Year 6

Our Lichtenstein Project

Y6 have started their end of Prep portraits. We began learning the grid method last week and then after some success with drawing elephants we went on to create a grid on a larger canvas. Our expressive photographs are in the process of being carefully transferred, square by square.

Glazing the pigs, sharks, baby Yoda, whales, bunnies...

Our piggy banks came out of the kiln and we are decorating them at last. They are large, and the glaze requires a minimum of 3 layers so this takes time! They are looking great and we are excited to see them completely transform into amazing bright and shiny colours in the kiln.

Urban Sketching

While we wait for our piggy banks to make their way through the firing process we are doing a mini unit on Urban Sketching. Our first lesson on the roof was sadly rained off on Monday but we worked in the studio, lookin at the art of HK urban sketcher Gary Yeung.  We learned about verticals and mysteriously angled horizontal lines and took a good look at some perspective tricks. Here is a peek at our practice session. Fingers crossed for good weather next week for our trip to Kowloon Walled City!

Piggybanks in Progress

As we move through all the steps to make the clay base for our designs, the piggies are starting to take shape. 2 enormous pinch pots form the shape (with a few variations for those who have designed sharks, bunnies, crocodiles, baby Yoda!) and then we are adding teeny pinch pot feet and ears and slab details. This part is essential as we are showing our creativity and craftsmanship. Here we are working on the basics before we get to add in the rest of our own designs. 

Our new project is.... CLAY!

Huge excitement these past 2 weeks in the Art Studio as Year 6 undertake one of the best ever art projects - designing and making our own piggy banks from clay. There are so many ideas - we all have to be unique; we are seeing everything from sharks and rabbits, to pirates and blossom as themes. All of them will need a pair of the largest pinch pots we have ever made which will be carefully connected to make a rugby ball shape for the body. Then the rest will be up to us! 

Screen Printing our Rabbit Paper Cuts

We've had time to finish our careful cut-outs and the art studio has become a colossal and fabulous mess this week because we have been using the screens to print through them. The technique is wonderful. Each student did a lucky red print for CNY and then they were able to enjoy the freedom  and the point of printmaking to make several copies and try other colours to see how they turned out. We used a glossy metallic gold to get the good new year feel. Bravo, Y6, these are incredible. 

Paper Cuts for Screen Printing

Y6 are working hard this week! We are using paper cutting techniques (with lots of safe practice!) to create a mask. through which we will screen print our designs next lesson. There needs to be lots of planning - an outline to create the rabbit shape, the CNY designs of flowers and swirls and also bearing in mind shapes which it is possible to cut. Keep tuned for our messy lesson next week!

Printmaking Studio's Final Run

We have created incredible ocean backgrounds and lino cuts and have had our last lesson of the year as a fully operational print studio! We have created art work by printing onto our backgrounds and our own collection of cards, too. The final treat was that we were able to use the fabric paints and crayons to work with our prints on bags which we fixed with heat before taking home. Such a lot of lovely work and excitement!

Ocean Animal Printmaking

Y6 have practiced and tried out their printmaking skills on a joint ocean background with a partner. With lino cutting the tools are sharp and the careful safety skills needed means that these projects are a slow start. We work in 2s and watch one another carefully to develop good practice and ensure we don't lose focus and stick the tools into our fingers!

Once we pass this stage each student chooses their animal and creates their own stylised creature for their lino cut. Here we are moving through 4 stages: Drawing and planning the design, transferring to lino with tracing paper and a rubbing technique, cutting out the design, printing. Take a look at our work in progress...

Working with Elena Klimova

We are learning the art of portraiture from our amazing artist in residence. Her demos are so inspiring that Y6 have been able to create amazing draings of their friends in just 10 minutes! She has been able to  teeach us to block shapes, look for light and shade and to create impressions of one another which turn into detailed and interesting likenesses.

Our designs based on El McColl

After working with Eleanor we are doing our bit for a whole-school project based on her style and themes. We are creating and painting our own slices of Hong Kong for a collective mural. Here they are, starting to come together!

The Christmas Charity Project

Every year it is Y6's privilege to design wrapping paper which will be sold for the school's charities. We themed this year's paper "Christmas Dinner." All the students drew their favourite Christmas food, from above, for our yummy table of treats. We've watercoloured them and are waiting to sign off on the design before you're allowed to see! Here is a sneak peak of Y6 at work.

 Year 6 were the first class to work with Eleanor McColl on our mural project. They are doing the heavy lifting for the design work and they planned and constructed the spaces which will fill our wooden pieces when we paint.