A visit from Mrs Ward, an artist and educator.

Mrs Ward visited Room 7 to see how we were progressing with our fish. She was impressed by the detail and how realistic the fish looked. (Click to enlarge)



Mrs Ward then modelled the process of sketching fish using pastels. First, an outline is drawn lightly using pastel or chalk. The fins are added next.



Then she coloured the fish a bright gold and the detail of the gills, eye and fins were sketched in using dark colours. Warm brown colours were drawn over the top of the gold.




Finally Mrs Ward etched scales into the fish using a sharp pencil.
Then it was Room 7's turn. She said to choose two primary colours and a secondary colour.



Voila! The end result. Mrs Ward "whipped" up this fish in about ten minutes. Now it was our turn.

Inspired by an artist.

Mrs Ward guided Room 7 on following the process to create a fish drawn in pastel. (Click to enlarge)

Wednesday morning library time.

As we entered the library we saw this fabulous "recycled rubbish" dress. The detail was amazing. It fits in really well with our school wide goal, which is to keep our school tidy and to recycle where possible.
Another display was a bedtime reading corner where you can share a book with the sleepy giant dog.
Room 7 really enjoys their library time. They say the selection of books are "terrific" and there are always new books and displays to look at. (click on an image to enlarge)

Stage 3 Adding colour.

Armed with brand new pastels, Room 7 experimented with colour. Again there was lots of observing and reflecting on techniques used so far. We went to Room 6 to look at their artwork, while they looked at ours. Even though the themes and styles were completely different, there were some similarities which we all attributed to "What makes a good piece of art"
They were:

lots of practise

having a background

shading

colour mixing

reflecting

making it realistic

(click on an image to enlarge)

Stage 2 Adding detail to our fish shapes.

After practising a variety of fish shapes, Room 7 looked closely at detail. So they went back to studying their library books, class goldfish and computer screens. Using art pencils, the children were very clever at experimenting with smudging, shading, cross-hatching, and adding intricate detail to their fish or sea creature shapes. Frequent reflecting and observing each others fish gave everyone opportunities to try new methods and ideas. (click on image to enlarge)

The first stage of producing an art work.

We emptied the library of books on fish so we could study and practise drawing fish shapes. Each of our 7 computers have fish screen savers and the classroom goldfish posed beautifully.
The children practised, practised and practised drawing a variety of fish shapes until they could reproduce them into their Inquiry exercise books.
Opportunities were given to reflect on their own progress and the progress of others.

Reporting back.

Once the placemats were completed each group shared their thoughts and ideas.

The "Placemat Strategy."

Mrs Ward, a talented local artist and art teacher spoke with the junior school about her artworks and some of her pupils paintings.
The children chose a photo they liked of Mrs Ward's displayed art works.
They used the "placemat strategy" (a strategy for thinking and working collaboratively).
In groups, they recorded their thoughts and ideas in response to the questions asked on the placemats.
The emphasis for this activity was on thinking and working as a group, not on spelling or presentation skills.
(Click on images to enlarge)

Words of wisdom from a young artist.

After our brainstorming session we were fortunate enough to have Bianca, a high school pupil with a fantastic art portfolio.
She looked at our ideas on "What makes a good piece of art?" and added some of her own.

Your art doesn't have to look like a photo.
Style is very important.
Paintings usually have a background, middle ground and foreground.
You need a big plan before you paint.
Drawing animals are hard, you need to practise, practise and practise.
Art works often convey a message.

Tuning In

Term 3's Inquiry topic is "What makes a good piece of art?"
We began "tuning in" by brainstorming in pairs and then in groups of four to find out what the children already knew about the topic. Some of their ideas are recorded above. (Click on the image to enlarge)

Welcome

Kia Ora and Welcome to Rooms 7's place on the net. Every week we hope to post comments, photos, or student work of some activities that have been happening in our class.