Over and Under, In and Out, Up and Down!!!

Warp, weft, weave, loom, strand, yarn, spool, needle....... lots of new vocabulary being used in the Art Room this term as we undertake a whole school Threads and Textiles unit.

Here's a snippet of what's been happening....

Foundation students have been weaving with strips of paper onto paper looms and experimenting with a wide variety of threads and textiles woven into plastic netting.

Grades 1/2 have been weaving with colourful paper strips to create a body for their mixed media owls.

They are currently exploring the threads in hessian and making fringing, as well as beginning to thread needles and stitch lines.

Grades 3/4 have been weaving on straw looms, crafting some interestingly textured bookmarks. They are also getting right into finger knitting.

Grades 5/6 have been recycling old CDs and DVDs and transforming them into looms to weave mandalas, dream catchers, coasters and wall hangings. Pom pom making is also a big hit!

And we have all been enjoying sharing and discussing the following books in Art classes.

More photos of completed student work to come.

Term 2 in the Art Room

During Term 2, Art lessons will focus on the area of Threads and Textiles across all year levels.

Prep students have been practising their weaving skills on paper looms and will be learning how to weave using other materials. Later in the term, they will be experimenting with sewing, stitching and attaching buttons.

Grade 1 and 2 students have also been reviewing their paper weaving techniques and will progress on to weaving and sewing with a variety of threads, buttons and beads on hessian.

We are focusing on many new words during this unit and it is great to hear the students already using the correct terminology.

Grade 3/4 students have begun weaving using straws as looms. Lots of fiddly work, but patience is the key! They will be progressing onto circular weaving using paper plates as looms.

Grade 5/6 students are using old CDs/DVDs as looms and weaving mandalas/wall hangings. They are coming along beautifully! Later in the term, they will be weaving small baskets, inspired by the Tjanpi Desert Weavers.



If you have any left over wool, yarn, raffia, jute or thread at home that you no longer need, we could certainly make use of it in the Art Room this term!

Stay tuned for updates on student work.

3/4 ~ Papier Mache 'Me' Gnomes

These cute little gnomes were made in Art lessons by the Grade 3/4 students by modelling an armature from a bottle filled with sand, newspaper, cardboard and masking tape.

This armature was then layered with strips of newspaper dipped in papier mache paste. A final layer of white paper was added once the first layer was dry.

The final stages involved painting our gnomes and adding the photos of our faces. You can see more of these gnomes next week when they are posted on the 3/4 blog.

Prep-2 ~ Malaysian Moon Kites (Wau Bulan)

To tie in with the Prep, 1 and 2 Asia Literacy country of Malaysia, students learned about the traditional craft of kite making. We investigated the shapes of some of the kites and admired the patterns and colours of the materials used to make them.

Each student then made their own Malaysian 'moon kite' (or 'wau bulan' as they are called in Malaysia). The cardboard kite shape was cut out and then collaged with a variety of patterned specialty papers. Some sequins, gems, crepe streamers and ribbons added the finishing touches.

3/4 ~ Festive Elephants of India

As seen on the 3/4 Blog, students created these vibrant Festive Elephants of India, inspired by the colours and celebrations from the elephant festival in Rajasthan, India.

Firstly, students created textured, painted grey papers to use for their elephants. Some students chose to use a template while others preferred to draw their own elephant.

Colourful borders were created around our background paper using chalk pastels and the elephants were embellished with oil pastel and a variety of textured, coloured and sparkly materials.

They look great up on display in the office area and throughout the Specialist Unit.

5/6 ~ Space Odyssey

"There's a Starman waiting in the sky...." 

The Grade 5/6's have been singing along to David Bowie in the background as we created some 'out-of-this-world' artwork this term!

Elon Musk, with his Starman aboard the Tesla Roadster, was the inspiration for the following artworks. They were created using chalk pastels and glitter paint.

NASA recently released some 'Mars Needs You!' posters - would you like to become a Martian?!?!?

You can download these high resolution posters from NASA (for personal use) by clicking on this site. The Grade 5/6 students enjoyed discussing the graphic elements of these posters and had a go at improving their Visual Communication skills by designing their own 'Explorers Wanted' posters.

Students also spent some time in Art painting some tyvek sheeting to create a large mat (Mars' surface) for their STEAM project....