It's the time of the week to showcase the amazing work being produced by students in our Art, Craft, Photography and Design department, and this week it is Year 7 who have really impressed their teachers, with what Head of Art Mrs Nanvazadeh describes as "exceptional work" on their foundation module in Still Life.
In fact, there has been so much pheneomenal work produced, that the Department really struggled to select only two, and finally were able to narrow it down to four.
We are therefore delighted and proud to celebrate the following Year 7 students as Artists of the Week, and their fabulous work is showcased in our lead montage and below, with context and background on the course of study provided by Mrs Nanvazadeh:
Lila
Phoebe
Maryam
Lillian
Still Life - A Foundation
The work in Year 7 is built around the building blocks of visual literacy by looking at elements such as tone, form, line, shape, pattern, texture, etc. During the year, meaningful exercises will be linked to more creative work, while giving the pupils an all-round taste of various techniques and media, both in 2D and 3D.
Lila: research
References are dovetailed from the world of art, both eastern and western, so that pupils are quickly introduced to the habit of looking at the work of other artists and cultures as a comparison and ‘tutor’ for technique.
Year 7 have been researching, and responding to, the work of Karen Appleton, who is an oil painter interested in using art as a way to stimulate conversations about memories and traditions.
Phoebe: research
As an American southerner transplanted to Chicago, she suddenly became very aware of how various foods, drinks, and objects are used to create our unique traditions, and are key components in the way that we come together to celebrate. This sparked a transition in her art to painting these familiar objects, that play very important roles in creating the bonds that we have with one another.
Maryam: research
Focusing on her 'abundance' collection, students have explored the still life genre, creating realistic oil pastel 'paintings' of presents. Appleton enjoys using rich colour and texture to give the paintings a delicious, tangible quality, that hopefully brings these objects and memories to life.
Maryam: Oil
Currently living in Atlanta, Appleton’s paintings have been shown in Alabama, Atlanta, California, Chicago, Indiana, New York, North Carolina, and Michigan. Her paintings are in collections across the United States and Canada.
Lillian: Oil
Drawing is one of the key underpinning skills in art, whether at school or college. It is one of the fundamentals of visual literacy and is a foundation for many other related skills in art and design. It is vital that Year 7 spend their first session learning the fundamentals of drawing, but the exercises will act as a diagnostic tool to determine the entry level of each pupil.
Lila: Oil
Much can be determined by observing how the pupils render tone to describe form, and by their control over the strength of tone from light to dark, pencil grip, hand-eye co-ordination, left or right hand, organisation of materials and presentation of work.
Phoebe: Oil
Really well done all, with huge thanks to the students and Department for sharing their work and allowing us to appreciate and enjoy the wonderful images that they've produced.
As ever, for rolling updates on the fantastic work crafted by our students, follow the department on:
