Tibetan Mandalas

As part of our school-wide theme of Ancient Art, we looked into creating our own version of Tibetan Mandalas.

I have had these large cardboard circles for a while. They originally came from huge rolls of velcro! However, I didn't have enough for a whole mainstream class, so I had to wait until a suitable class needed a new project. I have chosen a Year 6/7 ESL class and we are turning our recycled cardboard circle into Mandalas.

                      Seda-Nuwan-Barnabus-Mariam-Bob-Linda-Marjorie-Yuehao-Linh &Pheung

I showed the students some photos of the amazing sand mandalas created by the Tibetan monks - they were quite horrified to find out that all that hard work is simply blown away by the wind after it's finished! It did however, create a great way to introduce the idea that the some of the most important creativity happens in the making rather than the final product!

To cover up the hole in the centre of our cardboard, we cut out, painted and decorated a circle of card and attached it with hot glue.

Ned Kelly....inspired by Sidney Nolan

Sidney Nolan painted his famous series of Ned Kelly paintings in the mid 1940's and they have become iconic images within Australia's culture. These were the inspiration for our project and I asked the students to create images that were very much connected to Australia. Students were able to lightly sketch in pencil if they wished or they could go straight onto oil pastels.

                                                                                Vy

                                                                                 Lhil

                                                                                Sophia

                                                                           Sungmin

                                                                             Zac

Japanese Cherry Blossom Prints (Sakura)

Yet another project where there are numerous versions of it out there in cyber land....this was my interpretation with three ESL classes of Year 2 to Year 4.

Sakura - Year 3 & Therese - Year 3

The Bungle Bungles

This project was inspired by the amazing landscapes found in my home state of Western Australia - specifically, the 'Bungle Bungles'. The Bungle Bungle Range forms the major component of the Purnululu National Park and it is known for its distinctive 'beehive' rock formations.

To start, we looked at a number of different photographs of the Bungle Bungles. We then looked at the ways in which a number of different artists had represented them. 

Students were given a range of materials to use and the freedom to choose how they were going to creatively interpret this amazing landscape.

I love how different the final artworks are!

The Bungle Bungles

Pan - Year 6

Genevieve - Year 7

Peter - Year 6

Alex - Year 7

Alora - Year 6

Maria - Year 7

Dios de los Muertos

I hadn't used the Day of the Dead Festival as inspiration for a project before. It turned out to be a hit with my Year 5's, 6's and & 7's and I love the results (although a few were a little on the gruesome side!)

Abby - Year 6

Maria - Year 7

Allysa -

Alora - Year 6

Amy.Y - Year 6

Eli - Year 5

Genevieve - Year 7

Hannah.C - Year 6

Jacob - Year 6

Ji-You - Year 6

Lilyana - Year 7

Nargiz - Year 7

Pan - Year 6

Sasiton - Year 6

Vanessa - Year 6

Yi-Jing - Year 7

Zelda - Year 7

Art Ed Blog of 2012 - Voting Open

Vote for your favourite art blog. I have come across most of the top twenty, but I can't wait to explore the ones that I haven't!

2012 Art Ed Blog of the Year - Voting now open

White Paper Invention Test

This project is definitely a chance to be creative with limited materials!
The only materials you can use are:
-White card
-As many white paper off cuts as you want
-Scissors
-Glue (Glue sticks and Hot Glue if you have access to them and with adult supervision)

*no pencils and definitely no erasers!

and with these materials you need to create a......sculptural artwork!!

This about all the ways that you can connect paper and card. Have a look at this blog post and the student samples below to get some ideas and inspiration.

Photograph your finished sculpture. If you can, use a sheet or piece of fabric as a backdrop and experiment with lighting using a torch or small lamp.

**Optional extension: Use your the photograph and have a go at drawing it in black and white. Remember to look closely at where the dark and light falls on your sculpture to help you with adding shading.

Celia

Alex

Kohsei

Abby

Maria

Yi-Jing

Pan

Photo Inspired Collages

I am lucky enough to get an Artist in Residence student from Edith Cowan University each year. This year my student, Mrs Krstic, and I did a fantastic collage project with two of my classes (one Year 6/7 ESL and one Year 5 mainstream).

The students were asked to randomly select a photograph. They then used the picture's most dominant colours to paint a piece of A3 paper. Once the painting is finished, they need to carefully tear it into four separate pieces and rearrange them. After gluing the four sections down, they have to use scrap coloured paper and offcuts to add some interesting lines of colour and texture. Finally, they can choose other elements that match their image such as fabric, leaves, twigs and shells.

I am SO impressed and inspired by the kids creations. It made me want to constantly join in and make one too!!

These are just a sample of the final pieces...

Bob - Year 6-7

Cindy - Year 5

Isaac - Year 5

Linh - Yr 6-7

Marjorie - Yr 6-7

Seda - Yr 6-7

Yuehao - Yr 6-7

And these are some photos of the process we used....