Visual Arts

 Communicating with the Specialist Team

We look forward to partnering with you in 2026, and welcome your input:

Danielle Haines (Visual Arts)  danielle.haines@education.vic.gov.au 

Production

What an incredible season it has been for art making at USPS! Thank you to all my parent helpers for lending a hand to make our sets and props come to life. From mountains to forests, signposts and snails, it gives me so much joy to be a part of this school and the incredible events we have the opportunity to put on. Thank you for being a part of that. Our students did a sensational job on stage. I can't put in to words how proud we all were of them all. 

Foundation students have been exploring different ways of working with materials this term, with a particular focus on developing their fine motor and construction skills. They learned how to use a needle and wool to sew a heart design into a paper plate, practising a simple running stitch and adding their own drawn patterns around the edge. Students also explored paper weaving, learning to weave strips over and under to create a repeated checkerboard pattern. These projects have given them lots of opportunities to practise careful hand control while experimenting with different materials and techniques.

Year 1 and 2 students have been developing their sewing skills through a colourful hessian fish project. They began by learning how to thread a needle and create a running stitch border, focusing on keeping their stitches consistent in size and spacing. Students then designed their own fish and carefully stitched around the outline before adding a button eye and experimenting with different stitches to decorate their designs. It has been wonderful to see students becoming more confident with the needle and making their own creative choices with colour, pattern and stitching.

Year 3 and 4 students explored landscape and perspective through paintings inspired by the work of Jen Aranyi. They combined her clean, graphic drawing style with their own ideas about landscape, using marker and watercolour to create colourful skies and develop contrast between the sky and land. Students have also begun planning their next project, designing an animal softie inspired by the colourful animal collages of Pete Cromer. They are making decisions about their animal's shape, colours and patterns before bringing their designs to life with felt and stitching.

Year 5 and 6 students explored paper as a sculptural material, using folding and origami techniques to transform flat paper into three-dimensional relief sculptures. They experimented with repetition and radial symmetry to create balanced designs, developing their precision and construction skills along the way. Students have now begun a Pop Art-inspired collage, choosing an onomatopoeia word and developing a bold visual design to communicate its meaning. They are exploring the bright colours, graphic shapes and strong imagery that make Pop Art so instantly recognisable.