Indigo class had a visit from Peterborough based artist Rose Croft this week. Rose works in a variety of media (see her website, www.rose-croft.co.uk for examples of her work), and was at Art Stars to talk to our students about her face and body painting work. We had a fantastic time learning how to apply the body paint using different techniques, and practising different designs on ourselves and each other!
This week each class experimented with colour and texture using a range of media!
Our reception, year 1 and year 2 artists experimented with wax resist techniques. We collected different textures by creating rubbings of various surfaces using oil pastels, and then added Brusho paint. We also drew ‘secret pictures’ using candles- it was tricky because we couldn’t see what we were drawing, but once we brushed paint over the paper our drawings appeared!
Our year 3 and 4 artists used a wide range of drawing media to depict feathers in different ways. We got some beautiful results! We are going to use this work as collage material for next week’s project, which will be a combination of drawing and sculpture.
Our year 5 and 6 artists also produced some wonderful feather studies. We’ll be making some very bright and colourful bird sculptures next week!
This week we were all working on showing a range of tone and texture in our drawings. We used charcoal, chalk, rubbers and watered down paint to draw some landscapes.
Our reception, year 1 and year 2 artists practised showing varying degrees of tone in their sketchbooks. We then went outside to create some large scale group pieces- we drew trees inspired by those in the garden and from our imaginations. We used a variety of marks to show different textures, and added areas of wash. At the end we dripped paint onto the picture to show the rain!
Our year 3 and 4 artists chose scenes to draw- Magenta Class worked in the studio garden on large sheets of sugar paper, and Violet Class visited the churchyard with their sketchbooks. We chose scenes that we thought would work well to show tone and texture- we looked for lots of contrast between light and dark areas. We produced some lovely studies!
Our year 5 and 6 artists also took their sketchbooks across to the churchyard. It was lovely to sketch on location, and the group made some very successful studies in tone. (We also did some gymnastics!)
Indigo class visited Stamford Arts Centre this week, as part of the second section of the award- being the audience. We viewed an exhibition called Odyssey by a group of artists called Artspace Loughborough, based around the theme of journeys. We each identified our favourite pieces and wrote some notes about our impressions of the exhibition. Next week we will be recording our visit in our Arts Logs.
This week was all about drawing from the imagination! Each class used soft pastels to invent imaginary landscapes and characters.
Our reception, year 1 and year 2 artists worked on an imaginary landscape inspired by photos of rainbow eucalyptus trees. We discussed the colours and patterns we could see, then spent some time investigating the different kinds of marks we could make using soft pastels. We got rather messy but we made some lovely, colourful drawings!
Our year 3 and 4 artists created characters inspired by the poem The Hippocrump by James Reeves. We listened to the poem and identified information it gave us about the appearance of the Hippocrump, such as having eight legs with hideous claws, three humps on his back, and one hundred teeth! We used our imaginations to come up with a character design incorporating the features mentioned in the poem- everything else was up to us. It was really interesting to see how each artist’s interpretation varied.
Our year 5 and 6 artists also worked on character development. We chose three animal body parts at random from a selection (such as antlers, claws and a tail) and sketched a mythical creature, combining each element in different ways. We then completed a larger portrait of our character in soft pastel. We came up with some really interesting designs!
Term 6 classes at Art Stars are focusing on drawing! We’ll be working with a variety of different media including graphite, charcoal, soft pastel, oil pastel and inks, and will be taking advantage of the (hopefully) sunny weather to complete some large scale drawings outside.
This week we’ve been working on observational drawing techniques. Each class warmed up with some spatial awareness exercises in order to develop the relationship between what our eyes are seeing and what our pencils are drawing. We started by spending some time following the outline of our chosen object using only our eyes to familiarise ourselves with its form. We then repeated the exercise, this time drawing the object in the air, before finally drawing onto paper. We made sure to keep our focus on the object rather than the drawing so that we weren’t relying on memory.
We then practised these skills by creating a collection of drawings of natural forms, using a variety of media including graphite, charcoal and fineliner pen. It was nice to work outside, though it was rather windy!
Indigo class finished off their Alberto Giacometti-inspired figure sculptures this week. We’ve now completed Part A of the Bronze Arts Award! After half term we’ll be moving on to part B, which involves participating in different arts events and reflecting on the experiences we have.
We’ve been investigating the work of British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy this week. We watched a video showing examples of his work using natural materials and discussed our favourite pieces. We noticed that there were recurring themes in his art- we spotted that he really likes to make circles and spirals!
We then went outside and used different materials to form sculptures in a natural environment, in response to Goldsworthy’s work. We made some circles and spirals, and came up with some brilliant designs of our own!
We were looking at Andy Goldsworthy’s work too. We discussed the different natural materials that he uses, and looked in particular at the way he places different elements very precisely to form the shape he is creating. We used Goldsworthy’s work as inspiration for some weaving using organic materials. The final results were really effective!
Our year 5 and 6 artists worked with Plaster of Paris this week. We formed a wide, shallow coil pot using clay, then chose different natural materials to press into it. We mixed up some Plaster of Paris and poured it into the clay moulds before leaving it to set. Once the plaster had hardened, we peeled away the clay and were left with wonderfully delicate, detailed relief images of the natural forms we had chosen.
We’ve had a lovely term working in sculpture- looking forward to seeing you all after half term when we’ll be focusing on drawing!
Indigo class spent last week reflecting on their art work so far, and recording their progress in their log books. This week, we were back to getting stuck in with some more sculpting! We looked at examples of work by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, then recorded some different poses on paper using stick figures. We then recreated our chosen pose using lolly sticks and glue guns, before covering the figures with strips of Modroc.
Our reception, year 1 and year 2 artists started by modelling their finished Matisse inspired bowls from last week’s session- several of the students decided they made excellent hats!
We then created some sculptures using food! We were given grapes, cheese cubes and cocktail sticks, and challenged to build various constructions. We made animals and vehicles, and then worked in pairs to see who could build the tallest tower!
Our year 3 and 4 students continued with their clay masks from last week. We painted on our designs using acrylic paint, taking inspiration from the examples of Venetian and Day of the Dead masks we discussed last week. The results looked really effective!
Our year 5 and 6 students completed their figure sculptures based on Alberto Giacometti’s work. We completed the Modroc layer, adding further details such as hair, facial features and clothing, then painted our models. Photos of the finished models will be added soon!
Artivity 