Art

Grade 7 Zentangles

A few years ago, there was an artistic trend where adults bought books filled with black patterns, then spent hours colouring them. The original name for these patterns is ‘zentangles’. We were told that the hobby was a relaxing and stress-busting activity. For those of us who are creative, this was not news, and many people relieve intensive meetings with detailed doodles. Last term, Grade 7 learned how to draw patterns, beyond the simple geometric shapes learned in Elementary. Creating coherent designs is a complex process from the initial ideas drawn in pencil, to the somewhat laborious task of outlining in permanent pen. And then comes the fun bit… the colouring! Look at these examples from Giacomo, Helena, Luigi and Lucia. Notice the details and time spent creating this artwork.

Mr Green
Art Teacher

THE N3 “FAMILY HANDS” PROJECT

In Nursery 3, the students have been learning about themselves and their families. To explore some of the differences and similarities both inside our families, and between them, we asked each family to help with a weekend home project where the children had to trace, cut and decorate the hands of different family members.

Children enthusiastically completed the assigned ‘homework’ and brought their finished work to school for their peers and teachers to see. In class, we used the hands for a variety of purposes, such as sorting according to size (small for children, big for grownups), counting the fingers from 1-5, and much more. Soon we will place the hands on the display board right outside the N3 classroom for everyone to come and have a look.

Ms Adriana
N3 Teacher

AUTUMN ITALICA ART

Autumn gives us so many beautiful scenes of vibrant colours and textures! So to bring the outside into our classrooms for Autumn week, Grade 4 decided to take a moment to capture the season by creating a landscape which was decorated using the italica handwriting that we’ve been working on so far this term. The children loved working closely together, snuggled up on the floor making their mark collectively, which resulted in a stunning piece of art work. We thought that hanging it outside the dining room would be a good place to show it off to the rest of the school. We were delighted to discover that it had inspired some Grade 1 children to have a go at making their own pictures with letters, who took a trip upstairs to Grade 4 to show us their work.

Alison Horrobin
Grade 4A teacher

WE ARE DIFFERENT! WE ARE THE SAME!

It’s common, when creating a self-portrait, to focus on external features, color of skin, shape of face, texture of hair… everything that is seen with the outer eye. The Grade Five class tried to shift their perspective, expressing their vision of themselves as seen with their inner eye. The focus was on using color and shape to represent the feelings, emotions, and passions that live deep inside. “We are all different!” commented one student. “Yes, and we are all the same!”  replied another. It was eye-openingto hear the students sharing the reasons behind their choices: “I chose blue here because I love to be by the sea. It makes me feel calm.” “This is the color I would love to be.” An interesting chat followed about a hypothetical world in which each of us could choose our own color.
 
Mara Tramontin
Grade 5 teacher