints to paint their colour wheels. 

Grade 1/2

This term, the Grade 1/2's revised their knowledge of primary colours by exploring the Pop Art world of Roy Lichtenstein.  Students were to create a self-portrait using mirrors to assist in creating a visual representation of themselves. Then the 1/2's were to paint elements of their self-portraits using the primary colours to emulate Lichtenstein's colour palette. The following week, students painted on bubble wrap and printed on top of sections of their artwork as a homage to Lichtenstein's use of dots. 

Currently, students are exploring the abstract world of Mondrian. Once again, through the lens of reinforcing knowledge of primary colours and regular 2D shapes. This time, the 1/2's engaged in using the medium of collage to create a Mondrian-inspired collage.

  Grade 3/4

The Grade 3/4's have started the year by examining how to use watercolour pencils to create artworks based on their holiday experiences. They had to turn and talk to a partner about their favourite location that they visited. Once they had chosen their desired place they were to dibujar (draw) their picture using a light sketching technique. Then they proceeded to colour in using different watercolour pencil techniques. Students were encouraged to take risks in applying colours using various techniques. 

This week students have been observing the artwork of Australian Artist Donna Sharam. As part of this unit students have been drawing using coloured pencils to shade and colour in parts of their drawings. During group discussions, students noted her use of line, colour and pattern. Based on these observations they were to create their own drawings which mimicked her style, using of pattern and colour to create a drawing of an animal which will from part of a large piece of art that will incorporate mixed media.  

Grade 5/6

Grade 5/6 started this year with a mini unit of work which focused on student voice. Students were given an option to draw either a Funko Pop figurine of a chosen character or an avatar of themselves, or they could explore using graffiti to write their name using poscas. Once they had finished their pieces, students were given a portfolio to store their work in. This year, we will be trialling the use of portfolios for the Grade 5/6's as a way of storing their artwork.

I'm also pleased to see such an overwhelming number of students who have committed to join face painting club this year. Currently, we have over 25 students attending. During the first face painting session, students learnt to paint a rainbow with clouds. We had some prior members challenge themselves by learning to paint koi fish and dolphins.