Art and Design is not just a subject to learn, but an activity that you can practise: with your hands, yours eyes, your whole personality.’ Quentin Blake, Children’s Author and Illustrator.

Art and Design at Saint Martin’s is taught on a rotation system with Design Technology which means that students’ will experience two projects within each area per year; normally consisting of 5 – 6 weeks of 3 hours per week.

In art, craft and design pupils will:

• Explore visual, tactile and other sensory experiences to communicate ideas and meanings

• Work with traditional and new media, developing confidence, competence, imagination, and creativity

• Learn to appreciate and value images and artefacts across times and cultures, and to understand the contexts in which they were made

• Reflect critically on their own and other people’s work, judging quality, value and meaning

• Learn to think as artists, craftspeople, and designers working creatively and intelligently

• Develop an appreciation of art, craft, and design, and it’s role in the creative and cultural --industries that enrich their lives

Art and Design projects at Saint Martin’s are regularly updated to reflect the changes of such an innovative practise. More specifically, current projects are as listed below;

In year seven

‘ART in OTHER CULTURES’ covers African and Aboriginal Art. Students’ learn colour theory basics and painting skills to produce a boomerang which they can take home.

‘PORTRAITURE’ involves learning to use alignment rules whilst drawing from direct observation to draw a self portrait. Students’ build on prior knowledge of African and Aboriginal Art to make a Mod-Rock mask

In year eight

‘POP ART’ explores the 1960’s art movement of the same name. Developing their technical drawing skills, students’ learn to use measuring and crating. Students’ also experience a range of printing processes to design and print a repetitive pattern that could be used for stationary.

‘FACT and FICTION’ entails further technical drawing skills where students’ explore local surroundings to produce a drawing using perspective. We then investigate fictional characters for inspiration towards a functional piece of ceramics. Combining these elements, we illustrate a book cover.

In year nine

‘IDENTITY’ encourages students’ to explore their individuality and build upon knowledge and skills developed throughout the key stage. Contemporary artist Antony Gormley provides inspiration for this project. Students’ learn to use Photoshop, watercolour paints and mixed media, producing a final piece; a CD cover.

EXTRA SPECIAL ACTIVITIES

As a department we are always keen to provide learners with exciting opportunities that inspire. We are often involved in competitions and have won quite a few over the past few years; Hinckley’s Salvation Army Scarecrows, Doodle 4 Google, Stoke Golding Garden Show, School Artists Express Yourself, NHS Art Show ‘Identity’. One particularly memorable win was the Hinckley and Bosworth recycling poster competition; you can now see Alice’s winning poster on the back of local recycling vehicles.

When we are not busy entering competitions, we are entertaining visitors; recently having worked with creative practitioners involved with film, animation and photo editing. Contemporary artist Ian Cook led an exciting assembly and workshops where we drew using toy cars. He also helped us to build an abstract sculpture from recycled materials which is now displayed in our reception and inspired a class sculpture project.

Annually students’ join Hinckley and Nuneaton College for their degree shows and this year, have also experienced Birmingham NEC Clothes Show. Previously students’ have held an exhibition of their work at a local gallery whilst recently we have displayed artwork at our end of year Summer Showcase.

WHAT IS ART?

ART

Art usually means anything made by people, which expresses an idea or feeling in a skilful way. It is sometimes concerned with beauty and is usually interesting to look at

CRAFT

The word craft comes from an old English word meaning strength. Someone who had strength in a certain occupation was therefore someone who had craft. Nowadays, craft refers to making something with skill and specialised knowledge and often with imagination and creativity as well.

DESIGN

Design comes from an old Latin word meaning to mark out. When we sketch out an idea for a building or a car, for example, we are marking out, or designing. Design can be defined as: ‘the planning of visual elements, in order to solve a particular visual or spatial problem.

AESTHETICS

Aesthetics is concerned with making judgements about art, and examining the nature and value of art. It also involves asking questions about what is and is not art – and what could be art.


Traditionally, there are three main ideas about what art should be, with related ideas about how it should be judged:

• Art should be based on imitation. It should look like something; the more realistic it is,the better the art.

• Art should be concerned with feeling and expression; the more it conveys feeling, the-better is.

• Art should be concerned with the interesting arrangement of visual elements.

The most-successful art is that which has the most ‘significant form’, i.e. the most interestingarrangement of shape, colour, etc.

 

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