Marvelous Matisse

This term started with a still life drawing activity with the children from year one to seven. I set up a selection of objects, some of which were used in our centenary cook book. 

(year 1)

Some of these drawings will be used for our big projection art work at the end of the year on our open day. But most importantly these drawings formed the beginning of the process in developing our own still life projects.

(year 4)

The year one and two and some threes will be focusing on Matisse's work with his beautiful use of colour and pattern. The children explored pattern by looking at Matisse's work and experimenting with some of their own patterns. 

Harmony in Red/La desserte
Spring 1908Oil on canvas
70 7/8 x 86 5/8 in. (180 x 220 cm)
Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

They used these to create some "wallpaper" which became the base for a collage art work, using maths room 2D shapes and templates I made to help them create large simple shapes to represent plates and fruit etc for their still life design. 

The students were encouraged to explore their ideas by arranging and rearranging their cut out pieces before gluing them down.

Some of them worked really well.

(These works are from the year one classes)

Luncheon of the boating party. (Arts responses)

I have started this term with a common activity across all year levels. We are discussing and thinking about Renoir's painting "The Luncheon of the boating party"

This painting is alive with imagery and it is easy to imagine you are a part of this lively dinner party. It has things that prompts us to ask questions like, 'why are those men wearing singlets when the man in the background has a top hat and a coat on?" "Why is the lady holding a dog on the table?"
I have asked the junior children to imagine they were there at the party and asked them to tell me what happened before and after this scene recorded in the painting.

The middle and upper classes were given a different activity asking them questions at different levels about the art work. Prior to answering the questions we had discussed the painting with reference to the types of questions featured on the work sheet. The younger grades were allowed to work collaboratively if they wanted to but the yr 6/7 were required to answer these questions independently as they have had more experience over the years answering questions such as these in class discussions at the beginning of most projects.