Penguins

Our first Art Day after the Christmas Holidays - Welcome back everyone! Ready for another GR8 year of Gr8 Art??

The last week or two of the holidays was SO hot and humid - and one of the best places to escape the heat is the movies! Many of my students have seen the recently released 'Penguins of Madagascar', so we've used this to inspire our art this week. Skipper, Kawolski, Ricco and Private all feature heavily, with a few evil Octopus Daves in there too :)

We watched a trailer of the film before looking at some promotional posters, making special note of interesting compositions, movement and colour. We used black marker, crayon and watercolour pencil to complete our pictures. Our finished art really captures the humour and personalities of the characters!

Olivia

Lost in Our Art

When I start drawing, hours can slip by without my noticing.... I get lost in my art!

For our last lesson of the year what could be better than a picture celebrating the holidays, and all the time we'll have to lose ourselves in activities we really enjoy!

This week we've used black marker and oil pastel, combining flowing lines, geometric shapes, pattern and wild colour, with a design focus on contrast and balance.

If you look closely you'll be able to find us, lost in our art :)

Happy holidays, and I'll see you next year for more fabulous art fun!!!

Seanna

Animal Groups....

Groups of animals are often known by a 'collective noun' - a pack of dogs, a murder of crows, a litter of kittens, a swarm of bees, a herd of reindeer.

According to the Australian Koala Foundation there is no collective noun for Koalas because they are quite solitary creatures that don't move around as a group. But we can do better than that!

My favourite is A Cuddle of Koalas... what do you think?

A 'Cuddle' of Koalas?

Our pictures this week are of animal groups, with a focus on repetition, tone and value, using 4B pencil and colour sticks. Our finished pictures include koalas, reindeer, elves (and even flowers!) We made up our own collective names if we didn't know the correct ones (because we are creative and we can), and I love them all!

Do the Haka

'Kapa haka is the term for Maori performing arts and literally means to form a line (kapa) and dance (haka). Kapa haka is an avenue for Maori people to express and showcase their heritage and cultural Polynesian identity through song and dance.

Battle haka were originally performed by warriors to proclaim their strength with much vigorous movement, foot stamping and facial expression.

Haka are also performed for many other reasons including welcoming distinguished guests, acknowledging great achievements, and special occasions such as weddings and funerals. Kapa haka performance groups are very common in schools.' (Wikipedia)

After watching a short video clip and looking at some traditional polynesian face tattooing and tiki masks, we created our version of the fantastical facial expressions that often accompanies the haka with a focus on line, symmetry and balance. 

Eli

Ritzy Rizzi Cityscapes

James Rizzi was a New York City pop artist. His zany, animated cartoon style, featuring animated buildings, rich detail and bright colours has a huge following. He became known for creating his art on any 3D surface he could find including an airplane, buildings and cars.

'The Happy Rizzi House', Braunschweig, Germany

We've created our Ritzy Rizzi inspired cityscapes with bright liquid watercolours. Enjoy!!

Zara

Hand Sculptures

We all 'talk' with our hands, some more than others!

This week we looked at messages we commonly send without words, using our hands to communicate by gesture. After looking at a number of widely recognised hand gestures (with a brief discussion about what might or might not be appropriate, and what accidents might sadly befall an inappropriate sculpture on it's journey to the kiln!) we created our clay hand sculptures.

Can you read our messages?

Ruby