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Zart Extra Term 1 2011

All the Fun of the Fair!

Sacre Coeur

When it was decided at Sacre Coeur, that the Junior School Art Show would coincide with the French Village Fair in October, I knew exactly what path my Prep-6 Visual Art Program would follow this year. I decided on a Circus/Carnival theme, focusing in particular on Clowns. The theme would also be linked to the Junior School Musical in Term 2, which was titled ‘Vaudeville’.

As I was responsible for the props for this production, I made sure that I would be able to use the artwork and recycle some of the props for the Art Show. We were also fortunate to receive a grant through Arts Victoria, Artists in Schools Program and our aim was to link this with Visual Art. Film-maker, Gregg Brown spent approximately 14 sessions during Terms 2 & 3, working with Year 5 students to create an animation titled ‘Back-flips and Butterflies’.

This project was successfully incorporated into our Art Show theme, with the students creating a variety of circus characters and props for the film. In the Art Room, the students from all levels were immersed in research and discussions of their experiences of the theme and they were encouraged to experiment with a variety of materials and techniques. It was amazing to see the diversity and range of responses to a similar subject and when all of the artwork was finally assembled, the skill development from Prep-6 was obvious. The students really used their experiences, knowledge and imagination, to create some amazing 2D and 3D artwork throughout the year. Each level was introduced to a range of tasks including a variety of specific painting techniques, print-making, papier mache construction, ceramics, mask making, textiles and various collage techniques.

The Prep students created clay clowns on sticks and mixed media ice-creams. The students from Years 1 & 2 modelled the most wonderful glazed, ceramic clowns and created designer show-bags. The delightful 3D Carousel Horses that formed the centre-point of the display were the work of the Year 3 & 4 students. They were also responsible for designing and creating the life-size clown puppets. Year 5 students were involved in the Animation Project for much of Terms 2 & 3, so I decided to give them an interesting task that could be completed outside the Art Room. Their task was to design, draft and complete a long-stitch tapestry of a clown.

A number of tasks, ranging from designing and creating carnival character masks, to meeting the challenge of painting ‘Moving Pictures’ and depicting an image of what could be seen while ‘Peeping Under a Circus Tent’, really kept the Year 6 students thinking outside the square. The students could only show a portion of an act and the viewer had to be able to imagine the rest. Our Year 6 students were involved in the Stonnington Council and Duldig Museum initiative, ‘Clay for Kids’ workshops, during Term 3. We used the Art Show theme as the focus for the ceramic sculptures that were produced during the workshops. The students created clowns, ferris wheels and various circus characters that were a perfect addition to the Art Show. The Art Show was certainly a great success and showcased the enormous talent of our wonderful artists.

Susan McDonald
Visual Art Teacher
Sacre Coeur


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Key words: Zart Extra, newsletter, article, teacher resource, School Projects, Primary, circus