What’s Been Happening in Hambling?

Art education at Stoke College cultivates critical thinking, creativity and communication skills whilst developing cultural understanding. Miss Coll reports on the term’s key focus areas and the exciting results produced.

In the classroom that bursts with creativity, Key Stage 3 students have enjoyed their new topics, expanding their explorations in a new wave of themes.

Year 7

Year 7 students have been exploring the world around them, trying new materials including oil pastel and watercolour resist, pen and wash and tonal pencil. After creating a landscape collage using images of our campus budlings, students choose which motif will be in what medium. Year 7, can you tell your parents what compositional techniques create an effective landscape? And what is the effect of painting watercolour over oil pastel marks?

Year 8

Similarly, exploring our surroundings, Year 8 have focused on the theme of natural forms, refining their watercolour painting techniques to replicate a botanical photograph from the infamous Irving Penn. You could ask your child, what ratio of pigment to water is needed to achieve the bleeding effect when using watercolour? Students have also been working on the skill of controlled mark making.

Year 9

Year 9 students have enjoyed their new architectural based theme, after first exploring surreal cityscape collages, their investigations have led them outside of the classroom and into the sun (see main picture above) to develop their observational drawing techniques. Students have enjoyed sunny afternoons in the church garden, understanding illustrative qualities of buildings. Year 9, can you remember the different pencils and their qualities? How can we show form in a building illustration?