Class 11 is continuing to work hard towards our GCSE Art qualification. Part of our current work is based around identity and self-portraits. We have been looking at some of the works of art created by Pablo Picasso, and in particular, what made his form of art so unique. The children have studied the use of lines in his abstract drawing, and how these add to some of the self-portraits that Picasso was producing. We have re-created some of his more famous pieces of work, and then experimented ourselves with different types of materials and textures. Some pupils used charcoal; others worked in paint or line drawing.

This exercise will now move on to involve creating some abstract self-portraits by our Class 11 pupils. Using the school cameras, we will take some photographs of ourselves, and then use these as the basis in which to add in more abstract ideas. You can find out more about this process by listening to the podcast below.

Class 11 is continuing to work hard towards our GCSE Art qualification. Part of our current work is based around identity and self-portraits. We have been looking at some of the works of art created by Pablo Picasso, and in particular, what made his form of art so unique. The pupils have studied the use of lines in his abstract drawing, and how these add to some of the self-portraits that Picasso was producing. We have re-created some of his more famous pieces of work, and then experimented ourselves with different types of materials and textures. Some pupils used charcoal; others worked in paint or line drawing.

This exercise will now move on to involve creating some abstract self-portraits by our Class 11 pupils. Using the school cameras, we will take some photographs of ourselves, and then use these as the basis in which to add in more abstract ideas. You can find out more about this process by listening to the podcast below.

We are working in Class 11 towards designing and producing our own unique set of clay tiles with an individually drawn design. Our art session started by asking the pupils to try and think of a design that would be uniquely personal to them. We looked online, as well as through some magazines to try and gain some inspiration. Ideas included football club badges, our favourite food or the flag of a particular country. Each pupil then sketched out the design on a piece of paper, in preparation for producing it on a clay tile.

With the design complete, the next task was to role out the clay in preparation for the design. Our pupils followed the instructions carefully, and using the equipment given we were able to prepare the clay in a flat shape for our designs. The paper sketches were then carefully cut out into the clay. The next stage will be to fire these in the school kiln, and then finally add some colours to complete our work.

You can watch a short video explaining this process above.

Orange Class have been having great fun playing and learning with our special activity box. Using our class circle time, we pass the box around the group and ask the children to make a choice from within the box. All of the toys are chosen to help focus the attention of each pupil. Current Orange Class favourites include the flying helicopter, the Mickey Mouse car and the walking turtle!

We then continued our Orange Class circle time with an interactive drawing game. We slowly covered a large piece of paper with some flour using a sieve. This was our canvas upon which to draw different shapes and ideas. We asked the pupils to think about what was being drawn, and what the end picture might look like. You can watch a brief video of this above.

Class 11 have been creating a series of self-portraits to try and understand more about ourselves. We talked about different techniques that we could use to help us with this exercise. These included placing a cross on a sheet of paper, and then using this as a guideline when working out where to place our eyes, ears and nose etc. All of the pupils were working off a digital photo that had been taken by a friend. This has proven to be a great exercise in self-awareness, as well as producing some rather fine artwork.

Class 11 have been creating a series of self-portraits to try and understand more about ourselves. We talked about different techniques that we could use to help us with this exercise. These included placing a cross on a sheet of paper, and then using this as a guideline when working out where to place our eyes, ears and nose etc. All of the pupils were working off a digital photo that had been taken by a friend. This has proven to be a great exercise in self-awareness, as well as producing some rather fine artwork.

Our talented Gold Class pupils have been demonstrating their creative talent by producing a number of outstanding pieces of artwork. As part of our class topic of looking at how plants grow, we have concentrated on still life painting with a vase of flowers as our subject matter. We asked the pupils to think about how a background can change the appearance of an image, as well as to observe how contrasting colours can add power to a picture. We have also talked about 3D images within our work. Hand painting has also been incredibly popular within Gold Class – the pupils have used this technique to help represent the image of birds in a nest.

Class 12 have started their work on preparing for the Turney School Leaver’s assembly, taking place this year on 13th July. This annual event is always one of the more emotional times in the Turney School calendar. Class 12 are determined to change this and leave behind memories for their friends of a happy and talented group of young adults! We have decided to put on a special performance during the assembly. We don’t want to give too much away at this early stage, but rehearsals have included plenty of singing, music and dancing! You can find out a little more in the podcast below.

Meanwhile our science work in Class 12 has continued with a very practical element. As part of the community element to our syllabus, the pupils have been regularly attending the local allotments and helping out with the planting and growing. We were very kindly given a selection of caterpillars to look after. Class 12 have been feeding these, and then observing their amazing transformation to become beautiful butterflies. These are almost ready to be released into the wild back at the allotments.

Red class have been incredibly creative this week, producing a number of brilliant art displays. As part of the preparation for our school assembly, the children have produced some beautiful butterfly pictures. We have been seeing how the wing patterns on a butterfly are symmetrical. We used this technique in our paintings, folding over the picture to create a mirror image of one of the wings.

Red class have also produced a class display based around our current reading book, No Room for Pooh Bear. The story tells how Pooh Bear stores everything in his pouch – our artwork reflects this too! Finally, red class have also made a selection of puppets to accompany our work on the Brown Bear book. We have been using these to act out the story.

After two terms of intense artwork, it is almost time for our incredibly gifted Class 11 pupils to submit their coursework for their GCSE in art. We are incredibly proud of not only the exceptional high standard of work that has been produced at Turney, but also the maturity and dedication that our pupils have displayed with their work. Each class member now has his or her very own portfolio. The artwork contained within is themed around various subject matter, depending on the syllabus requirements and our own personal choice. One of our fine young artists from Class 11 talks us through his portfolio in the video above.