I like first of all, to congratulate all the students for their dedication, their enthusiasm, their creativity, their wonderful imagination and most of all for their self discipline that they display when working on their art.
It has been another year of great art here in the Studio. We all have been busy learning, thinking, solving the problems of art and making art. We learnt about artists, art techniques and art materials. Students studied the work of artists such as Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Joan Miro, Alexander Calder, Shaun Tan and Sally Gabori.
Students made paintings, prints, constructions, drawings, illustrations, postcard books and bunting.
There was a lot of thinking and discussions about different themes. At the beginning of the year we discussed why artists started painting cans of soup, telephones, cars and many other things popular with people and how Pop Art became a celebration to consumerism.
By mid year we thought and reflected on the landscape, trees and plants. We looked at pictures of microscopic sections of different trees and plants showing the cells and the vascular system of plants, we called it the “Inner Landscape”. Students were encouraged to find emotion in the way trees and plants grow in different areas of the Australian landscape and in the way they are affected by the elements like wind and water or the lack of it.
Towards the end of the year we studied, Joan Miro’s magical surrealist paintings and their floating abstract shapes and Shaun Tan’s surreal cities and characters. Students created surreal characters made of plastic, clay, plaster and found objects. We also looked at and analysed the self supporting abstract sculptures and the mobiles of Alexander Calder for inspiration to build colourful constructions.
This last term students have produced illustrations and prints. We looked at the illustrations of Shaun Tan to learn about pencils and how to create different effects with them. We used textiles to inspire us to produce beautiful prints involving repetitions. At the moment we are relaxing with the especial end of the year projects such as post cards books and bunting.
