Spotlight, our September exhibition of selected Year 1-6 artworks, showcased the array of materials, techniques and subject matter studied in Primary Visual Arts in 2018.
Year 1 demonstrated their development of skills when drawing a plant from life. The additional extension to this activity was the long and narrow paper format. The students embraced the challenge, extending the stems of their earlier plant studies and used colour to unify their designs.
The study of the pictorial elements of colour, composition, shape, line and texture formed the basis for Year 2 textured imprints and paintings on clay tiles. The study of Henri Matisse and earlier paper collages formed the basis for these complex and diverse artworks.
Referencing Aboriginal artists and artworks in a unit titled “Woven Forms”, Year 3 students designed and experimented with sewing and weaving, giving consideration to aesthetic and structural qualities during the making process.
The subjective response when interacting with portraiture instigated the Year 4 study of the German Expressionist art movement and the building, inscribing and glazing of clay sculptural masks.
“Art and Illusion” instigated Year 5 interpretation of the theme through ipad photography. Topics covered included reflection, transparency and refraction. In Semester 2, a sculpture unit began with an initial focus on the representation of hands in artworks. Students built a 3D hand in clay which was later painted with a metallic glaze.
Year 6 students undertook research and practical activities that explored the Hermannsburg Potters, a group of Aboriginal artists/ potters from Hermannsburg in Central Australia. In “Pots that Tell Stories”, students hand built their own pot with a motif that depicted their HSIE topic, Australia as a Nation. This allowed for discussion and investigation about Australia’s natural and built environment as well as an exploration of contemporary issues such as refugees and asylum seekers.