Visual Arts News
Prep
Recently, the prep students have been creating artworks inspired by picture story books. After reading “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, the preps used plasticine to create the segmented body of the caterpillar, as well as its head and eyes. They used sculpting skills such as rolling, pinching and pushing to manipulate their clay and create these miniature sculptures. In the following week, the preps read the picture story book, “The Rainbow Fish”. After discussing the setting of the story, the students painted an ocean scene in watercolour, including features such as sand, rocks, seaweed and shells. The students will continue with this project next week by collaging a rainbow fish onto their work.
One
The grade one students recently explored sculpture in Visual Arts classes. They created their own “pinch-pot” fish, by shaping clay into a pot shape and adding details such as eyes and fins. In the following week they painted their sculpture. Last week, students were introduced to artworks created by New Zealand artist, Raewyn Harris. Raewyn’s artworks often feature the koru plant (unfurling fern fronds found in New Zealand), which is a symbol often used in Maori artwork. Students were inspired by the artist to create their own koru designs. They used line to draw spiral koru plants, as well as other fern fronds, leaves and vines. Some classes painted their work, using greens and other cool colours for the ferns.
Two
The grade two students recently explored sculpture in Visual Arts classes. They created their own “pinch-pot” owl, by shaping clay into a pot shape and adding details such as eyes, a beak and wings. In the following week they painted their sculpture. Last week, students were introduced to artworks created by Australian artist, Amy Gibbs. Using her work as inspiration, students created and Australian botanical artwork. They used oil pastel to draw a collection of Australian flowers and leaves, focusing on using different shapes and colours.
Three
Recently, the grade three students used clay to mould and sculpt a miniature magic door. They used scoring techniques to join/add details to their door and added texture using tools. In the following week, students painted their doors to complete their sculpture. Last week, the grade threes experimented with a combination of different materials to create textured mixed-media geodes. In this piece, they used their knowledge of value to choose different shades and tints of the same colour. They used ripped paper, marker and watercolour to create their layered geode, and added glitter for a textured layer.
Four
The grade three students recently used clay to mould and sculpt a food item. Some options included a donut, hotdog, pizza slice or burger. The students used scoring techniques to join/add details to their food and some students added texture using tools. In the following week, students painted their food item complete their sculpture. Last week, the grade four students created a mixed media landscape scene using paint slick and torn paper. First, they layered their work with paintslick, choosing either a warm or cool colour scheme. Next, they used black paint slick to create a silhouette detail such as a tree, then used torn paper to add texture to their work. Check out these eye-catching artworks!
Five
Grade five students have been working on a sculpture inspired by the artwork and installations of famous Japanese artist, Kusama. After learning about her work, students created contrasting dot background bases for their piece. They used black magi-clay to create a small nature-inspired sculpture, then used clay matching their base colour to add dot patterns to their piece. In a more recent lesson, students used their knowledge of shape to create two rows of buildings/cottages, folding their paper in half to create both a “warm” and “cool” side. Some students started using watercolour pencils to outline their buildings on each side in either warm or cool colours. They will continue working on these in the coming weeks by adding watercolour paint.
Six
Grade six students have been working on a vase sculpture over the last few weeks. They used recycled materials to create the armature of their vase, then used Modroc (plaster bandage) to wrap and sculpt their piece. Some classes have now started to paint their vases with acrylic paint designs. We can’t wait to see these finished pieces.
