Art
SNOW SCULPTURES INSPIRED BY ANDY GOLDSWORTHY
Year 1 are currently studying environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy. He creates ephemeral pieces of work using natural forms and seasonal weather conditions. The recent cold snap inspired our young artists to go outside and create shapes and forms using the snow, ice and other natural and made objects found in the playground. The children displayed knowledge of the materials and understanding of the ideas and techniques used by Andy Goldsworthy. It was great fun too!!
DARLINGTON CHRISTMAS TREE TRAIL
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to St. George's tree which can be found at Skinnergate News on Skinnergate. The theme is the Christmas song, "It was on a Starry Night".
Black History
October is traditionally Black History Month, but our Art Curriculum celebrates artists from a wide range of cultures and historical periods in time throughout the year.
This year during October, the work of artists, designers and creative communities from black heritage were explored, including the work of Alma Thomas, Althea McNish and The Quilt Makers of Gee's Bend.
Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 worked individually and collaboratively to create some wonderful pieces of work inspired by these amazing women. Well done everyone!
20th October 2023
Year 3 have explored Cave Paintings as part of their Stone Age History topic. They researched the early cave paintings found in Peche Merle, France and other locations around the world. Different materials were explored in order to create colours from nature, including plants, berries, rocks and wood, ( chalk and charcoal.) They investigated the different methods and techniques that were used to apply the pigments to the surfaces. Well done everyone, on creating your own versions of art that was produced over 2000 years ago!
6th October 2023
Year 1 have been improving their skills of working from direct observation again using pencil, pastel, crayon, chalk and charcoal. They collected a selection of Autumn Treasures and explored line, colour, shape and texture.
29th September 2023
Year 1 have been exploring chalk and charcoal, firstly to revisit self-portraits. They have created different lines and textures.
13th September 2023
Welcome back everyone!
As a new assessment in drawing, each child will produce a pencil self-portrait at the beginning of every term. Here's a selection of work that has been produced across the school already!
Well done everyone, it's lovely to see progression throughout the school.
Year 6 have explored portraits further and have created a colourful mixed-media display.
13.7.23 Art Exhibiton
This afternoon St. George's were extremely proud to welcome many parents and carers to view our work in the Art Exhibition. To celebrate our new logo the display boards have been refreshed and showed many pieces of work created during Arts Week. The theme of "Identity" complimented our evolving identity as a school.
Alongside our work on "Identity" we showcased work produced from our KS1 project with The Northern School of Art commissioned by The Bowes Museum.
Some of the work displayed was part of "The Modern Makers" exhibition earlier this year. Thank you so much to Jayne Hemmins and her students who made this possible.
We also exhibited work created at our "Art Ambassador's Club" and work by other children that was part of the Community Arts Exhibition that took place at Middleton St. George's Cricket Club in June.
Some of our Art Ambassadors acted as exhibition guides, they took their roles very seriously, informing our guests of the work on display and being very polite and well-mannered at all times. They encouraged our visitors to write their feelings about our work on the interactive wall.
The positive comments showed how much our work was valued by our visitors.
It was an amazing event! Thank you for coming and well done to all of our pupils at St. George's!
19.6.23-23.6.23 Arts Week
In association with Sky Arts and The Northern School of Art, St. George's enjoyed a week committed to the creative arts. The school was buzzing with a creative energy as every class was involved in activities ranging from drawing and painting, modelling using papier-mache and clay to baking bread and performing in Drama and Dance workshops. The theme of the week was "Identity". A huge "Well done" to all children and a huge "Thank you" to Jayne Hemmins and Katy Weir and their students from The Northern School of Art.
8.6.23 Art Ambassadors Final Week
A huge thank you to all of our Art Ambassadors who have shown passion and talent in the subject over the past 10 weeks.
Their work will be on exhibition at The Cricket Club, Middleton St. George on Sunday 11th June between 12pm and 4pm. Here's some of the amazing work that will be on display.
25.5.23 Art Ambassadors' Club "G Group" Week 4
This week our young artists explored colour, texture and form. They used these techniques to create animal portraits and also looked at some images by Frida Kahlo. Some children experimented with half human, half animal portraits! Excellent work everyone!
18.5.23 Art Ambassadors' Club "G Group" Week 3
This week our aspiring artists explored self-portraits using pencil and pastels. They used their observational skills and mirrors to create their images. Well done everyone!
5.5.23 A Creative Collaboration for The Coronation
All children from 1S and 1G have worked together on a collaborative Art project to commemorate the impending coronation of King Charles III. Each child created a royalty inspired design on a piece of fabric. The designs have been joined together to form an effective celebratory wreath. Well done Year 1!
4.5.23 Art Ambassadors "G" Group Week 1
In honour of King Charles 3rd's love of water colour painting we explored local landscapes using water colour paint. The children experimented with different washes and mixing colours. We are so impressed by your enthusiasm, excellent manners and beautiful work. Well done everyone!
28.4.23 Year 1 Observational Drawings in Sketchbooks
As part of our Geography and Science work about The Seaside Year 1 children practised their observational drawing skills. They used pencil to describe line, pattern and texture found in rocks, fossils and shells, Well done !
20.4.23 Week 6 Art Ambassadors
This week was our final week with the "S" group. The children added detail and used mixed media to complete their final pieces of work. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching your ideas and skills progress, you have been an excellent group to work with! Final pieces will be selected by the children at a later date to put into the community exhibition on 11th June. Thank you everyone for your enthusiasm and creativity!
30.3.23 Week 4 Art Ambassadors
This week our young artists explored mark-making and colour using pastels. They chose different animals to draw and added colour and texture. Well done everyone!
24.3.23 "Modern Makers" Exhibition at The Bowes Museum
All of Key Stage 1 children have been working with Mrs Hemmins and her textile students from The Northern School of Art. Some of the work produced in this collaboration is now on display at The Bowes Museum in an exhibition called, "Modern Makers".
To celebrate this achievement all of Key Stage 1 travelled to the museum to view it. It was a proud moment finding the name of our school featured among the credits on the wall and seeing our work displayed in a public art gallery.
Whilst there, the children also experienced a variety of the treasures collected by Josephine and John Bowes. They observed and sketched precious paintings, objects and sculptures and participated in history workshops.
All of the children appreciated this culturally enriching experience and clearly learned a lot from it.
Their behaviour was outstanding and manners impeccable! Our young artists are an absolute credit to our school!
17.3.23 Week 2 of Art Club has proved very successful. Our young artists have continued to explore water-colour and acrylic paints, Some children created moods using washes while other children mixed acrylics on the page, using the wet on wet technique. Thanks again to Mrs Gray our community creative volunteer.
9.3.23 This evening was our first Art Club session. The children explored water-colour and acrylic paints. We were impressed by the skills, talent and enthusiasm!
Thank you to Mrs Gray for being our creative community volunteer and we look forward to seeing your work progress next week! Well done everyone!
10.2.23 Wow! We have been overwhelmed by the number of high quality applications to become Art Ambassadors! You will be informed next week of how Art Club will be organised, look out for your letter from Mrs Bentley and Mr Simpson.
St. George's are starting an Art Club for children Y1-Y6, working towards a community art exhibition in June. Members of the Art club will become Art Ambassadors who will be sharing their passion for the subject across the school. Please see the advert below.
Our vision is to provide an excellent, well-rounded education, which celebrates academic, emotional and spiritual achievement and prepares everyone to fulfil their full potential in an inclusive environment in God’s World.
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” (Pablo Picasso)
“To create one's own world, in any of the arts, takes courage.” (Georgia O'Keeffe)
As stated in the National Curriculum Purpose of Study for Art & Design, “Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.”
The following aims are embedded within our teaching and are central to the engaging lessons where our children encounter a range of opportunities to explore Art & Design in all its forms.
We aim for all pupils to:
• produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
• become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
• evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design • know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.
At St George’s, our intent is to provide a high quality Art & Design education, which enables children to develop a love of Art whilst increasing self-confidence, creativity and a sense of achievement.
Our aim is to provide an Art curriculum that engages and inspires pupils to nurture their talent as artists. The children gain a strong understanding of what Art is through, observing and evaluating work from a wide variety of historical periods, different cultures and genres alongside exploring materials, developing ideas and skills. Through artistic expression, they develop the ability to record experiences, observations and imaginings and so gain a greater understanding of the world around them. We encourage children at St George’s to develop a curiosity for the subject, as well as the understanding and acceptance of the validity and importance of all types of Art, and an unbiased respect for the role that Art may wish to be expressed in any person’s life.
We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of Art in the wider community, and are able to use their artistic skills, knowledge, and experiences to involve themselves in Art, in a variety of different contexts.
We promote an ‘I can do’ philosophy in which we aim to develop ‘growth mind-set’ attitudes. Children are provided with a challenging curriculum to build their resilience and promote creativity; they are reminded that it is acceptable to get the wrong answers and even experience difficulties when faced with challenges and anything new or unfamiliar. Teachers use these experiences to address mistakes and misconceptions, enabling them to learn in a safe and curious environment, which in turn allows all children to flourish. This also includes our SEND children who have their needs scaffolded in order for them to access challenging Art activities.
