Year 3/4’s dr.seuss sculptures and growth mindset
Year 3/4’s were busy at the end of last term and this term completing their Dr.Seuss sculptures. It was a long process, but one the children truly enjoyed. They built an armature wire structure and applied masking tape to secure their forms. Oh the masking tape we went through!! They then carefully moulded the modroc plaster bandage to the form, smoothing it down with their hands and water. Once dried, students painted on a Dr.Seussesque colour palette over the top and attached other materials to make the tree look like it was from one of his worlds. There are so many things that must be considered when making a sculpture- weight, balance and strength in bonding. Students also had to follow a painting method and attack materials effectively with the correct glue. Not to mention the initial design and planning phase is also of the utmost importance. Students are very proud of their works, which are displayed in the downstairs hallway.
Next, we students have been introduced to a growth mindset, which is all about believing that you can develop your skills through positive self-talk. ‘Not yet’ is the term that encouraged to be used by students, not ‘I can’t do this’. We want to shift students away from a ‘fixed mindset’ which believes that their is no room for change and nothing can influence a shift towards improvement and development of skills. Carol Dweck, a psychologist best know for developing this mode of mindful thinking has shown through her own studies that this growth mindset works in encouraging self-belief, motivation and positive thinking.
Students are currently working on their portfolio piece, which is a Aboriginal inspired print that tells a story about their life. This will be completed this week, just in the knick of time.
EXPERIMENTATION AND ASHER BILU
Year 5/6’s have experienced creative freedom this term with open-ended tasks that they can take in their own direction. Students were given simple themes to use as inspiration to interpret their ideas in any way they chose. The top left work is a painting experiment that was turned into an illustration based on the theme, ‘A statement about yourself’. Students created two experiments, one on watercolour paper and one on stone paper, where they used a variety of painting mediums to create different effects. They were then asked to continue using a growth mindset in developing and executing their drawing skills and taking risks with their ideas on top of the background.
The Asher Bilu excursion was an eye opener to say the least. Unfortunately, we were only able to take six students from each class chosen through a ballot system. Asher and his lovely wife Luba, graciously gave us a tour through their home (which is like a gallery) and Asher’s studios. Asher works with repurposed and recycled materials and explores such themes like earth, water, the ocean and the cosmos. Students were very engaged when viewing his paintings, installations and sculptures. They asked many interesting questions and openly shared their curiosity.
Below are some of the sculptural works created by students and inspired by the concept of repetition and the repurposing materials. I have been amazed by how sophisticated some of the works are.
Here are some Christmas crafts by myself (including my art room door) and by the Year 5/6’s. They are definitely a very crafty bunch. This will be my last post for the year so Merry Christmas to all and thanks for reading and viewing. Have a safe holiday season and best wishes.
