Art
11.7.25 Art Exhibition
A huge thank you to everyone who attended our annual Art Exhibition this afternoon. It was lovely to see so many families sharing and celebrating the creative achievements of all children in school.
The display boards show a range of work in a variety of media, using many different techniques all linked to the theme of "Journeys". Many pieces were created during Arts Week in collaboration with The Northern School of Art and Holy Trinity Rosehill primary school in Stockton-on-Tees.
Another collaboration with Tees Valley Museums "Memory of a Journey" gave every child the opportunity to create a peg doll representing a fond memory. In September thousands of these dolls will be displayed together at Preston Hall Museum in a momentous exhibition celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.
Fantastic work from Mr Simpson and Miss A. Smith's Key Stage 2's Drawing Club was also on display. Fundamental drawing skills exploring mark-making, tone and perspective show very mature approaches.
Our centre piece this year was an amazing sculpture created by all of Year 5 pupils. Working together they wove different coloured and textured fabrics around wheels to symbolise journeys. The wheels were joined together to create this unique multi-sensory piece. Visitors were encouraged to interact with the work, feeling the tactile qualities, peering into the spaces and adding labels to describe their feelings about the sculpture and the exhibition as a whole.
We are extremely proud of all of our amazing artists at St. George's and were overwhelmed by the many positive responses to our Art Exhibition. Thank you for your fantastic support!
16.6.25-10.6.25 Arts Week
St. George's has been a hive of creative activity this week, our annual Arts Week. Professionals and students from The Northern School of Art worked across the school using a variety of techniques and media on the theme of Journeys. Many classes also created their peg dolls for the project "Memory of a Journey" in association with Hopetown and Preston Hall Museum.
Everyone had a go at trying new things, working collaboratively and learning new skills. We really value the partnership with Jayne Hemmins and her students, a huge thank you to everyone!
The wonderful work created this week will become part of our Art Exhibition on Friday 11th July, we hope to see you all there!
13.6.25 "Track the Trains"
All staff worked together this evening to arrange our entry for Middleton St. George's "Track the Trains" village event. In 1825 the population of the village was approximately 400, the same as number of pupils we have at St. George's Academy today. Every child made a model of a person which is accompanied by banners depicting a version of John Dobbin's famous painting created by our Year 5 and 6 pupils, enlarged and reproduced by The Northern School of Art. Our entry is a true collaboration for a special celebration! Please vote for us in the "Track the Trains" event this weekend, whilst supporting St. George's Summer Fayre!
6.6.25 More Railway Related Art Work!
As part of our railway heritage project with Holy Trinity Rosehill school in Stockton, Year 1 have been busy recreating a version of David Mach's Brick Train using multilink cubes. First they used squared paper to draw their designs before joining cubes together to represent the shape of the sculpture and its setting.
23.5.25 Collaborative Creations for our Railways Celebrations!!
The whole school was a hive of activity this week as we launched our many collaborative creative projects to celebrate the bicentenary of the Darlington & Stockton Railway. An amazing team from our next door neighbours, The Women's Institute, came into school to share their passion for creativity and their handicraft skills. Every child created a unique triangular flag which will be joined together to create beautiful bunting representing Middleton St. George's collaborative creative community.
Art leader Mrs Bentley has also made links with Mrs Edmunson Holy Trinity Rosehill's Art Leader in Stockton-on-Tees. Across the two schools pupils are participating in a variety Art & Design and Design & Technology projects commemorating our combined railway heritage. Projects include letter writing and research about our locations and public art work as well as recreating collaborative versions of railway inspired art work.
Work has also started on our Track the Train entry which will be revealed along with the bunting and our other projects during our village's weekend of celebrations beginning on Saturday 14th June. We hope to see you all at our Summer Fayre.
St. George's has also been invited to be part of the region wide "Memory of a Journey" peg doll art project in connection with Hopetown and Preston Hall Museum. Children will be working on this project next half term and all works will be displayed in a monumental exhibition during the official bicentenary celebrations in September.
All of these amazing projects allow the children to be part of the creation of unique pieces of art whilst learning new skills. By being actively involved in these collaborative projects the children begin to develop a sense of community across the generations, which will hopefully continue for many years to come.
A huge thank you to Jan and her amazing team from the Women's Institute.
9.5.25 Amazing Artists Summer 2025
Teachers have chosen their Amazing Artist for this term. The standard of art work across the school is fantastic and it was a difficult decision. Our Amazing Artists' work is on display in a frame on The Art Gallery wall and every child has received a certificate.
11.4.25 Drawing Locomotion No.1 first hand
Drawing from direct observation is an important skill we develop throughout St. George's. This week Year 1 children were fortunate to be faced with the first ever passenger steam train at Hopetown museum. They looked very closely at the shapes, lines and textures, as well as the scale and proportion of each component part. Every child captured a unique version of Locomotion No. 1 in a delightful drawing. Well done everyone!
27.3.25 Printing Textures & Patterns
Following creating their collagraphs Year 1 have been learning about the printing process. They learned how to mark out their paper to centralise the image. Using paint they covered their textured surfaces and carefully printed them, ensuring the blocks didn't slide about. A very mature approach to a tricky process, well done!
22.3.25 More Texture & Pattern Work
Continuing their work on buildings Year 1 have been designing then creating textured and patterned surfaces in the form of collagraphs (textured printing blocks).
Watch this space for the printing process next week!!
Great work everyone!
31.2.25-14.2.25 Investigating Texture & Pattern in the Environment
Over the past few weeks Year 1 have been researching and investigating the theme of pattern and texture within the environment. Beginning with a village walk, the children have observed materials, textures and patterns that make up the Human Features of our environment.
They then investigated the internal courtyard looking for as many different patterns and textures which they recorded in rubbings.
Their excellent skills of observation noticed that many materials are joined without gaps, they tesselate! Using this knowledge, back in the classroom the children explored tessellating shapes in 2D and 3D.
It was amazing to see the children working collaboratively, sharing ideas and creating such imaginative patterns. Their understanding of shape, pattern, colour and space is way beyond their 5 and 6 years! Fantastic! Well done Year 1!
31.1.25 "Amazing Artists" Awards
To celebrate the work of children who have shown fantastic skill development and application in their Art lessons last term, teachers have had the difficult task of selecting an Amazing Artist from each class. Each Amazing Artist has received a certificate and their outstanding work has been framed and displayed on our prestigious Art Gallery wall in the main hall. It's great to see a wide range of skills, techniques and media being explored across the school, a showcase of the Art & Design curriculum at St. George's!
11.1.25 Year 2 "The Great Fire of London"
Reviewing work from last term in preparation for the new year's Amazing Artists Year 2's Art linked to The Great Fire of London stands out.
The children researched the style of buildings and the materials they were made from during Tudor times. They used their drawing and mark-making skills to record them in detail. Experimenting with colour mixing secondary tints and tones the children created warm colours to represent the flames. They then collaged building shapes over the top of their paintings to create expressive mixed media images depicting the destructive scenes.
Well done Year 2!
13.12.24 Observational Collage Self-Portraits
Year 1 have combined their observational skills with Matisse influenced collages to create their calendars. Using recycled materials, newspapers and magazines they created some imaginative designs, well done everyone!
16.11.24 Matisse Inspired Collages
Continuing their theme of Seasonal Changes, Year 1 have looked at the later work of Henri Matisse. He created many colourful cut-outs, inspired by natural forms. The children have shown Matisse's influence clearly in their vibrant collages.
Well done!
24.10.24 Celebrating Uniqueness
"Mirror, Mirror, hanging straight,
We're all unique, let's celebrate!"
Key Stage 1 have worked on a collaborative display based on the book "My Skin, Your Skin". Using skin tone pastels the children observed their unique features in a series delightful self-portraits, staff also had a go!
The end result is a fantastic corridor display. Well done everyone!
11.10.24 Year 1 Work in the Style of Andy Goldsworthy
This week Year 1 have used their homework task of collecting Autumn Treasures to work in the style of contemporary, British, environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy. Using images of Andy's work, they sorted their finds into different shapes, textures and colours. Working together in small groups they then created small sculptures reflecting the season of Autumn. Well done Year 1!
AMAZING ARTIST AWARDS, AUTUMN 2024.
It has been an extremely difficult choice for class teachers to decide, due to the brilliant standard of work already this year. The Amazing Artists receive a certificate in our awards assembly and have their work displayed in a frame on our prestigious Art Gallery wall in the main hall.
Congratulations to:
Nursery: Tess Dodd
RS: Casey Larry
RG: Carys Glass
1S: Jack French
1G: Arlo Jakeman
2S: Mila Kodic
2G: Poppy Knox
3S: Priya Gascoinge
3G: Lottie Armstrong-Hall
4S: Sophia Cooke
4G: Megan Grassi-Duarte
5S: Esmay Thompson
5G: Gabriella Mestanza
6S: Emily Sowerby
6G: Mikolaj Jaworski
We are so impressed by your amazing art work! Well done!
A Creative Start to the Autumn Term
Welcome back everyone! St. George's have certainly made a creative start to the new academic year. All classes have been busy producing their baseline portrait drawings, that will continue on a termly basis. Last year it was fantastic to see the children comparing and evaluating their own progress in drawing by looking back on their previous work in their sketchbooks. Here is a selection of images produced throughout the school, showing progression in observations and drawing skills and techniques.
11th July 2024 A Most Excellent Exhibition!
To celebrate the amazing artwork , on the theme of "Connection" created during Arts Week and the completion of Grimesz's co-produced mural, parents and families were invited to our annual art exhibition.
Exceptional examples from each year group, detailed drawings from Mr Simpson's Drawing Club and Grimesz's mural, accompanied by chidren's images that inspired the design were all on show. Art Ambassadors acted as guides, expertly explaining each section of the exhibition.
Connecting it altogether was a colourful collaborative piece, individual flags were joined together creating beautiful bunting. This represented our sense of belonging to the creative community of St. George's. It continued to be a piece of "Live Art", as viewers were encouraged to draw and write their feelings about the exhibits on blank flags.
We were really impressed by the interest in this celebratory occasion and thank all of those who attended. A huge thank you again to Jayne Hemmins and her students from The Northern School of Art, alongside Grimesz who has certainly made a lasting impression on St. George's!
Mural Update
Grimesz has blended together many of the designs he collected from across the school and has begun to create his amazing mural in our internal courtyard.
We're very excited about how it will look when completed! Keep checking back for updates!
Arts Week 2024!
The whole school has been buzzing with creativity this week! St. George's has worked with professional artists and students from The Northern School of Arts in partnership with Sky Arts.
Skills and techniques in drawing, painting, collage, textiles, printing and ceramics have been explored, as well as contributing to the design of a large mural in the internal courtyard.
A huge thank you to Jayne Hemmins, her students and mural artist Grimesz!
Here is a snapshot of what has been happening this week.
The work created this week will be on display in the main hall in our annual Art Exhibition on Thursday 11th July. Watch this space for more developments with our mural!
Year 1 : Mixing Tints and Tones
This half term Year 1 are exploring the Impressionist Painters and are learning skills to develop their own landscapes. This week they have been learning about Primary Colours and how they can be altered slightly by adding black and white. They found mixing lighter tones easier to control, as to mix darker tones, only the tiniest amount of black was needed.
Well done everyone!
KS2 Drawing Club
A huge thank you to Mr Simpson, who is running a drawing club for KS2 pupils this term. The first session was certainly "eye-catching"!
Pupils have observed their own eyes extremely closely! Well done everyone!
Summer Term Self-Portraits
Children from Year 1 to Year 6 have been completing their third Self-portraits of the year. They have been looking back to their previous work and evaluating their progress. It has been fascinating to see the children tracking their own development as artists, which is clearly visible across all year groups. Amazing work everyone!
An Audience with an Artist
St. George's Junior Amazing Artists were given the opportunity to meet a graffiti artist today. In preparation for the bicentenary of the Stockton & Darlington railway, next year, The Friends of Stockton & Darlington Railway have organised for a mural to be painted along part of the original railway track. Our children met Lewis, who was half way through the project, and watched the mural in progress. The image is based on an original drawing from 1875 of the Edward Pease locomotive designed by George Stephenson. Lewis told us how he enjoyed using old images as an inspiration to create something new and original.
Ross from Friends of Stockton & Darlington Railway showed us the stretch of the original railway line and explained all of the hard work that has been happening by volunteers to prepare the area for the bicentenary.
Maz, who lives in part of the old station master's house gave the children some wild flower seeds to plant next to the mural.
We look forward to seeing the completed mural on Saturday 27th April and we'll observe the progress of the walkway along the original railway line.
The children were a shining example of behaviour and manners, thank you to our Junior Amazing Artists.
Amazing Artists of the Spring Term
Following the Easter break, each teacher had the difficult task of choosing one pupil who has shown great talent or fantastic progress in their artistic skills during the Spring Term. It was a tricky decision, as we have so many promising creatives at St. George's!
Congratulations to all of our "Amazing Artists", they were awarded certificates in Praise Assembly and their work has been framed. It looks fantastic displayed on our Art Gallery wall in the main hall.
Nursery: Arthur J.
RS: Lucas C.
RG: Sofia C.
1S Travis W.
1G Jessica H.
2S Mateo RS.
2G Teddy M.
3S Olly D.
3G Megan GD.
4S Evie L.
4G Gabriella M.
5S Lola B.
5G Esme W.
6S Mollie S.
6G Eloise N.
A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR "AMAZING ARTISTS"!
Year 1 Printing
Year 1 used their knowledge of patterns in the environment and buildings to create collagraphs for printing. It was a messy and tricky technique to master, but they ended up with some great results. Well done!
Nursery's "Young Masters"
St. George's Nursery children have been impressing the whole school again with their artistic talents! Inspired by the decorative backgrounds and portraits of Kehinde Wiley, our "Young Masters" explored colour and pattern to create their own portraits. Working on canvas, like real artists, they used mixed media to create a beautiful gallery of work accompanied by thoughtful evaluations! Fantastic work Nursery!
Researching Patterns around School
Linking to our recent Science work and current History work, Year 1 have been observing patterns found inside and outside old and new buildings. They have created rubbings, models and sketches taking inspiration from contemporary British artists Stephen Wiltshire and Minty Sainsbury. Their explorations and research will inform the next stage of their work.......... Print-making!!
Spotlight on our Youngest Creatives
Mark-making and drawing are both physical and cognitive developmental forms of communication. Very young children may make marks in their food with their fingers, they might enjoy the repetition of making marks in soil or dough or may be fascinated by the movement of chalk on the pavement. All of these experiences contribute to their physical and cognitive development, allowing them to make sense of the world through hands on exploration. At St. George's our Early Years team provide daily opportunities to investigate mark-making materials, as well as developing artistic skills.
This half term the Nursery children have explored paint and the work of David Hockney to produce a beautiful collaborative piece of work based on, "Bigger Trees Near Warter". The photographs accompanying the piece show the enjoyment experienced by the children whilst experimenting with fluid mark-making.
Reception children have explored mark-making through mixed media, on a smaller scale this half term. Looking closely at "The Magpie" by Claude Monet, the children certainly captured the atmosphere, light and shadows of a bright, snowy day. Their use of white, grey and black in pastels, chalk, charcoal and collage show an understanding of shape and form too.
Well done to all of our Foundation Stage children and thank you to all staff for providing the opportunities for expressive, creative work.
