What’s Happening in Visual Arts in Term 1 2025

FOUNDATION:

In Term 1, Foundation students will be introduced to organisational processes in Art. They will become aware of the art room environment and how to work safely with equipment and materials. Students will be introduced to the colour wheel and create a self-portrait, exploring colour transfer through the use of crepe paper and water to produce a vibrant background. They will create a paper sculpture using their imagination to guide their creativity. Through the use of movement, the students will learn about all different types of lines such as vertical, horizontal, zig zag, etc. They will explore the technique of watercolour resist using oil pastels and watercolour paint to create their artwork. Students will complete the term taking inspiration from Yayoi Kusama’s style of repetitive shape and colour to create a bright and fun artwork with the use of stamping.

GRADE 1:

In Term 1, Grade 1 students will revisit organisational processes in Art and how to safely engage in a range of activities, using a variety of tools in the art room. They will revisit the colour wheel, developing their knowledge of warm and cool colours and how they can be used to represent or evoke certain emotions. The students will be using these tones to create a self-portrait, inspired by the artwork ‘Senecio’ by Cubist artist Paul Klee. They will explore geometric and organic lines, and how to create contrast through the use of both types of linework. Using Yayoi Kusama’s work and artistic style as inspiration, the students will create their own artworks that showcase bold coloured flowers drawn and coloured from observation. They will practise their fine motor skills by cutting around their flowers to place on top of a contrasting background.

GRADE 2:

In Term 1, Grade 2 students will revisit organisational processes in Art and how to safely engage in a range of activities, using a variety of tools in the art room. They will explore the concept of symmetry and proportion, using this knowledge to create a self-portrait which completes the other half of their school photograph. Students will review their understanding of colour, line and pattern to create a striking border for their self-portrait. They will then move into an extended unit on sculpture, firstly drawing their plan for construction and colour use before using a range of materials to create a Yayoi Kusama inspired flower sculpture. This unit will explore the elements of line, colour, shape, form, space and texture, whilst also making links to sustainability by using items that would otherwise be disposed of.

GRADE 3:

In Term 1, Grade 3 students will revisit organisational processes in Art and how to safely engage in a range of activities, using a variety of tools in the art room. They will explore the work of Romero Britto, a Brazilian artist whose work shows elements of pop art, cubism and graffiti. Using his many portraits as inspiration, the students will create a self-portrait that showcases a similar use of colour, line, shape and pattern, reflecting their own personality. Moving onto a unit focusing on the technique of paper collage, they will create an eye-catching piece consisting of layered paper mushrooms with coloured acrylic dots, based on Yayoi Kusama’s many mushroom artworks. They will use skills such as tracing, cutting and stamping to create their multi-layered artwork.

GRADE 4:

In Term 1, the Grade 4 students will be inspired by the self-portraits of Frida Kahlo to create their own self-portraits with a range of flora and fauna featured in the pieces. They will explicitly learn how to effectively use watercolour paints to achieve a full-coloured artwork that shows variation in tone. The students will be completing a lengthy unit on clay, inspired by the mushroom artworks by Yayoi Kusama. They will explore many techniques such as rolling to create a cylindrical structure from a slab-rolled piece of clay. The students will revisit how to create a pinch pot to form the top of their mushroom and will understand the importance of using the score, slip and smooth method to securely connect the two clay pieces together. The children will paint their clay with underglaze before firing their creations in the kiln. A second glaze and fire will occur to complete the finished product.

GRADE 5:

In Term 1, the Grade 5 students will firstly focus on their use of line, shape and colour to create an abstract self-portrait, which will continue over multiple sessions. The students will experiment with the techniques required to create a single-line drawing, including an adjusted pencil grip to allow for a free-flowing line whilst they observe their facial features in a hand-held mirror. Once they have created their three single-line drawings of different angles of their face, the students will use coloured ink and pipets to create a whimsical background. Once dry, they will find enclosed shapes within their self-portraits to colour in a more solid colour to create contrast. The linework will then be strengthened with the use of black marker. The students will then move onto their Yayoi Kusama (a Japanese contemporary artist) unit, creating striking artworks that include a culmination of inspired symbols seen in Yayoi’s artworks. They will create a multi-coloured and patterned background, which once dry, will be covered in an opaque layer of acrylic paint. The students will then use a range of tools to scratch their chosen symbols into the layer of paint to reveal the colours behind.

GRADE 6:

In Term 1, the Grade 6 students will firstly focus on their use of line, shape and colour to create an abstract self-portrait loosely inspired by artist Paul Klee, which will continue over multiple sessions. The students will experiment with the techniques required to create a single-line drawing, including an adjusted pencil grip to allow for a free-flowing line whilst they observe their facial features in a hand-held mirror. Once they have created their three single-line drawings, they will choose their favourite elements within each drawing to create one final abstract face. This will be layered on top of a background that the students have produced using acrylic paint, cut into strips and arranged in a way that plays with line, directionality and tone. The students will then move into their clay unit, where they will create pieces inspired by Yayoi Kusama’s giant pumpkin sculptures. They’ll learn techniques on how to roll their clay into a smooth sphere and acquire skills on how to make a pinch pot. The students will use wooden tools to add lines and texture to the outer layer. The children will paint their clay with underglaze before firing their creations in the kiln. A second glaze and fire will occur to complete the finish product.