Giffard Park Primary School
Art and Design
At Giffard Park Primary School, we believe it is important to foster creativity and imagination in all our children. In Art and Design, we aim to provide experiences and skills in various aspects of art and design: painting, drawing, sculpture, plus many more! We aim to provide unique opportunities for our children that enable them to express their creativity in their own way. Over the year, we weave art and design into our project-based learning as well as our focused weeks.
Foundation
During the Autumn term, Foundation explore mark making through different drawing materials. They begin to draw from observation using faces and self-portraits as a stimulus. They apply their observational skills alongside using mirrors to carefully draw their faces on their self-portraits. Students engage with variety of artists work and compare their use of colour. These are then used as inspiration for making their self-portraits colourful.
In Spring term, Foundation experiment with painting techniques through nature, music and collaborative work. They develop creativity through child-led exploration of mixed-media. They use a variety of natural resources to create abstract art and record their emotional responses to music by creating an expressive painting. Our pupils explore the work of Megan Coyle and use her artwork as inspiration for their collage landscapes.
During the summer term, Foundation investigate sculptural qualities before sculpting clay animals. They begin the unit by experimenting with shaping of playdough and then apply these skills when using clay. Children sculpt their clay animals using their designs as a guide and decorate them with paint.
Year One
During the Autumn term, Year One create line drawings using string, pencils and chalk with inspiration from the artists Bridget Riley and Zaria Forman. Children overlap 2D shapes and combine materials to create abstract compositions inspired by the works of Kandinsky, Bernal and Bolotowsky. They explore mark making through observational drawing, developing an understanding of the techniques and the importance of looking carefully.
In the Spring term, Year One investigate how rolling paper can create 3D structures and apply these skills to create their own class version of Louis Bourgeois’ ‘Maman’ spider sculpture before decorating it with paint collaboratively.
During the Summer term, Year One identify the primary colours and explore how secondary colours can be mixed using them. They put their colour mixing into practice to recreate their own versions of the artwork ‘0-9’ by artist Jasper Johns. Children explore printing using blocks to create patterns alongside combining colours. Using a paper plate, children recreate their own designs of Clarice Cliffs ‘Circle Tree’ plate by using bright colours to paint circles and black paint and a straw to blow a tree design.
Year Two
During the Autumn term, Year Two learn the making process of hand-made felt, creating felt pieces as part of class artwork. Children create abstract maps through use of stained-glass style artwork and create printing tiles to create repeated patterns that they will use to create a folded piece of artwork.
During the Spring term, Year Two explore colour mixing and create a range of secondary colours. They use a variety of tools to create texture with when painting. Children learn about the collage work of the artist Romare Bearden and re-create the use of colours and textures, making patterned surfaces ready to use in their own collages.
During the Summer term, Year Two learn how to score clay and use slip to attach pieces. They apply these skills when creating pinch pots. Children explore the works of Rachel Whiteread and different ways of imprinting, digging, and denting the clay surface to create texture. Our pupils design a clay tile of a house and use rolling, joining, and pressing to create them.
Year Three
During the Autumn term, Year Three use observational skills to sketch and shade, creating light and dark tones. Children take textured rubbings outdoors to create collages in the style of Mas Ernst and botanical artist Maud Purdy. They explore botanical art further by creating detailed close-up drawings of a variety of flowers. Our pupils apply these drawing skills to create a coloured abstract composition in the style of Georgia O’Keeffe.
During the Spring term, Year Three compare maps of Ancient Europe and Modern-day Europe and discuss how the position of some countries have moved over time. They use observational skills to help them to design their own European map scrolls. Children learn how to make modern papyrus style paper which they translate their design onto. Our pupils create contemporary responses to share their learning about Ancient Europe and how it developed into Modern Europe.
During the Summer term, Year Three learn how to turn 2D card shapes into 3D structures. They explore the works of sculptor Sir Anthony Caro and create an abstract piece of sculpture on a larger scale. They apply these skills when creating an abstract sculpture of playground equipment out of cardboard before decorating the surface of their models.
Year Four
During the Autumn term, Year Four use tone to make observational line drawings using different gradients to achieve a three-dimensional drawing. They explore drawing further by making collages and wax resisting artwork. Children showcase their learning through the creation of giant prints inspired by their collages and wax-resist drawings.
During the Spring term, Year Four analyse different painting techniques, comparing paintings by artists according to elements such as texture and colour. They practise creating tints and colour mixing and how these can be used to create a three-dimensional appearance. Children create still life paintings of a group of objects before showcasing them.
During the Summer term, Year Four immerse in the sights and sounds of the rainforest and create a series of drawings, forming their ideas into mood boards. Children develop ideas of pattern and draw a rainforest animals from four different perspectives. They learn about the craftsman William Morris and use him as inspiration when creating a textile batik pattern. Our pupils use their new skills to create repeated patterns onto fabric.
Year Five
During the Autumn term, Year Five learn about installation art and how it can be used to communicate messages. They explore the work of artist Cai Guo-Qiang; considering the space and scale of artwork before creating scaled down installation artwork inspired by the artist’s gunpowder drawings. Children explore how they can use everyday objects to achieve installation artwork and create designs to follow when creating their final constructions.
During the Spring term, Year Five look at illustrations from the ‘Space race’ era; exploring how imagery was used and how it influenced art and design. They learn about retrofuturism and evaluate images using knowledge of the formal elements. Children explore drawing through line, tone, shape, and textures, experimenting with tools. Our pupils gain inspiration from Tels Albers’ ‘Moonwalk’ piece to create futuristic collagraph plates that they will print with.
During the Summer term, Year Five explore how background can change the finished effect of a drawing. They take portrait photographs to use in their final pieces and explore the purpose of self-portraits, comparing a range of artists use of mixed media. Children use mixed media to create their own self-portraits in the style of a chosen artist.
Year Six
During the Autumn term, Year Six create a cityscape photomontage advertising poster inspired by Hannah Lock, Chris Plowman and Graham Holland. Children use macro photography and the work of Edward Weston to create abstract photographic art. They use photography skills to recreate a famous painting and use a grid drawing technique to create their own photographic portraits.
During the Spring term, Year Six explore patterns, colours and symbols of Maya art and expressively use handmade tools and new surfaces. They combine inspiration from the Maya style of art and the style of the modern artist Dan Fenelon to create art that represents themselves. Children use the painting technique of chiaroscuro and apply understanding of light and dark to create Maya inspired word art. Our pupils investigate street art and use their learning to create inspirational word art.
During the Summer term, Year Six recognise how artwork can be a part of our identity, exploring how it can be used to express memories and self. They create abstract-relief cardboard sculptures inspired by Louise Nevelson to capture their primary school memories. Our pupils reflect on the making process and their personal development as artists.
