Visual Arts

Mrs Borg

Term Three in Visual Arts is in full swing, as the students at RPPS have commenced working on some exciting new art projects! 

Students in Grade 5/6 have been introduced to the wonderful world of mosaics, with special thanks to the expertise and guidance of our lovely Kim Walker and Ruba Gondal (who have also helped me learn so much about mosaics!). The students had the opportunity to select a wooden cut out (the focus is musical instruments, linking also to the Performing Arts program). Students began working collaboratively in small groups to carefully plan their mosaic project (considering what coloured tiles to use and where to place them) and have currently started sticking tiles with PVA glue. These mosaics are already starting to look amazing, although we still have a way to go! It has been wonderful to see these students learning to work cooperatively in small groups. We are looking forward to seeing the finished products of this intricate art project. 

Students in Grade Five have been introduced to the artwork of artist Kimmy Cantrell. His speciality is sculpture, in particular masks which are inspired by African culture. Students appreared facinated by this artist's artwork, particularly the abstract nature of them and were keen to draw inspiration to create their own Kimmy Cantrell inspired masks! Ultimately, this will involve scultpting the masks using terracotta clay and then painting them, however students first needed a detailed plan about the style of mask they wanted to sculpt, including colours for painting, so the plan was the first step students recently completed. They will begin using the clay in the upcoming weeks. Looking at the plans, we can't wait to see how these masks will look once sculptured with the clay! 

Students in Grade Four have been writing their own Dreamtime Stories in class so their artwork this term is inspired by Indigenous Art, with a particular focus on dot paintings. First, students revised the Dreamtime story they had already written in class, being mindful it needed to include characters, a problem/solution and moral. Next, they studied symbols used in Indigenous art, symbols which help communicate a story. Students selected the symbols and animal outlines most relevant to their own Dreamtime story and began a draft copy of what they wanted their artwork to look like. Then students were given a circular cake board to commence transferring their draft as a good copy. After they drew the outline of their animals and symbols, they began the process of dot painting, which involved dipping a que tip into paint and dabbing it over their outlines, focussing on colours used commonly in Indigenous art (black, white, red, yellow and brown) and an emphasis that Indigenous artwork rarely has any blank spaces. Students have been enjoying this project and are doing an excellent job so far! 

Students in Grade Three have also begun an artist study, learning about the famous artist Henri Matisse. They were facinated to learn interesting facts about his life and his artwork, which became the inspiration for their own Henri Matisse project, the Matisse Egg. This involves a various number of coloured paper cut into shapes (like seaweed or leaves, the style Henri was famous for) which is what the students have been busy doing so far. It was also excellent practise for students to further develop their cutting skills as the designs were quite tricky. The next phase will involve sticking these paper cutouts all around a balloon (similar to papier mache) which will dry hard to reveal a vase or bowl shape (we aim to put a tealight candle in each one). Stay tuned! 

Students in level Foundation have been loving experimenting with printing techniques! We've had lots of discussions about shapes and colour, which was the inspiration for this project. Students first completed a pizza mandala (we briefly discussed what a mandala was and it's significance to various cultures) and of course, discussed everyone's favourite pizza toppings! Students were guided  as to which shapes they could cut to represent particular toppings and were given a small round cake board to use as their pizza template. Then they cut shapes out of corrugated cardboard and arranged them into patterns around their cake board (mandala) and used a brayer to roll paint and print onto a piece of blank paper. 

Students had another go at printing, this time inspired by artist Georgia O'Keefe who is famous for her beautiful paintings of flowers. Therefore the focus was for students to print their own colourful flowers! They had the opportunity to use different types of stamping tools (including a potato masher, fork and various shaped sponges) to print the petals of their own flowers. They were encouraged to use two colours, one for the petals and an alternate colour for the centre of their flowers. We agreed to print onto black cardboard, as it made the colours stand out more. Students then used a que tip and were also shown the technique of dot painting to paint the stem and leaves for their flowers using green paint. Students did a wonderful job and thoroughly enjoyed printing and stamping their own floral creations! 

Mr Palombo

During Term 3 students in Years One and Two will complete their Imaginary Animal in clay.

Inspired by the work of Mexican Artist Leonora Carrignton students produced drawings, acrylic paintings and sculptures in clay.  Furthermore, throughout Term 3, students will experiment with the fascinating world of colours. The power of complementary and harmonious hues and how painters such as Vincent Van Gough employed colours to create mood in their pictures. During Term 3 we will be helping students to develop fundamental artistic skills and techniques that will set a strong foundation for future artistic pursuits.