ART EXCHANGE PROJECT

Students from Templestowe Heights Primary School were given the opportunity to work closely with Manningham City
Council and the Warrandyte Seniors group, from ‘Artlinks’ to create a picture story book- ‘The
Great Artscape.’

The council’s Cultural Development Officer, Lu Sexton, coordinated Emily Zoey Baker, author and creative writing teacher
and Emma Stuart, illustrator and art theory coordinator, to work with a focus group of students and senior citizens
from Warrandyte.

My role, as the Visual Art Teacher at Templestowe Heights Primary School, was to coordinate a special interest Art
Group of level 4 students. In total 13 students formed the

‘ART EXCHANGE PROJECT’

A timetable was set and coordinated with the seniors group and we were off!

Our starting point was to walk together, near the banks of the Yarra River in Warrandyte. Both seniors and students
kept a visual diary to draw their impressions of the landscape and to write words that described the environment,
which would be used in poetry and stories.

The workshops covered a range of writing and drawing sessions.

This included-

 ‘I remember,’ illustrations.

(Using watercolour paint and watercolour paper)

When I’m asleep… when I’m awake’ illustrations.

(Using soft pastels and black Cover Paper.)

Watercolour and Masking Fluid doodles.

Self portraits collage.

(Photos of self portraits decorated with paper collage, magazines, wrapping paper, and scrap paper)

The front cover of the book was created with MBF board and background painted using acrylic paint. Students, seniors
and staff used a variety of mediums to create self portraits. Oil pastels, watercolour paint, Cover Paper, pencils
and scrap paper were available.

The centre page was also constructed with MBF. The background was painted with acrylic paint. In previous workshops
the students explored the different ways watercolour paper and paint could be used. Wetting the paper first and adding
watercolour, or adding sea salt to the paper created different effects. The paper was then dried and cut to produce
the landscape of the Yarra River. This included the eagle that flew over us, the clouds, trees and the ducks that
swam by. The images became a collage of the river.

During the workshops, the sense of belonging was captured with each session. Stories and experiences were shared
and the real spirit of team building was developed in the process.

Without fail, all participants young and old strived for excellence and pushed their creative senses on a journey!

A journey of learning, sharing, creating and reflecting. A cross generational journey, with a common goal and outcome. A
Community Book. A book which will be shared with fellow students, their families and the wider community.

To be given this opportunity to work with the talents and expertise of a writer and illustrator is tremendous. But more importantly,
to embrace the generational exchange and to identify the real sense of belonging in our community is something that
our students will hold dear to them.

How wonderful to be given this challenge with my students and to watch their eager faces exceed any expectations,
has certainly enriched my journey in Visual Arts Education.

Level 4

Sofi Tsolakis
Visual Art Teacher
Templestowe Heights Primary School