Visual Art
On 1 June we formally launched the Artist in Residence book, Sadie and Otto’s Aitken Adventure in the CPA. The book was a collaboration, printed using traditional riso-print technique, hand-crafted, individually bound. One hundred and forty copies were produced, for each author, character illustrator, background illustrators, the library and select staff.
We aimed for a small gathering, formally inviting the main contributors, those who wrote or created animal character overlays. The turnout was fantastic, with many background illustrators also in attendance. Our Food and Beverage team masterfully provided service beforehand, and it was a lovely community event.
As Head of Faculty, I inherited the Artist in Residence program (AIR). It was well established by Mrs Michelle McKay, my predecessor; the first project was created back in 2002! Many will know the work - see left of image below. However, it now looks more colourful.
It was given a facelift by Year Nine students a few years later, when incorporated into a painted mural. The original AIR piece represented us as a College, at a specific moment in time, a crucial element of the program’s success. Mrs McKay wrote then of the project to explain:
From the outset it was apparent that the students’ sense of humor should be reflected in the artwork, hence the flying cow and wind-blown trees which were produced in 2002, the first of our collaborative artworks. Aitken College was incredibly wind-swept and surrounded by paddocks with grazing cows. Students built up the form of the half cow body and the twisted trees with clay. A body cast was also taken of a brave Year 10 student. Gary Donnellan made a fibre glass cast of each form in his studio. The finished sculpture was attached to the exterior of the Art room, facing the library, and it immediately gave the school community something to talk about.
Having started here myself in 2005, before the CPA was built, I can attest, Aitken was like walking through a wind tunnel on the best of days, and we were surrounded by farms; you could hear the cows mooing as clearly as the bell. I recall being asked ‘that’s the farm school, right?’ when I advised of my employ. I remember slipping down the gravel the CPA is now built on.
Some 20 years later, here we were, on 1 June 2022, marking another moment in Aitken time. The book perfectly captures Aitken College in the year 2021, our support dog program as it was, a school day, specific places and activities. Some students subtly and cleverly illustrated the ‘look’ for 21, depicting students in masks in their design. The project again reflected students’ humor and was a collaboration between two co-authors, one hundred and twenty backdrop artists, twelve character illustrators, one Artist in Residence, Helio Press and myself. It was humbling to see it launched and to celebrate how many creative hands made this tiny book possible.
The AIR program demonstrates the College’s commitment to the Arts, to extending students experiences beyond classroom practice. It engages a larger audience, collaborates with the artistic community who bring their talent and skills to a project. Many projects have been onsite specific works, such as the 2017 Karen Bulter panels (centered above), the spray-painted Russell Kitchen mural beside it, or the Anthony Syndicas totem poles for the Primary play area. Others have been more intimate, with students working with hyperrealist portrait artist to develop their observation or folding paper sculptures with a master book man. They all differ, that is the beauty of the program.
In deciding on what to do for 2021, the key words for planning were ‘flexible and fluid’. I needed to consider the uncertain and shifting environment of the time. The possibility of lockdowns and rescheduling. The 2020 contract was void, through no fault of either party, so I really wanted the 2021 project to go ahead. I was also determined to make better use of Miss Olivia Grbac’s incredible illustration and programming skills. So, the stars aligned, a perfect opportunity presented itself to contract her as our practising artist; to stay close to home, to ‘control’ the schedule a little more.
We discussed possibilities, wanting to develop students in primary as observers, and as illustrators, to develop a project that taught Adobe programs to extend a select few, and the book idea conceived. I then contacted members of the English team and the Head of our Extensions Program for names, approaching four students to draft a story, Sadie and Otto the stars. Two students’ work was selected, their ideas combined to create a final story that was presented to Miss Grbac, entrusted to bring it to life. She wanted the children’s illustrations to be authentic, playful yet accurate, thus Year 3 and 4 were chosen for backgrounds. For the character incursions, Year 4 and 5 students who had demonstrated an aptitude in the arts over an extended period were selected, as learning/teaching the program in limited time would be challenging.
So, who is Miss Olivia Grbac, the 2021 AIR, you may ask? She is an illustrator who studied a Bachelor of Animation and Interactive Media at RMIT in Melbourne. She is also a studio assistant at Aitken College; her qualifications allow her to assist students in the Art department in various programs such as Illustrator and Photoshop. She is also responsible for the photography of work and formats our online exhibition. Miss Grbac co-created the 2020 Windmill cover, for example; she is incredibly fast and proficient at her craft. She has worked on projects such as music videos, posters, merchandise and zines for different businesses. She likes to draw weird and wonderful characters and uses both traditional and digital media in her practice.
Prior to the student sessions, Miss Grbac photographed the school grounds and compiled a storyboard with the final story written by Kisali P and Alana O. This mock up acted as a guide for the final design of the book and helped students visualise the project. We ran twelve workshops during timetabled Art classes. Olivia talked about storyboards, the process of riso graph printing, fore, mid and background composition.
The Grade 3 and 4 students were given different pages of the book and reference photos to interpret. They used watercolour to achieve different textures, tones and washes and used thick fine liners to create a linear overlay. This allowed Olivia to layer these in Photoshop, using a collage technique. Over two hundred and forty pages of artwork were scanned and prepared in time for the next stage, our Adobe Fresco workshops.
Two four-hour Adobe Fresco incursions followed. Students were again assigned a different shot or page. They were given the challenging task to convey the emotion of Sadie and Otto, possibly in action, and they excelled at this.
After the workshops and incursions, Miss Grbac compiled all the imagery. The photoshop file included over 200 layers, as you can in the image below. Background designs were carefully combined, with elements from several students used on each page.
The layers for each page were flattened into pink and black compositions and converted to PDFs for riso printing. This print medium is making a comeback in contemporary practice.
The book was beautifully read to the audience on the night by the co-authors and copies presented on stage to incursion participants.
The Artist in Residence Program fosters a sense of ownership and pride. I hope the authors, background and character illustrators all keep these books to share with friends and family as they age, as we will in our library. It is a document that depicts the ‘here and now’, our place in time. The college is geared for change, the buildings and its grounds. This beautiful book and its drawings record our history! How amazing is that?
I would like to thank all students involved, all parents for their support, Miss Olivia Grbac for talent, creativity and professionalism.
The 2021 Year 3 and 4 students who did not attend can collect their copy from their 2022 Art teacher, if they have not already done so.
Mrs Linda Camilleri
Head of Faculty Visual Arts