Prep ~ 3D bugs

Our Foundation students have created some fantastic 3D insects using polystyrene bodies, paint, goggle eyes, pipe-cleaners, pom-poms and plenty of imagination....  Check them out!

P-2 ~ Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!

There's creepy crawlies everywhere in the Art Room this term!!

To link in with their integrated topic of Bugs, the P-2 students took their hand to drawing some creepy crawlies in their Art lessons. We focused on the Art elements and principles of shape, line, pattern and symmetry during these classes and the students came up with some amazing bugs of their own. Well done P-2 students - these look amazing on display around the school.

We are now working on modelling our own 3D bugs over the next few Art lessons, so stay tuned for some photos of our finished models.

Whole School Sustainable Artwork ~ Tyre Weaving

Last term, we found some old tyres in the sports room that were headed for the dumpster, so we salvaged them (of course!) and turned them into some works of art to brighten up our chook shed!

All grades contributed to these colourful tyres by weaving pieces of coloured ribbon straw into the loom we created. Although it took a long time, it was quite a calming activity and was really satisfying to turn our junk into art!

And they may just be the inspiration needed for our 'girls' to start laying some more eggs!!

P-2 ~ Sewing superstars!

What sewing talent we have here at Marlborough! I was amazed at how patient and skillful our P-2 students were when we began our Threads and Textiles unit in Art during Term 3.

It would not have been possible without all the dedicated parent and grandparent volunteers who gave up their time to help in these lessons. A special mention must go to Alec and Charlie's Nana, Jeanette, who assisted in every class from Prep through to Grade 2. What an angel!

As you may have read in previous posts, we firstly mastered the technique of weaving and this then led us on to sewing. We looked at a variety of beautiful tapestries hung in museums around the world, as well as some very old and fine needlecrafts and embroidered cloths/robes. To begin developing the students' skills in sewing, they all started with a piece of rubber non-slip mat. This material was terrific for the students to use, as the holes are very large and easy for the younger students to grip and see the needle through the other side. It was also very easy to 'rewind' any tangles. As you can see, students learnt how to sew a running stitch with embroidery thread and then moved on to sewing on decorative beads.

Once this was mastered, some of our Prep students learned how to sew buttons onto a thicker shade-cloth type material.

Other students experimented with hessian and sewed buttons onto this different type of textile - which was also fun to pull out threads and make a fringed border! Students had the option of sewing a running stitch border and sewing their buttons on in a random pattern or to make a button tree. As you can see from the photos below, they have done an amazing job!

P-2 ~ Paper Weaving

"Over and under, over and under" - you will have heard us chanting in the Art Room lately!! We've been fine-tuning our fine motor skills and getting ready for our unit of work on Threads and Textiles. "In and out, up and down..."

Yes! We've been weaving! The students have been so keen to learn all about woven objects in the world around us (baskets, clothing, rugs, nests, placemats etc). They were fascinated when watching a video of a man weaving a basket out of blades of long grass.

So we had a go at weaving ourselves and used lovely coloured strips of paper to create all sorts of bright and patterned artworks. Well done P-2 students - you are ready to move on to sewing now!

P-2 ~ Robots

During Term 3, the P-2 students have been investigating Toys. To complement their learning in the classroom, we have also been discussing and exploring the topic of Toys in the Art Room.


We have made some cute little peg dolls and finger puppets, as well as developing our drawing and painting skills by exploring Robots and all their interesting features.


We came up with a very long list of features (buttons, knobs, gauges, antennae, screws, panels etc) and how each might look. Using a mix and match approach, the students all designed their own robot with varying features.


We used black oil pastels to draw our robots and then painted them with poster paints.

How amazing do they look?! What fantastic features you all came up with and they all look so different! Check them out....

P-2 ~ Still-life apples, inspired by Henri Matisse

Learning all about the artist Henri Matisse was fascinating and we were particularly intrigued by his paper cut-out techniques (he became very ill and was wheelchair bound, finding it difficult to stand and paint - if you ask the students I am sure they could tell you all about it!) Matisse was described as a master of painting and his still-life pieces were all so bold, vibrant and full of colour.

We explored this particular painting by Matisse, titled 'Apples on a Table'.

I showed students this photograph of some apples on a plate and we discussed how there were shadows formed on one side of the plate as well as on the sides of the apples.

We then had a go at painting the apples on the plate. Students traced a paper plate and plastic container to make the shapes of the plate and rounded apples. They also used the backs of plastic spoons to paint their apples (just to mix things up a bit and give a different texture to the apples!)

We added some colour to our plates and background using poster paints and painted shadows on the apples and the plate. We also added a touch of white pastel on the opposite side of the apples to replicate the shine of light.

I was so impressed with each and every one of the students' paintings! Adding the light and shadow effects really made the apples take form and the contrasting plate and background colours made the apples just pop! Well done to all my mini-Matisse students!!