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What’s Happening in Visual Arts in Term 4 2025

FOUNDATION:

In Visual Arts lessons throughout Term 4, Foundation students will be introduced to earthenware clay after first practicing with playdough. They will explore how to use their hands to manipulate the playdough into a variety of shapes, particularly focusing on forming coils, before transferring this skill to shape and mould the earthenware clay. Once their piece has dried and been fired, they will learn how to add colour to their clay piece by applying a coloured gloss glaze. In addition to their extensive clay unit, the students will make paper doily butterflies using watercolour paint to explore the concept of symmetry.

GRADE 1:

In Visual Arts lessons throughout Term 4, Grade 1 students will participate in two multi-week units. Firstly, they will study many of Joan Miro’s famous paintings to find and record his abstract symbols into their art folios. The students will then use their gathered symbols to compose their own mixed media artwork, including drawing, wax resist rubbing and painting. Secondly, they will move into a textiles unit where they will construct a piece of art using the technique of wet felting. The students will tear wool into pieces and layer it to create their design before following a series of steps to combine the wool fibers with warm, soapy water and friction, resulting in a finished felted art piece.

GRADE 2:

In Visual Arts lessons throughout Term 4, Grade 2 students will participate in two multi-week units. Firstly, they will study the abstract artworks of well-known painter, Wassily Kandinsky. The students will use his artistic style as inspiration to create their abstract artwork by cutting their own stamps out of reused materials to add coloured shapes to their artwork before overlaying bold lines in black marker. They will then move into a unit of work to revisit the concept of symmetry explored earlier in the year whilst completing their self-portraits. The students will use reference photos to study the wings of insects, identifying natural shapes and lines within the symmetrically patterned wings. They will draw the wings of an insect of their choice onto a piece of acetate before adding colour, allowing light to shine through.

GRADE 3:

In Visual Arts lessons throughout Term 4, Grade 3 students will participate in two multi-week units, beginning with a study on the work of Australian indigenous artist, Bronwyn Bancroft. Her use of colour, line and pattern will be used as inspiration for the students to create their own natural landscape. They will also explore the importance of composition whilst constructing their landscapes, learning about foreground, middle ground and background. The students will then move into a lengthy unit where they will construct a monster from a range of reused materials, including tissue boxes, newspaper, carboard rolls, etc. Once they have used their creative thinking to design and construct their monster, they will add mixed media details including paint, coloured paper, pipe cleaners, etc.

GRADE 4:

In Visual Arts lessons throughout Term 4, Grade 4 students will participate in an extensive textiles and printing unit. They will study the work of American pop artist, Keith Haring, exploring his use of bold colour, simple shapes and various lines to evoke movement within his pieces. The students will draw and cut out their own stamps from cardboard before applying bold coloured paint to stamp the shapes onto a piece of fabric in a layered manner. They will then stitch various lines onto the stamped fabric, beginning with a basic running stitch before learning how to apply a backstitch.

GRADE 5:

In Visual Arts lessons throughout Term 4, Grade 5 students will participate in two units of work, beginning with a painting unit based off the vibrant and eye-catching works of artist, Moira Hazel. They will construct their own Australiana themed paintings which showcase a range of bold colours and fun patterns, creating a sense of depth due to the layered application of colour. This unit will give the students an opportunity to further develop their painting skills and how to develop a vibrant colour palette. They will then explore the abstract art style called Op Art (Optical Art), using geometric patterns and high-contrast colours to create their own mini artwork that manipulates perception and tricks the eye. 

GRADE 6:

In Visual Arts lessons throughout Term 4, Grade 6 students will participate in an extensive clay unit to create a piece to celebrate their final year of primary school. They will draw inspiration from the fun and quirky style of Brisbane based ceramic artist, Bonnie Hislop, to design their own celebratory clay trophy. The students will revisit the skills practiced in Term 1’s clay unit to shape and mould a pinch pot, before adding the decorative handles and base to form the trophy cup. As practiced in Term 1, they will use the ‘score and slip’ method to thoroughly attach the clay pieces together, ensuring their piece remains strong throughout the drying and firing process. The students will then glaze their piece in vibrant underglaze colours before finishing with a gloss top coat. Finally, the students will participate in a collaborative commemorative artwork, so that a part of them will always remain at Â鶹¹û¶³ Primary School as they move off to secondary school.