The End of the School Year

A year of wonderful artwork is nearly at its end. Students have learned new skills and used new materials. They’ve completed amazing artworks and persevered when lessons have been challenging, especially this term in weaving. My on-going philosophy in teaching, especially with the younger grades, is the idea of “beautiful oops”, i.e. there are no mistakes in art, only new opportunities to make something beautiful. Older students have considered the “embrace the shake” approach, based on an inspiring TED talk of the same name. This is all about looking at any limitation we might have as a chance to problem-solve and think creatively in art, and more importantly, generally, in life.

Embrace the Shake TED Talk

In art school, Phil Hansen developed an unruly tremor in his hand that kept him from creating the pointillist drawings he loved. Hansen was devastated, floating without a sense of purpose…until a neurologist made a simple suggestion: embrace the shake. Year 4-6 students watched this video and we discussed it. A Compass Learning Task was set for the Year 4 students to answer two questions about the talk. You can find Phil's inspiring talk HERE.

Year 2 Hug Bracelets

Students watched a YouTube video about what happened when a small group of young people in the Italian city, Sondrio, decided to offer free hugs to others. The results were heart-warming! Students then learned how to bend their two pipe cleaners, representing two arms, and how to thread beads on these to create a bracelet.

Year 1 Spider Web Weaving Plates

First we listened to the book Sophie's Masterpiece read aloud by CCH Pounder on Storyline Online. This story is about a wonderful spider named Sophie who is initially misunderstood and feared, yet finally seen clearly and recognised as an artist that can weave a beautiful web.

Students learned how to draw a simple cartoon spider and drew this on their plate, colouring it in with marker and then colouring the background with crayon. Next students threaded their plastic needle and weaved a web across their plate. This was a tricky lesson yet all students persevered with impressive results.

Prep & P/1C Bead Snakes

First we read The Singing Snake by Stefan Czernecki and Timothy Rhodes, which is based on an Aboriginal legend about how the didgeridoo was first made. This book also has an underlying theme about honesty and playing fair. Students then threaded beads in patterns onto a pipe cleaner and added bead or button eyes to make their own snake.

Year 4 Drawing to Music

Students listened to four different types of music and drew how the music made them feel. We also played several drawing games which encouraged cooperation and working together.

Year 2 Design Challenge

Grade 2B worked in groups and designed a Play Center, a Museum, a City and a Village using a variety of building materials. Some designers became frustrated when structures fell, but remembering our "beautiful oops" art room philosophy, they soon recovered, redesigned and rebuilt.

Year 4 Table Design Construction Challenge

Students worked in groups to design a table using newspaper and masking tape. The challenge was to build the strongest table. Morgan, Elka and Alice's table was the strongest and held 33 books PLUS a stool!

Year 5 & 6 Construction Design Challenge

Students worked in groups with a time limit using 15 of each recycled item - large cardboard tubes, cardboard boxes and wooden slats - to create whatever structure they could imagine and plan together! Rafts and castles were among the created structures.

Years 3 & 4 Newspaper Construction Challenge

Students loved this challenge...working with a partner what is the tallest free-standing tower you can build using 6 sheets of newspaper, masking tape and string?

Term 2: Prep & Prep/1C Mixed Up Chameleons

This term our visual arts learning focus across all levels will be on painting and construction. In the first week of the term we read Eric Carle's Mixed Up Chameleon. In the story the chameleon wishes he was a different animal, but soon realises that it's best to be himself. Students drew wonderful chameleons using oil pastel and then painted it with watercolour paints.

Beautiful Oops

I read the book Beautiful Oops! by Barney Salzberg to Prep, Year 1 and 2 students. It's a fantastic book about moving past "mistakes" in art. "When you think you've made a mistake, think of it as an opportunity to make something beautiful." I gave Prep students paper with a shape already drawn on it and a folded corner as starting points. Year 1 students had a torn paper with a smear of black pastel on it, and the year 2s started with a splash of paint and a hole in their paper...They created wonderfully imaginative pictures! "Beautiful Oops" is now a part of our everyday visual arts language. I have spoken with all grades about the principle of Beautiful Oops. My intent is for students to have fun, take risks and become fearless with their art.