Arts Award

Huge congratulations to Cyan Class who finished their Bronze Arts Award course this week! Their log books will now be assessed before being sent off for moderation. They’ve worked really hard for four terms and deserve every success!

IMG_9419

Term 6 Week 5

This week our students have been investigating the work of American sculptor Alexander Calder, who is widely regarded as one of the most influential sculptors of the twentieth century.

Amber & Turquoise Class

Our reception, year 1 and year 2 artists discussed Calder’s preference for primary colours and identified some of the shapes he used in his work. We made our own sculptures using aluminium wire and shapes which we cut from craft foam. 

 

Magenta & Violet Class

Our year 3 and 4 artists made similar sculptures- we decided to use a wider variety of colours for our own interpretations of Calder’s work!

 

Emerald and Cyan Class

Our year 5 and 6 artists and some of our Arts Award students focused on Calder’s wire portraits. We looked at different examples, then practised creating a portrait from one continuous line using fineliners on paper. We then created portraits of our own using coloured aluminium wire. We got some great results!

Arts Award

Sapphire Class- Bronze Arts Award

This week, Sapphire class went on a trip to Stamford Arts Centre to see an exhibition of GCSE Art and Photography work. We chose pieces that particularly appealed to us, and we have written reviews of the exhibition for our Arts Logs (below).

‘We visited Stamford Arts Centre and looked at some GCSE students’ artwork. We took photos of some of our favourite pieces of artwork. We found out about creative classes that run at Stamford Arts Centre. I chose two pieces as my favourite- one was so detailed and the colours were blended to seem like a night sky and the other was crazy and chaotic which made me like it even more. On the whole I thought that everything was good but there could have been more paintings and not pictures. I thought everything was laid out personally (as the artist would have wanted). I would recommend this exhibition because it is a chance to see the varieties of different artworks.  It has some very different styles.’

‘It was very interesting to see kids’ creativity. We all took photos of different unique artwork. We all had different opinions on the artwork. We found out about creative art classes that take part in the centre. My favourite picture was the unicorn because it has very simple colours, but it looks so detailed and serene. Everything was very good, the set up was perfect and all the art was different so it was amazing to see young people’s creativity. I would recommend it to others because it is a chance to see young people’s artwork actually displayed in an art gallery. You could also be inspired by them.’

We went to Stamford Arts Centre to look at GCSE artwork photos and pictures. It was fun to go to the exhibition, I would recommend it. The pictures I looked at were bright and bold to capture your eyes. I chose my favourite- I liked it because it was unique and the texture on it was good. It was all done by paint. The exhibition could be better because it should have more artwork and more painting than photos, and less gory work. If the work is gory, maybe there should be a sign to say it’s gory. I would recommend it because it’s stuff you don’t really see every day so it will be exciting to go there. Also you could get inspired by the artwork to do more art.’

‘My group visited Stamford Arts Centre. I wasn’t able to go but they showed me some pictures, they saw an exhibition of GCSE art. I really like the unicorn because I love how the background blends in.’

 

Arts Award

Sapphire Class- Bronze Arts Award

Sapphire class took part in a workshop run by the wonderful Clare from Paisley Art this week! We learned how to create beautiful beetles using inks- we especially enjoyed using pearlescent colours to add a shimmery quality to our work.

Clare runs wonderful adult art classes- you can find out more about them on her Facebook page, Paisley Art.

A big thank you to Clare for visiting- we really enjoyed the session!

Arts Award

Cyan Class- Bronze Arts Award

Cyan class have been researching American glass sculptor Dale Chihuly for part C of the Bronze Arts Award. We made some sculptures of our own inspired by his work. We used painted acetate sheets, which we cut into different shapes and threaded onto skewers. We got some beautiful results!

You can find out about Chihuly’s work on his website.

 

Arts Award

Our three Arts Award groups are hard at work again this term! Our Silver level group, Indigo class, are working towards Unit 1 Part D, which involves researching artists, arts organisations, training opportunities and career progression. Cyan class are also researching artists who inspire them for Part C of the Bronze level award.

Sapphire class are working on Part B of the Bronze award, for which they will be experiencing various art events including exhibitions and workshops- this week we visited the Tate Modern and National Gallery in London and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, all through the magic of virtual reality!

Arts Award

Sapphire Class- Bronze Arts Award

Sapphire class had a go at encaustic art this week! We learnt how to apply molten wax to special paper using a craft iron, trying various techniques to get different effects. It was tricky to get the hang of but we ended up with some great results!

Arts Award

Cyan Class- Bronze Arts Award Part B

This week, Cyan class visited Stamford Arts Centre to see the Habitat exhibition by Rutland and Stamford Embroiderers’ Guild. We spoke to two members of the guild about their work and asked them questions about their materials and processes. We enjoyed a demonstration of tying French knots, and were even given some embroidery thread and beads so that we could have a go at some of our own!

 

Sapphire Class- Bronze Arts Award Part A

Sapphire class worked on their drypoint intaglio printmaking project this week. We inked up our acrylic plates using scrim, then wiped the excess ink away to reveal the design we scratched in last week. We then ran the plate through the printing press, transferring the image onto heavyweight paper. We got some lovely results!

 

Indigo Class- Silver Arts Award

Indigo class have been working on a self-initiated project to create an illustrated poetry anthology. This week we finished off our individual illustrations, then discussed the layout and paper stock we’d like to use for the printed book. We’re looking forward to seeing the finished results! 

Arts Award Week 3

Cyan Class

Our Explore Arts Award Students continued with their oil paintings inspired by the landscape paintings of Bedford-based artist Carry Akroyd. We experimented with different ways to add texture, applying the paint thickly in places and scratching into it in others. We got some beautiful results!

 

Indigo Class

Our Bronze Arts Award students took part in an origami workshop run by one of the class, as part of the skill sharing element of the course. We were shown how to make a variety of different creatures by folding paper- see our paper menagerie below!

5

 

Arts Award- Term 1 Week 3

Cyan Class- Discover Arts Award

Our Discover group spent some time recording last week’s visit from artist Sam Hope in their arts logs. We made a photo collage showing the different stages of the wet felting technique that Sam taught us, and commented on which aspects we enjoyed the most. We then added embellishments to our pieces of felt, using embroidery and beadwork.

 

Indigo Class- Bronze Arts Award

Our Bronze group worked on their arts logs too, recording our visit to John McGowan’s studio and producing an artist profile. We then had a go at etching onto perspex- we are creating printing plates which we will be printing from with John’s help!