Art

Welcome to the Visual Art Room!

We sometimes overlook the importance of Visual Art in education, but the skills developed are vital to lifelong learning. Through drawing, painting, sculpture and mixed media projects, students engage in creative processes, build confidence, resilience, and problem-solving skills, and are encouraged to experiment and take risks to develop their own artistic voice. There is no right or wrong in our Visual Art room, just creativity, adaptability, collaboration, and a whole lot of fun.

Visual Art Lunchtime Club

During Term 1, the Visual Art room hosted lunch time clubs: Sketch & Scribble Squad (Years 3/4) and Creative Crew (Years 5/6). Attendees of both clubs experimented with lines, patterns and watercolours, creating vibrant, expressive artworks. A sample of these artworks are on display in the school foyer so do drop by to view them.

Term 2 sees the return of a lunch time club, held every Tuesday for the first half of lunch. I invite all interested creatives in Years 3-6 to come along to explore, experiment and create.

Southland’s Mother’s Day Community Gift Wrapping Competition

Earlier this year, Cheltenham Primary School students were invited to submit design entries into Westfield Southland’s Mother’s Day Community Gift Wrapping competition. Some of our budding Year 5/6 artists took on the challenge and created vibrant, playful and bold designs. These were submitted at the end of last term, and I am tremendously proud to announce that a collaborative design by Maggie B, Isla VT, Evie C and Ava B of Year 6 was selected as one of the winning entries. The girl’s design will be printed as a custom wrapping paper and used at Southland’s Community Gift Wrapping Station on Level 2 (near Country Road) between Thursday 7 and Saturday 9 May. So, if you have a gift that needs to be wrapped, be sure to pop in for a professional wrap. All design submissions will also be displayed at Southland on Level 2 (near Factorie) during the same dates. 

Congratulations Maggie!

Foundation

Kicking things off in the Visual Art room this term, Foundation students have been exploring identity through colour, lines and shape. They have been experimenting with primary colours to create their own colours and drawing geometric and organic shapes with thick and thin lines. Inspired by artists who use vibrant colours to bring ‘visual joy’ and emotional responses to their artwork, such as Ken Done and Kandinsky, students are embracing the freedom to use colour to create vibrant backgrounds for their self-portrait.

Filling out the term, students will be introduced to the concept of value in the form of light, dark, shapes and shadows as they dabble in still life art and will create papier mache sculptures that align with their STEAM unit. 

Year 1 & 2:

Inspired by the self-portraits of various artists, such as Ken Done, Frida Kahlo and Picasso, students have begun the term exploring colour, lines and shapes to create their own self-portrait. Using a photo of a section of their faces, students have been encouraged to observe the lines and shapes that make up their unique facial features and replicate these with poster paint to complete their self-portrait. 

This term students will also build on their basic value skills, exploring how light and dark values create form, through a still life artwork of nature-based objects. Towards the end of term, students will further explore form when they create mini sculptural pieces aligning with their STEAM unit.

Year 3 & 4:

Students have been exploring warm and cool colour palettes, taking inspiration from Paul Klee’s colourful abstract lines and shapes. They are experimenting with watercolour paints through mixing colours and layering to achieve varying intensities that will be forming the backdrop for their abstract self-portrait. Living our ‘no right or wrong’ mantra in the Visual Art room, students’ perception of perfection will be challenged as they complete a series of blind drawings of themselves, from which they will compose their abstract self-portrait. 

Later in the term, students will explore value, form and perspective by experimenting with various shading techniques to create still life artworks. Aligning with their STEAM unit, students will further explore form, and structure and movement through collaborative sculptural pieces. 

 Year 5 & 6:

Spooky. Whimsical. Moody. Gothic. Tim Burton’s quirky style is inspiring students to explore line, shape and value and create a self-portrait that captures the essence of his unique style. Applying shading techniques of layering and smudging using black, grey and white pencils, students are exploring mood, emotions and self-identity.

Later in the term, students will further develop their understanding and application of value and shading techniques, as they plan and create detailed still life artworks based on their choice of natural and household objects. This project will encourage students to strengthen their control of materials, observation skills, and the ability to represent light, shadow, form and perspective with their choice of medium. This will be followed by a sculptural project that will align with their STEAM unit. 

“It's good as an artist to always remember to see things in a new, weird way.” Tim Burton