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06 Feature Age range 7–11 Years Subject Optional Assessment Materials for Art at Key Stage 2 TAKING IT TO THE LIMITS The dauntingly titled but lavishly illustrated ‘Optional Assessment Materials for Art at Key Stage 2’ published in Wales by the Welsh Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority in 2001, has given rise to some fascinating spin-offs by non-specialist primary teachers teaching art writes Derek Stears. Of the six units, the fourth, ‘Explore a Boundary’ has produced some exceptionally creative material. Pupils from Year 3 in an inner city south Wales primary school talked with each other and their teacher about which parts of their playground were the most interesting. They explored openings together such as archways, gateways and fences. They controlled their pencil marks to make simple line drawings. They used their sketchbooks to record their favourite four sites including special details. The project required careful and patient looking and recording from direct observation. Next, they chose the drawing they liked best and enlarged it. They photocopied it on to an acetate sheet that was put under the enlarger, image no.1. This enabled the pupils to see even more clearly the pattern in their particular study. This involved repetition, symmetry, balance, form and space, light and shade, composition and positive and negative areas. The class then moved on to exploring a playground feature using mixed-media. Pupils explored how other artists and designers had handled boundaries and entrances. They looked at reproductions and magazines and chose a picture and discussed it with their friends. They used these to help them arrive at their own outcomes. In the example no. 5 opposite, the pupil has used oil pastel reduced to just red, yellow and black with black pencil. Primary schools set in rural surroundings will have no problem accessing landscapes. Pupils can focus on getting a reasonably good record of the appearance of a place through carefully documented observation. They should make use of the discoveries made through processes such as handling dry graphic media such as pencils, crayons and pastels, and noting and recording the time of day, the length of the shadows and quality of colour. A semi-rural Year 3 class in South Wales responded to trees in the playground by attending to the volume of the trunks and started to handle the tonal variations with black conté crayon by pressing, rubbing and smudging. This became a fascinating starting point for imaginative drawings and paintings on high-rise flats or skyscrapers that introduced them to new scales and vistas. Drawing from observation is about being there – on the spot, working from first hand. A year five class in south Wales set out, armed with sketching materials, paper and pencils (6B to 2H), to visit their local environmental feature. The pupils were given a range of limbering up looking exercises that helped them to focus and concentrate. When they returned to school they worked up their notes and sketches into full studies of extraordinary quality and charm. Study no. 7 was made as a coloured drawing. Pupils have come to terms with the spatial problems of a massive bridge structure set across an expanse of grass, road signs, roads and traffic. The curve of the arch is set against the tough rectangular stone-blocks, and the wind of the road to the right picks up the rhythm of a path or road in the centre. Study no. 8 was made as a development from the original responses. Pupils explored different interpretations of landscapes and environmental features by a variety of artists. Paul Klee seems to have made the biggest impact. Pupils transformed their rugged graphic styles into delicate watercolour washes to try to evince a poetic quality about being in a particular place. They have abstracted by selecting and hinting. Derek Stears is examinations officer, Welsh Joint Education Committee Images: 1. Boundary drawn on paper. Photocopied on to acetate Year 3 (Level 2). 2. Built environment high rise study Year 3. 3. Outward bound group arrived on site and registering the scale of the place (Year 5). 4. Back at school working in oil pastel and water colour Year 5 (Level 4). 5. Study of the school playground. Wall, pipes, bricks and slabs. Year 3 (Level 2). 6. Built environment feature Year 3 (Level 3) 7&8. Back at school working in oil pastel and water colour Year 5 (Level 4). Thanks to the teachers and children at Victoria Primary Penarth, Graig Y Wion Pontypridd and Kitchener Primary Cardiff THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN
Useful references: Peter Halley, Charles Sheeler The 20th Century Art Book (Phaidon) The Art Book (Phaidon) Further information: www.artnet.com www.accac.org.uk 07 START 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN
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