Art Appreciation

We do a lot of art making in the Art Room, but we also spend time looking at and discussing art. This is called Art Appreciation. The acronym SPARK is what we use to help us delve deeper into artworks and ask and discuss what we See, Perceive, Ask and Answer, Reflect and Know.

Here are some of the questions we discussed: How would you describe this artwork? What emotions do you feel when you look at this artwork? What questions would you ask the artist? How can you relate your life experiences to this artwork? Why or for whom did the artist create this work?

Art Making

Foundation has been painting and weaving paper strips to make paper looms and has been playing with clay, using a variety of tools, stamps and cutters.

Years 1 and 2 researched the Mexican folk art Alebrijes. Alebrijes are brightly coloured Mexican folk-art sculptures of fantasy creatures. They are hybrid creatures that contain qualities from the four elements of earth, air, fire and water. They used drawing and printing to create their own.

Years 3 and 4 explored the work of French painter Henri Rousseau, made a printing block and printed a monoprint of a bird and a leafy background and used various painting tools and palettes to mix paints for a painting.

Year 5 used printing, painting and collage techniques to create a crab in a rock pool.

Year 6 students are currently making ceramic faces for Graduation that express their uniqueness as part of their Inquiry Unit, ‘How We Express Ourselves.’ These will be displayed on the night of Graduation.

SARAH PILGRIM
Art Teacher