On Tuesday afternoons the Art Studio in the Junior School becomes a 'hive of activity' as a group of students from Years 1 to 5 come together to explore ideas and develop their own 'Doodle4Google' logo, in preparation for an upcoming national competition.
Students in Years 1 to 10 are challenged to sharpen their pencils and use their imagination and artistic talent to create a Google doodle depicting their vision of "If I was an explorer I would..." The winning doodle will be shown on the Google homepage for a day for millions of Australians to enjoy.
In 2011, Damian Haynes from Scotch College won the Year 1 to 3 category with his logo describing renewable energy for the future. This was a remarkable achievement and has been an inspiration for this new group of boys to aspire towards. We have explored through brainstorming, sketching and considering different views, referenced sites using ipads and are currently drafting designs and experimenting with rendering in colour. Already the boys' ideas are shaping up to be brilliant designs and it is the diversity of concepts presented and styles.
The boys need to include a title for their artwork and present a 50-word description of the underlying concept of their design. It is a challenging but rewarding project and highlights how important it is to give children the opportunity to express their own ideas in a variety of ways, but with some direction.
Not only has it been wonderful watching boys of different ages and classes working together in the Art Studio, it has been real treats to have Brad Tyrell and Tim Burrows from the Senior School Library come on board to help the boys shape their ideas. In addition, parent helpers have also given feedback and assistance to the boys. Such collaborations make for rich arts experiences in the school, so thank you to all who have been involved with this after school club and we will wait for the results.
Karen Sabitay
PYP Visual Arts
