Art News

I would like to share an insight into an incredible arts opportunity this term that will showcase how learning can be transferred from class to specialist areas to out-of-school community; whilst connecting and building on the key concepts of a transdisciplinary theme of 'How the World Works'. The Year 2 boys will be embarking on a unique opportunity to visit and take part in a series of workshops, at 'The Clay House' a brand new ceramic school in North Fremantle. They will be mentored by internationally acclaimed ceramicist Fleur Schell, linking beautifully to the unit of inquiry with the central idea being 'Force can be applied to objects to enable movement and make deliberate changes.'

Preliminary sketches and front-loading activities have included inspiration from:

• Movie 'Robots', to see how shapes connect and join into forms.
• Movie 'Howls Moving Castle' by famous Japanese animator and storyteller Hayao Miyazaki, to inspire creativity and imagination.
• Illustrations by Shaun Tan to encourage boys to create a number of preliminary sketching and diagrams before creating an artwork.
• Thumbnail sketches of French illustrator Rebecca Dautremer, whose sketches of 'Palaces and Residences' have taught us how to explore ideas by changing variables on a simple form like a house that is static and make it portable or move.

Already, the boys sketches have reflected knowledge and creativity beyond their years. Fleur forwarded a list of 'collectibles' that we may be able to add into our ceramic/mixed media assemblages later. Over the holidays, boys started these collections and they are amazing! We are looking forward to seeing how it all comes together and we are not sure how it will all end up, so we are really being risk-takers.

Karen Sabitay

Visual Arts Specialist