Visual Arts

YEAR 10 - DRAWING & SCULPTURE ELECTIVE  “RECLAIMED SCULPTURE”

Year 10 students have been very creative and focused whilst working on the ‘Reclaimed Sculpture’ unit.  This had an environmental focus using found objects to make meaningful art with a message.  Students sourced materials, researched ideas, designed sculptures, experimented and problem solved during the construction of their artwork.   They then reflected on their work, writing an artist statement.  Here are some of the final works and three artist statements.  Mrs Kerrilee Pearson, Art Teacher 

Artwork - ‘Derived from wood’

Artist : Liz Chy

My sculpture, ‘Derived from wood‘ was constructed with old books that had no other use for me. The title has a parallel meaning as I used paper which is derived from wood, but also my tree log sculpture is the material people selfishly acquire to create new unnecessary products. My art planning was mainly based on researching global current issues and ideas of what medium to construct it with. I stumbled upon an article explaining the importance of trees and how they revolve around our ecosystem and humanity. I immediately knew that paper would be my main material because of its flexibility and how easy it is to manipulate. I knew as books aged, they became slowly darker in colour. I used the colour variation for every book I have collected, to create the rings you would see at a cross-section of a tree. When I thought a book had a very similar shade to another book, I stained the pages with either tea or coffee for a deeper, unique colour. As I was forming the layers, I experimented on which adhesive would be the most time-efficient and secure. My findings appeared that PVA glue was best as I could control the concentration with water. 

The dominant art element in my reclaimed sculpture is texture. Trees are known for their rough-textured exterior so I have used this idea to create ruffles to resemble bark. Texture introduces an interesting dimension into ‘Derived from wood‘ and supports the audience’s thinking to identify that the sculpture is a tree. The repetition of the different rings draws the viewer to form a distinct idea that the sculpture is a recreation of a tree log. The recurrence of the circles also develops a sense of unity. As the eye moves closer to the centre of the sculpture, the smaller the rings become, therefore, the centre point creates a balance.

The process of forming ‘Derived from wood’ was intensely tiring and time-consuming. The countless hours made me contemplate if the end result would be worth it. In the end, I was satisfied and proud of the product I made and hope that it encourages others to see these urgent environmental problems seriously.

Artwork - ‘Blossoming into life’

Artist - Sonika Sgrahu

My sculpture is called “Blossoming into life”. I selected this name because I feel that my flower looks like it is beginning to blossom. I used the word life as water lilies actually help the ecosystem which is an essential part of our world and life on earth. 

I originally decided to create a normal flower but as the process began the flower transformed into a water lily. I decided to create a water lily because they have an impact in our world especially the ecosystem.  Water lilies help the environment as they play a big part in cleaning the lake or ponds that they live in. Water lilies also help defend the water from the harsh rays of the sun. If the water is exposed to too much sun then the temperature of the water increases. This is not good for the plants that grow in the water as well as animals. In other words, water lilies provide shade for lakes or ponds. Water lilies also have the ability to absorb nutrients allowing the water to stay clean.  I just knew that I wanted to create a flower because they make any area light up. I think flowers are a sign of positiveness and happiness. When there is a big thunderstorm, flowers still remain in the environment. This gives me the inspiration that I can withstand anything no matter how hard it is. When I began making my sculpture I was using plastic water bottles. I thought that it would look unique with a transparent flower. After experimenting  I figured that I didn’t like that look as it wasn’t very appealing to my taste. It also didn’t accentuate the layers. I then moved on to using plastic milk bottles. This was a much better idea as milk bottles naturally have a beautiful white and transparent look to it. It made the flower look much better and it was easier to identify the layers of the flower. When I was creating my work there was a hole in the middle of my flower. Initially wanted to keep it like that. However, I decided to fill the hole. It gave a beautiful effect to the flower making it appear more full and layered. 

Artwork - ‘Essence of Life’

Artist - Shirley Ve

The “Essence of life” is a sculptural piece created to help bring awareness to the importance of trees. Every day trees are being cut down to create paper, cardboard or make space for farms and buildings. I used recycled and repurposed cardboard, milk bottles, paper and chocolate holders to convey how valuable trees are in improving the world’s current deteriorating state. I was inspired by the natural form of trees and how each tree has unique shapes and designs catered to them. I used the leaf-like shapes cut from cardboard on the trunk to create a flow-like movement around it. I layered the cardboard onto the trunk that added texture and fluid look. 

The construction of my work started by sketching ideas onto my notebook testing out different designs and patterns until I found a design I liked. I began glueing two milk bottles together to create a basic structure for the sculpture. Next, I cut out leaf-like shapes from cardboard and proceeded to glue them onto the bottles to construct the trunk. At the top, I attached toilet paper rolls to begin to make the larger branches. I then rolled small pieces of cardboard and glued them onto the larger branches to make smaller ones. I covered the main branches with rough fabric cut into leaf-like shapes. Next, I added chocolate holders in the shape of a flower. I found after adding the flowers the branches were still empty. Finally, I used brown paper to create chatterboxes and also glued them on to mimic buds.