Art in Rooks Nest

In Rooks Nest Class, we complete four Art projects each year. Where possible they are linked to our class topic or key events in the school year. Our work is often inspired by famous artists. During lessons we are encouraged to think creatively and share our own ideas, experiences and imagination through our work.  

Here are some of the art projects that we have completed over 2021/2022 and 2022/2023.

Investigating Pattern

In this topic, we looked at the patterns we see all around us. We found patterns in man made products as well as the natural world. Some of the famous artists we explored were Piet Mondrian, Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Keith Haring and Gustav Klimt. We created our own patterns using stencils and stamps which we created ourselves. 

Lucian Freud, Drawing and Painting       

In this topic, we studied portraits by Lucian Freud, who famously painted a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. We focused on sketching faces and ensuring our proportions were accurate. Then we looked at how to mix our own colours. By only using the primary colours (red, yellow and blue) and black and white paint for tone and shade, we learned about how we could create secondary and tertiary colours.

Finally, we painted a portrait of King Charles III. They are displayed with pride in our school hall!

Sculpture - Can We Change Places?

In this topic, we explored how we can change places using art, particularly sculpture. We specifically focused on creating a sculpture for our outside areas. After looking at sculptures by other artists, we used our sketchbooks to detail our own ideas. At the end of the topic, we created a sculpture based on our sketches using recycled and reused materials. 

Textiles

As part of our Active Planet topic, we looked at manipulating material to make different tie dye patterns.  It was lots of fun and we loved designing and making the t-shirts because it was very creative and messy!  At the end of the project, we modelled  our t-shirts by holding a fashion show to the rest of the school and the parents.  We asked for donations to watch to the fashion show and gave the money to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, who help people in need during natural disasters.

Learning about Great European Artists, Architects and Designers in History

During this topic, we looked at a range of European artists, architects and designers as an independent art project. We looked at different pieces of work from Anselm Kiefer, Le Corbusier, Coco Chanel and Salvador Dali. We studied the different ways they created their pieces of work, the colours that they used and the how the final piece of work impacted the world.  We particularly enjoyed making hats like Coco Chanel.

Ancient Greece - Pottery and Class Display

As part of our Ancient Greek topic, we looked at how the pictures painted on Greek pots helped us to understand what life was like in Ancient Greece.  We looked at a variety of pots which showed events, daily life or just interesting patterns.  Using clay, we used a range of tools and techniques to make our own Greek pot and decorated it in the style of the ones that we had been looking at.  We proudly displayed our pots in the classroom for all to see.

We also created a class display based on the Greek myth, Pandora's Box.