It's a jungle in the office...

Tony, Ann and Carina have been busy in the office. The artwork commissioned by Olly has been installed. The office is now a wild place to work!

Portraits by Year 6

Year 6 tell us about their portraiture project for the playground.
We began by looking closely at other artist's portraits and paintings of people's profiles. We looked carefully at the different facial features and proportions of different people.
We made acrylic portraits and then graphite drawings. We covered the paper in graphite and rubbed away parts to show the light. 

Next we used collage to make the shape to be used as an outline for our finished wooden heads. 

Finally we experimented with stencils and printing to give us ideas for features, designs and details for our heads. The finished year 6 heads are on the wall in the playground.

A New Commission for the Office

Last term Olly approached Year 5 classes to  make a piece of public art for the new office area.
The classes were working with Ann and Carina to develop skills in fine painting so they decided to use these new skills for the commissioned work. They looked at images of Colombian animals and plants, sketching and making collage images as their preparatory work before painting began.

 

Next the children used their ideas and images as they painted wooden outlines of their animals and plants. 

The work is nearly ready to be installed in the office. Watch out for those prowling jaguars and slithering snakes when you visit! 

The National Gallery

The beautiful banners from the Top Hall have disappeared! They are going to be part of an exhibition at The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. A curator from the National Gallery visited the school and thought the work was of a very high quality. It has been transferred to a gallery space at The National Gallery ready for an exhibition which will run from June till September. The exhibition will be free. Do try to pop in to see the artworks.

Mayhem at VAFI 5

Coral Class were very surprised to hear that their film Wow! Mayhem in the Music Hall  is being screened at a film festival in Croatia! The film was chosen out of 100's of others to be screened and maybe win a prize. Well done Coral Class, we love your film.

A Squash and a Squeeze

Year 1 have been working on an extended piece of 3D art work with Ann and Carina. 

This supports the learning Year 1 have been doing  this term around their core book, A Squash and a Squeeze.

The children made houses for the old lady in the story and had to go through many different stages .

First they practised their colour mixing skills to paint the outside walls.

Next they printed the front of the house using polytiles.

 They made their own patterned wall paper, with repeating patterns.

   Then they used clay to model animals for their houses.

Finally, they made carpets and furnishings for the inside so their characters could be comfortable.

Beowulf

Year 4 have been studying the story of Beowulf as part of their learning about Anglo Saxons. The story is written as a poem and tells the tale of brave Beowulf who kills the monster Grendel. Anglo Saxons wrote in runes so the classes translated runes to find out about life in Anglo Saxon times.

Anglo Saxons made their own paints and pigments so the classes experimented with making their own paint to illustrate their story of Beowulf. 

The children mixed chalk, berries, ash or charcoal with PVA glue to make home made paints. I wonder which ingredient made which colour.

Big Draw 2014

The annual Big Draw event was a huge success as usual.
Children from every year group attended the installation in the Middle Hall and later Year 1 parents came to draw too.
We invited a musician and storyteller to inspire the children and Ann, Carina and Katy set up a magical stage area.

Rivers

The banners in the top and middle hall have been put up and the river scenes from Year 5 classes look spectacular. Here's a preview of the finished banners.

 



The River as imagined by Year 5

Working with Ann and Carina, Year 5 have created stunning banners to hang in the Top Hall. The work has been part of a project called Take One Picture developed by the National Gallery.

The children were first inspired by Bathers at Asnieres by Georges Seurat. They sketched overlooking the Thames and developed their ideas back at school with Ann, Carina and their teachers. They drew figures and bridges in much more detail.

 

Then they tried all sorts of different ways of painting water. You can see different techniques and mark making representing the water on the finished banners.



It is interesting to think about how Year 3 and 5 looked at the same painting and have been inspired to create very different work in response to it.

iPad Images

Year 4 used iPads to create portraits for their classroom this year. Artists like David Hockney choose iPads as one of the ways they create images now. Can you guess who's who?

Art in the Library!

The library is open on Mondays and Wednesdays after school. If you haven't popped in recently, you should visit to see the finished wooden 3-D artwork inspired by Georges Seurat made by the Year 3 classes with Ann and Carina. You can borrow a book with your child while you are there!

 



Our Local Area

As part of our topic on the local area, Sapphire and Silver classes used our sketching, painting, printing and photography skills to create our own Columbia Road!

First we went on a walk to sketch the buildings and features of the local area.

Then we made our own buildings, using colour mixing and printing to make them look real.

We took photos of each other and thought about how we wanted to look. Can you tell what some of us are doing or how we are feeling?

Year 3 Mural

Year 3 continue the work on their huge 3-D mural inspired by 'Bathers at Asnieres'. They have painted the 3-D models and the next step was to add the details to the background.


These children are working collaboratively to stencil small details of waves to make the water more realistic.