Art

Once again, here we are juggling the complexities of learning and teaching Art from home. We are constantly trying to come up with new ways to engage the young men of St James College and some have proved successful.

We are probably all suffering from a bit of screen fatigue right now so this is a good opportunity for the boys to start working creatively. We don't always need to be sitting at a computer or iPhone or phone. Now is a great time to get outside and start taking photos, maybe pick up a pencil and start drawing, painting or even knitting. There are many ways to engage the creative mind, and now, more than ever it is important to do so.

We had our first online observation drawing class with the Year 10s this week and that was a terrific experience for all involved. The boys were given a series of images, a time frame and limitations as to what they could and couldn't do. I’m looking forward to offering this experience to the wider school community during asynchronous learning time. This experience also provided us with the opportunity to indulge in a bit of banter and much laughter at the same time. 

Meanwhile, the Year 10 VCD class have been busy redesigning Movie Poster in a minimalist style with some great results. These boys have really risen to the challenge and produced some high quality work in a short time frame. I’m excited to see what their final products will look like.

8.1 and 8.2 have been  involved in some online Photoshop tutorials and these have proven to be a great way to learn how to create digital artworks and manipulate images.  They have been focusing on a Photography/Media unit and have demonstrated great enthusiasm and good problem solving in undertaking this work. The next challenge for them will be a crash course in Adobe Illustrator.

Finally, the Year 7s have had their first foray into Secondary School Visual Arts via Zoom calls and Teams which feels like a really odd way to develop a relationship with a group of young men. Nonetheless they have produced some great work so far and are beginning to get the hang of how to produce a digital visual diary. Hopefully next term we will once more return to face to face learning and the boys can immerse themselves in a wide range of practical, hands on activities.

Keep on creating and keep safe.

Kate Brierty

Arts Domain Leader