Visual Arts
It certainly has been a very busy Term 3 with all students getting reacquainted with the Art space and meeting and getting to know their new teacher. The Art space is slowly going through lots of changes and updates as well, with students enjoying the decorations and new organisation to help them find materials and resources they need.
Prep, Grade 1 & Grade 2
These students finished some lovely self or family portraits early in the term and then moved onto a collage unit based on the artwork of Eric Carle's book The Tiny Seed. Students experimented with a 'crayon resist' by writing their names in white crayon and excitedly watched the 'magic' happen when the text was revealed once painted over with the food dye wash. We learned about the difference between warm and cool colours. These pieces serves as the backgrounds for the final artwork. Students created textured paintings in the style of Eric Carle, using 2 colours and implements to create movement; they then demonstrated tracing, cutting and gluing skills to assemble their own giant flower, as seen in The Tiny Seed.
Students' work is now on display in the Prep-2 corridor, and we invite you to take a stroll to view it.
Grade 3 & 4
Students in Grade 3 and 4 completed their Pop Art self portraits early in the term, using the artwork of Andy Warhol as inspiration. The children completed 4 drawings and were required to cut them out to form a brightly coloured grid of 4 self portraits. Grade 3 students cut out whole figures, whilst the Grade 4s took this a step further by cutting their portraits into sections and 'puzzling' them back together using 4 different colours. Highlighters were used to replicate the style of Andy Warhol.
Later in the term students completed a short unit looking at Jasper Jones' artwork titled Alphabet. Children created similar artwork using their own names in oil pastel, mimicking the rough, textured style of Jasper Jones. They then created a resist by patchworking food dye paint and watching the reaction of this with the oil pastel.
This has lead the children into their current unit due to finish early Term 4 focusing on graffiti. Students have learned about different types of graffiti and articulated their thoughts on whether it is 'art' or 'vandalism'. Students have begun to draw their own initials in a chosen graffiti style, using our new paint slicks.
Grade 5 & 6
Students have spent the bulk of this term participating in a Steampunk sculpture unit. Together, we learned about Steampunk and how this genre takes old Victorian aesthetics and technology and combines it with futuristic technology - called Retrofuturism. Students have collected and used recycled materials to create sculptures. In Grade 5, children have made chosen animals or mythical creatures with 4 legs, whilst in Grade 6 humanoid robots were the focus, with the added challenge of the requirement to make the figure balance on 2 legs. Students have demonstrated creativity and problem solving skills in working out how to join and connect their selected materials and make repairs when things go awry. They have been able to safely manage tools and equipment in the art space including a hot glue gun and pliers. Towards the end of the term students have begun to paint their sculpture in a brown undercoat and have learned about dry brushing techniques to add a rusty/antique finish to the sculpture.
Students will soon have these on display in their learning areas.
