Lorien Novalis Steiner School

Term 3: High School Visual Arts

It’s been another fabulously creative term at Lorien in the Art department! We began the term in the dead of Winter, moulding forms from earthen clay, but as the temperature increased and the blossoms bloomed we moved outside to paint en plain air! Children have the most active imaginations, and watching this play out in my art room is a true joy. 

CLASS 8 – Gothic Sculpture
Students learnt about the history of Gothic sculpture with a focus on the French sculptor Rodin, who inspired them to create human figures from clay with emphasis on human emotion. They were assessed on their ability to sculpt realistically in clay.

CLASS 9 – Renaissance, Michelangelo
Term 3 was a continuation of their study on the Renaissance however, this term they were inspired by Michelanglo’s Pieta and David. Students created sculptural drawings in pencil and charcoal and an archetypal sculpture of a hand in clay, focusing on gesture.

CLASS 10 – Modern Sculpture
Students learnt about the history of modern sculpture, with a case study on Henry Moore. Inspired by Moore and his ability to abstract form and draw analogies between the human body and the landscape, the students created their own forms. First a soapstone pendant, focusing on positive and negative space, and then an organic clay sculpture.

CLASS 11 – Art Nouveau
Class 11 studied the history and characteristics of Art Nouveau with case studies on Gustav Klimt and Alphonse Mucha. They were given a self-directed assessment task which asked them to use their knowledge of Klimt and Mucha, particularly their focus on decorative and organic forms, to create a large mixed media work together with a body of research and visual diary entries.

CLASS 12 – Advanced Drawing
Class 12 worked on advanced drawing skills using charcoal, graphite and pencil; capturing light and movement. They looked at perception in art, and how every person perceives and understands things based on their own feelings and experiences. From that discussion, we looked at a few animals and our perception of them. In the past we have studied lions, elephants and gorillas. This year we looked at the ‘goanna’ as a subject and each student  drew it in fine detail on large A2 scale.  The results were incredible.

Olivia  ~ Visual Arts High School Teacher