News from the Art Rooms

Let’s go 2026! We’re excited to begin another creative year in the Art Rooms! 

This term is already full of imagination, experimentation and fun, and we’re looking forward to a fantastic year of art-making. We can’t wait to see our students’ creativity grow and to share their wonderful artworks at the Art Show later in the year. It’s going to be an exciting celebration of their hard work and creativity!

Senior School Art Room 

Inspired by Günter Christmann’s playful Shuffle Boxes, Grade 2 children explored how everyday objects can become art. Students collected small found items—buttons, string, lids, fabric scraps, and other recycled materials—and arranged them inside small boxes to create their own “shuffle box” artworks.

They experimented by moving, rotating, and ‘shuffling’ the objects around, noticing how each new arrangement changed the mood and meaning of the piece. Once they found a composition they loved, they fixed the items in place to complete their artwork.

This project encouraged creativity, problem-solving, and an appreciation for how ordinary materials can be transformed into something imaginative and unique.

In Grade 3 children explored the lively world of John Olsen’s watercolour paintings, focusing on his playful interpretations of ponds, frogs and watery habitats. They studied how Olsen uses line, shape and tone to create movement and energy in his artworks.

Students began by sketching flowing lines to map out winding waterways, lily pads and jumping frogs. They experimented with organic shapes and learned how varying tones of watercolour—from light washes to deeper layers—can create depth and atmosphere.

Using these techniques, each student created their own vibrant ocean artwork, capturing the sense of life and motion that makes Olsen’s paintings so distinctive.

Grade 4 have learned about primary colours (red, blue and yellow) and how they mix to create secondary colours (orange, green and purple). After exploring how complementary colours can enhance an artwork,  students apply their knowledge to a pastel sky artwork. Using oil or soft pastels, they blend primary and secondary colours to show a sunrise, sunset or daytime sky, focusing on smooth blending and creating mood through colour.

After exploring how puppeteers use simple materials to bring characters to life, Grade 5 children created their own imaginative sock puppets. They began by studying examples of sock puppets and noticing how features like eyes, hair, clothing and accessories can transform an ordinary sock into a lively character.

Students then selected a sock and used a variety of materials—felt, buttons, yarn, fabric scraps and craft pieces—to design and decorate their puppet. They experimented with ways to attach features securely and considered how each detail contributed to their puppet’s personality. 

Grade 6 have experimented with a simple pastel printing technique to create expressive self-portraits. They began by drawing a stylised portrait onto a sheet of paper placed over a surface coated with soft pastels. Pressing firmly as they drew, the pastel transferred onto the back of their paper, leaving behind a bold, textured print.

Children focused on strong lines, simplified features and thoughtful composition to capture their likeness. After lifting the print, they enhanced details or added colour where needed, exploring how pastel smudges and layers can create depth and personality.

Junior School Art Room

Welcome back to the Junior School Art Room for 2026. We have another exciting year of creativity ahead, with many inspiring art projects to explore and create.

It has been wonderful welcoming our new Prep students into the Art Room. They have settled in beautifully and have already produced some fantastic pieces of artwork that I absolutely adore.

In Prep, we have been focusing on how to draw a person by starting with basic shapes. Students have been encouraged to use simple shapes such as circles, ovals, rectangles and triangles as the foundation for their figure drawings. Using their own creativity and ability, they have created beautiful drawings of their families and loved ones, as well as illustrated self-portraits.

Children have also been exploring the work of artist Wassily Kandinsky and creating inspired background drawings to enhance their artwork. Throughout these projects, they have been experimenting with a range of different mediums, including oil pastels, Slick Stix and watercolour paints.

In Grade 1, our focus has also been on self-portraits, but with a creative twist. Children explored the work of artist Paul Klee, where I introduced them to the artist and discussed the unique style of his artwork. Inspired by this, the students created their own Paul Klee–inspired abstract portraits.

We also revisited the different types of lines they learned in Prep - such as horizontal, vertical, diagonal, wavy, curvy, straight, zigzag and dashed lines - and brainstormed creative ways to incorporate them into their artwork.

For their second project, the Grade 1 children created a beautiful drawing of a Lovebird. They again used a variety of line types learned in previous lessons and then completed their artwork using a range of mediums, including oil pastels, coloured Slick Stix, Posca paint markers and watercolour paints.

I am incredibly proud of all the Prep and Grade 1 students for their ongoing commitment during Art classes. It is such a joy to see how proud they are of their work and how encouraging and supportive they are of one another.

We are all very excited about the commencement of the new Junior School Art Room. The next couple of terms may present some challenges in terms of creativity and adapting to a new space, but I’m confident that the Prep and Grade 1 students will adjust well to our new working environment. In the meantime, I’m sure the students will continue to create wonderful and inspiring pieces of artwork.

It has been so lovely welcoming all the students back into the Junior and Senior Art Rooms, and we have many exciting art projects planned for the year ahead. We are looking forward to a colourful and creative year of art.

Happy creating,

Edwina Atkins (Senior) and Mavra Kotsabouikis (Junior)