This week Indigo class had a visit from Peterborough based artist Tony Nero! Tony has been an artist for many years and is on the committee for the Peterborough Artists’ Open Studios. He exhibits regularly and visits other local arts events with his camera, documenting as he goes. Tony spoke to us about his work and the techniques he uses, and showed us some of his paintings.
A big thank you to Tony for joining us- it was a really interesting evening!
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.’
This week, our classes continued creating their Hundertwasser-inspired houses. We painted patterns and details similar to those used in Hundertwasser’s buildings, and invented some of our own too!
Our finished Hundertwasser village- we think they look fab!
This week, all of our students have been working on a collective project inspired by the architectural artwork of Austrian-born New Zealand artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. We investigated some of his colourful painted buildings (see below), then began creating our own mini houses inspired by his work, using cardboard boxes and offcuts. Our individual houses will then come together to create one big building!
Our studio assistant, William the basset hound, also made an appearance this week- you can spot him in some of the photos!
Our reception, year 1 and year 2 artists worked on their collaborative Chihuly inspired sculpture this week. We cut the painted plastic bottles into spirals, then each student used a glue gun to fix their bottle onto a board. We’ll be hanging it from the ceiling for our exhibition on 8th July!
We also watched a video about Chihuly’s expressive drawing style, for which he used up to 50 pencils at once, and then had a go ourselves. You can watch the video below.
Our year 3 and 4 artists finished off their Chihuly inspired bowls this week. We used a heat gun to melt the plastic into wavy shapes, emulating Chihuly’s glass bowl series. It was really fun to watch the plastic start to change form- we never quite knew what it was going to do so every bowl was a surprise!
Our year 5 and 6 artists continued with their Chihuly inspired sculptures. We cut the painted acetate sheets we prepared last week into different shapes, then threaded them onto a skewer. It was a very effective process- we got some beautiful results!
We had a visit from illustrator Craig Pattrick this week! Craig showed us lots of his development sketches and talked about the importance of perseverance when designing new characters. He also showed us some of his fantastic plasticine sculptures, and we had a go at making a Minion!
You can find out about Craig and his work on his website.
Our Silver Arts Award group have been working very hard on Unit 1 of the award over the last few months, planning and completing an arts challenge. We identified a challenge that appealed to everyone- to produce an illustrated poetry anthology as a group. This allowed us each to develop our personal skills in a chosen medium, whilst also working collaboratively to produce our anthology.
We would like to share our finished pages with you- we are really pleased with the result, and the printed version looks great!
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!
We were excited to start the new term this week! We’ll be focusing on sculpture for the next few weeks, investigating various artists and using a variety of materials.
Our artist inspiration this week is American glass sculptor Dale Chihuly. Each class has been investigating his work and are producing their own artwork inspired by what we’ve seen.
You can find out more about Chihuly on his website, here.
Our reception, year 1 and year 2 artists looked at Chihuly’s large scale installations. We are going to work on a collaborative sculpture, using plastic bottles to emulate the look of the glass in Chihuly’s designs. Each artist painted a bottle which we will transform into spirals next week- Amber class mixed reds and yellows, and Turquoise used yellows and blues.
Our year 3 and 4 artists looked at examples of Chihuly’s Macchia and Persians series. We are using plastic plates to create our own versions of Chihuly’s colourful asymmetric bowls. This week we used sharpies to draw patterns onto the bowls; next week we’ll be using heat to alter their shape!
Our year 5 and 6 artists investigated Chihuly’s Rotolo series, which features long, twisted glass forms. This week we painted sheets of acetate using acrylic paint, emulating the coloured glass in Chihuly’s work. Next week we’ll be cutting and arranging the acetate to create sculptures inspired by the Rotolo artwork.
Here’s what we’ve been up to in the final week of term. We’ve enjoyed trying out lots of different collage techniques and materials! Next term we’ll be focusing on sculpture.
Our reception, year 1 and year 2 classes became robot designers this week! We invented different kinds of robot by arranging pieces of cardboard onto a background. We painted the parts gold using acrylic paint. We then used a variety of metallic card shapes, washers and rivets to add detail to our collages. We added mechanical drawings in the background using metallic crayons. We got some great results!
Our year 3 and 4 artists built on their Picasso-inspired portrait work from last week. They started with an angled face shape, adding features cut from cardboard. They painted their portraits in acrylics, taking ideas from some of Picasso’s Cubist paintings. They also added some extra details using lolly sticks and pipe cleaners!
Our year 5 and 6 artists continued with their Matisse-inspired collages. Last week, following Matisse’s working processes, they painted sheets of paper using Gouache. This week, they cut organic shapes from the painted paper to create collages inspired by natural forms. They created some lovely designs!
Artivity 