Art Club is run by the Art Lead Miss Dixon.

Art Club is a chance for children to engage with art outside of our usual art lessons in school. This is a brilliant time for children to explore a range of different medias, as well as artists, that they may not be introduced to within their year groups. The children are so excited to get creative and start making things!

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Summer 1 Week 3 - 25.04.24

In Art club this week, the children have been making clay portraits! We looked at some example pictures of clay portraits and then how we could make our own. First the children had to make the clay tile base by rolling out a ball of clay and then cutting it into their desired shape. Next they had to begin to form the features of the portrait. We spoke about how this could look abstract and how we can use different shapes for the eyes, nose and mouth. To make these features, some children rolled bits of clay into long snake like pieces and then used that to form outlines for the mouth or eyes. Others rolled out bits of clay and cut them out into different shapes. To join pieces of clay together, and make sure it wouldn't fall off once drying, the children scratched onto the clay surface of the base and the pieces they want to stick together. Then using water on our fingertips we gently blended the edges together. The children all worked so hard to create their clay portraits and they cannot wait to paint them next week!

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Summer 1 Week 2 - 18.04.24

Art Club is back with a new group of pupils ready to create! This week we have explore the Artist Alma Thomas and experimented with colour mixing. Alma Thomas was an African American artist who created abstract paintings using patterns, colours and shapes in her artwork. Alma Thomas was the first African American woman to have a solo exhibition at New York's Whitney Museum of American Art and she also exhibited her paintings at the White House three times! 

The children were inspired by her artwork and use of colour. They first experimented with colour mixing and painted on a template. They only had the primary colours of red, blue, and yellow available to them so they had to mix them in order to change the colour. For example, when starting with blue, they added a little bit of red again and again as they completed each line so that the colour changed from blue, to purple and almost back to red! They then painted their own ideas using only the primary colours and the skill to mix colours together. They all did a fantastic job! Please see the video below of a beautiful story you can share all about Alma Thomas.

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Spring 2 Week 4 - 14.03.24

This week the children have made an Easter window sun catcher. They first had to choose their Easter inspired design, some chose to make an egg, bunny, and a flower! Using black paper, the children drew a simple outline of their Easter design and then cut it out. Then they had to draw a smaller version inside their design to make a thick border of their chosen shape, where they then cut out the middle section. They placed their borders onto some sticky back plastic and then added colour in the middle of their shape using tissue paper. The children had to make sure they completely covered the inside with tissue paper so there were no gaps. Once compete, we made a hole at the top of their design and added some string so it can be hung up by the window. The children enjoyed this Easter inspired activity and were really happy with the end result!

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Spring 2 Week 3 - 07.03.24

This week the children have had a go at drawing like a book illustrator. First we looked at a video showing step by step how to draw an illustration. Then we had a go using pencils and colouring crayons to create our own illustration characters. We spoke about how to draw the different characters by first looking at what shapes to form the basic outline and then adding the detail afterwards. The children loved having a go at drawing different illustrations, and some even took paper and example pictures with them to continue the activity at home! This was a fantastic way to celebrate World Book Day, and all of the wonderful illustrations we see in our favourite stories!

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Spring 2 Week 1 - 22.02.24

This week the children have explored the Artist Mark Rothko and made some Foil Monoprints inspired by his Abstract style. Mark Rothko was an Abstract artist who created large scale paintings using contrasting colours. He felt that larger paintings allowed the viewer to feel like they were actually inside the painting for a more immersive experience. The children first had to use paintbrushes to paint some contrasting colours on the foil, then place their paper on top and use their hand to press down. they then lifted their paper off the foil to reveal the print. Once the children had experimented with different colours, they then used cotton buds to make marks into the paint on the foil and then printed onto the paper. They really enjoyed exploring different ways to layout the colours and marks! Well done!

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Spring 1 Week 5 - 08.02.24

This week the children have completed a heart picture to celebrate Valentines day for next week. First the children used a ruler and black pen to make several lines across their paper. They made sure to draw lines from all angles from one edge of the paper to another. Next the children drew a big heart in the middle of the paper. From this, the children used watercolour paint to add colour to the inside of the heart, making sure to keep each colour within the lines. Once they painted the heart, the children then used the black pen to create patterns within the background spaces. They experimented with making lots of different marks, lines and patterns, and had to try and make a different pattern in each section. The children enjoyed this activity and said they would like to do more painting! 

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Spring 1 Week 4 - 01.02.24

This week the children completed their 'Radial Symmetry Print'. A radial design often uses circles and/or circular objects to attract attention to the centre of a design. Last week the children created the colourful circular background using oil pastels. This week they re-drew their designs on the polystyrene tile, used rollers to roll ink onto the design, and then printed it on top of their colourful background. They made sure to print their design 4 times using the centre as the point of focus. They look brilliant and the children had great fun!

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Spring 1 Week 3 - 25.01.24

Art Club is back! The new group for Art Club were very eager to get started and have been sharing the different things they enjoy doing in Art, and what they would like to try. 

This week we have begun making a 'Radial Symmetry Print'. A radial design often uses circles and/or circular objects to attract attention to the centre of a design. The children began to create the background using oil pastels to make circular marks which are repeated in a range of colours. Next the children began to draw out their designs on a square piece of paper which had been folded. This is to allow them to trace their designs onto the other side to create a symmetrical pattern. Some children completed this and began to trace over the designs onto a piece of polystyrene in order to create an indent of their design ready to print next week.

Next week we will print our designs!

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Summer 2 Week 6 - 13.07.23

In Art Club last week, I asked the children what would they like to do this week as it is the last Art Club before the summer holidays. They asked to have free drawing time, to make a flipbook, and to draw cartoon faces/people. The children were free to use the resources however they wanted and to let their creativity flow! It was lovely to see children working together to work out how to make their flipbook, and how it would work, and to create cartoon character drawings. With the flipbook they found the time for Art Club was not long enough so they took some paper home to finish it. The children have thoroughly enjoyed their time in Art Club and I am so proud of their hard work!

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Summer 2 Week 5 - 06.07.23

In Art Club this week the children have created some Tessellation art. Tessellation is where the whole surface is covered with repeated shapes that fit together with no gaps. To create these, the children had to cut out a shape from a square piece of card and join the shape onto a different edge of the same card with tape. They then had to draw around their shape to create the outline design. Using the same card shape, they moved it around the paper to draw the outlines and made sure they fit together so there were no gaps. The children enjoyed this activity and they used oil pastels and watercolours to add colour and marks to their Tessellation design. Well done!

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Summer 2 Week 4 - 29.06.23

In Art Club this week the children have created self portraits using the half drawing half photograph method and oil pastels. The children first had to cut their portrait in half and glue it onto the paper. Next they used a pencil to draw the basic sketch of their face before adding colour with oil pastels. We talked about blending the oil pastels together and mixing colours to get the right shade. The children enjoyed using oil pastels and liked how it became smooth once blended together. They explored different ways of blending the oil pastels, using their fingers and other colours such as white. At first they kept saying it was hard to get the colours right but I reminded them to keep adding more colour on top and blending them together and they will start to see the colours change. They did so well and their final portraits look fantastic!

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Summer 2 Week 3 - 22.06.23

In Art Club this week the children have finished their nature tiles. Last week the children made nature tiles from clay by pressing collected bits of nature into the clay to make an imprint. This week they have painted their tiles. The children were able to paint their tile in any way they liked and it was great to see their individuality shine! Once children had painted their tile there was an extra activity for them to have a go at. As Sports days are happening this week, the children could choose from a famous Olympic sports person to create a half portraiture drawing. The children glued half of the persons face onto paper and then had to create the other half of the face by drawing it. Some children decided they wanted to have a go at painting it too! 

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Summer 2 Week 2 - 15.06.23

In Art Club this week the children have begun to make a nature tile out of clay. They first had to roll out a ball of clay until it was flat and smooth, then use clay tools to shape their tile. Using bits of found nature, like leaves and flowers, the children had to press them into the clay. They used the rollers and their hands to push them into the clay. Once they had positioned the different bits of nature, the children had to carefully remove them from the clay to leave the imprint. Some bits of leaves and flowers got stuck in the clay and we had to use clay tools to carefully lift them out. The children then used the clay tools or a pencil to create holes in their tiles so we can hang them once they are complete. Once their clay tiles are dry, we will paint them!

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Summer 2 Week 1 - 08.06.23

In Art Club this week the children have had a go at creating an 'Agamograph'. An Agamograph is an art form that uses optical illusion to change the images seen in an artwork, depending on the angle of the viewer. To do this, the children first had to think of what their images would show, and we spoke about having something that showed opposites such as day and night. The children drew their designs onto an Agamograph template and then used watercolour paints to add colour relevant to their theme. Some children chose to explore hot and cold, and created sunny beach scene with warm colours and then a snowy scene with cold colours. Once their painting was complete and dry, they began to cut out the sections ready to join together. It was a little bit tricky trying to remember how to place each section to correctly make the Agamograph but the the children did it! Well done everyone!

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Summer 1 Week 6 - 25.05.23

In Art Club this week the children have use two artists to inspire some self-portraiture pieces. The artists used were Julian Opie and Michael Craig Martin. Both artists create colourful and bold artworks. The children first had to create some backgrounds to represent things about their identity, this could be their favourite hobbies, food, music, books, clothes... To create the backgrounds, the children used coloured paper and coloured pens. Then using tracing paper they had to trace some basic features of their face from a photograph of themselves. Once both sections were complete, they then glued their portraits on top of the backgrounds. It was wonderful to see the differences between the artworks and the children loved to draw things they enjoy. Great job!

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Summer 1 Week 5 - 18.05.23

In Art Club this week the children have created foil figures and used oil pastel to form it's shadow on paper. First the children used the wooden mannequin to make their desired pose, then they used a pencil to draw the figure onto paper. Using oil pastels they added colour and pattern to the background and made the shadow black. Then the children used foil to form the figure. The foil was a little bit tricky to use as it ripped easily but the children were very resilient and kept on trying. They had to first make some cuts with scissors to section the different areas for the body parts and then scrunch the waist area and then scrunch the other body parts. To create the pose, the children then manipulated the foil by bending and twisting it until it resembled a figure. Well done everyone!

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Summer 1 Week 4 - 11.05.23

In Art Club this week the children have used coloured pens to create a comic of a simple story. We used the artist Keith Haring as inspiration to create colourful comics. This artist uses a pop art style to create artwork and he is known for his colourful cartoon artworks depicting different figures. The children could either use an existing story to create their comics or use their imagination to think of their own story. They used colourful pens to draw and add colour to their comics and also added some patterns and marks to link back to the artist Keith Haring. We had some stories like Hansel and Gretel, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs. Others created their own stories about the character Stitch, and even one about the journey of a potato! Fantastic work!

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Summer 1 Week 3 - 04.05.23

In Art Club this week the children have created a portrait of King Charles to celebrate his Coronation on Saturday! We used the artist Roy Lichtenstein as inspiration to create colourful portraits of the King. This artist uses a pop art style to create art work which looks like images from a comic book; they are colourful, bright, and made using dots. The children could choose to either draw a portrait of King Charles to then paint, or they could use an image template of the King to work on top of. They used paint to add colour and made the dots by painting with cotton buds. Great job!

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Summer 1 Week 2 - 28.04.23

In Art Club this week the children have used their collagraph portraits they made last week to make a collagraph print. The children who were not in Art Club last week have used a piece of polystyrene to do some Poly printing. With the polystyrene, children had to use a pencil to draw a portrait and press down to create an indent of the design. When ready to print, we used rollers to roll the ink onto the polystyrene and cardboard collagraph portraits, then transferred it onto paper by using a clean roller to apply pressure to the back. The children used multiple colours on their prints and experimented with adding more detail once they saw how their first prints came out. We can use the collagraph portraits and polystyrene designs again and again to make more prints! Well done!

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Summer 1 Week 1 - 20.04.23

In Art Club this week the children have begun to make a collagraph portrait. A collagraph is a printmaking method where a relief surface is made, with a variety of textures, onto a board and then used to print with. Today the children had to build up the image of a face onto a piece of cardboard using collaging materials. Some of the materials available to the children were bubble wrap, corrugated card/paper strips, pipe cleaners, string, foam shapes, buttons, cardboard art straws... The children first used a pencil to draw a simple image of their portrait, and then they used PVA glue to build up the image with collaging materials. Once these are dry they will be ready to make a print, this is what we will be completing in Art Club next week! 

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Spring 2 Week 5 - 30.03.23

In Art Club this week we have been painting our clay animal pinch pots we made last week! The children who made a pinch pot painted their pot and the children who were not in art club last week had to create a surprise artwork. This surprise artwork was made by folding paper so that an image could be drawn then once the paper is opened up you see a hidden part to the image. My example for the children was an Easter egg and once opened you see the Easter bunny! Some of the children used animals as inspiration, some made their own ideas. One of the surprise pieces was a normal person then once opened it revealed a strong man. Another one shows a cute looking bear, and once opened you see it has a huge mouth! The children also had time to do some free painting. They have enjoyed Art Club this half term and already giving lots of ideas of what they want to try after the Easter holiday! 

Happy Easter!

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Spring 2 Week 4 - 23.03.23

In Art Club this week we have been using clay to create some animal pinch pots! As we are coming up to Easter, some children decided to make a Bunny pinch pot. The children first had to roll the clay into a ball and then push their thumb into the middle. Then using their fingers they had to pinch and turn the clay to make the hole in the middle wider, creating a pot. Once they had the main pot complete, they could then use more clay to add on features of the animal they chose. If they made the bunny then they had to roll the clay into a sausage form, cut two section the same length, pinch it to make it flat and shape the top to make it round like bunny ears. When joining the different parts of clay together, the children had to use the clay tools to scratch the surfaces that would be put together, dab some water on it and then gently push them together. To ensure it would stick together, the children then used the clay tools and their fingers to smooth out the joining lines. Finally the children used the clay tools to mark the features of the face on the clay ready to paint next week! Well done everyone!

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Spring 2 Week 3 - 16.03.23

In Art Club this week we have had a new group of children attend. We have looked at examples of art work by the visual artist Henri Matisse and discussed what we could see. The children said he uses lots of different colours and shapes, and that he arranges them by overlapping them like a collage. We used Henri Matisse as inspiration to create some card weaving which we can attach string to and hang from the wall. The children first had to attach the base card strips to the cardboard straw, and then get creative with coloured card to weave under and over the base strips. Once they had added coloured card strips by weaving, they could then cut out different shapes to collage on top of it. The children were also creating narratives with their artwork where someone had made an Egyptian inspired weaving with the River Nile, green water reeds, sand and animals, others said their work had diamond jewels on it and also a butterfly! Fantastic work!

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Spring 2 Week 1 - 02.03.23

In Art Club this week we have created observational artwork of some Daffodils! We had a very small group today and enjoyed a relaxing session focussing on what we could see. We painted a Daffodil using watercolours and also sketched using oil pastels too. We first drew the Daffodil with a pencil and the added colour using different materials.

This is the last art club for this group of children and next week we have a new group of children having this opportunity.

Well done to my art club group, you have been fantastic and very creative!

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Spring 1 Week 7 - 16.2.23

The children loved using oil pastels a couple of weeks ago so this week we have brought them back to try something different with them. The children were creating oil pastel transfer drawings. We used some images of sweet treats like cupcakes and ice cream to inspire us, but the children also used their imagination to draw other things. To make the transfer drawings, the children first had to use the oil pastels to create a block background of colours. They had to make sure there were no white areas left on the paper and have an even layer of oil pastel. Then the children used a blank sheet of paper and placed the oil pastel background facing down on the paper. Then using a pencil they drew their design. The children had to make sure to press down hard enough with the pencil to make sure the oil pastel would transfer onto the paper. There was a lot of trial and error to see what worked, some children used a sketching technique with their drawings but found there was not enough pressure to transfer the oil pastel to the other paper. Great job!

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Spring 1 Week 6 - 9.2.23

This week the children have created observational drawings of toys using charcoal and white chalk. They first used the charcoal to sketch the shape of the toy and then used white chalk to create tone by blending the charcoal together. The children used bits of ripped paper to create a background to then draw on top. They also tried using charcoal and chalk on white paper and then on black paper to see how different it looked, and how to make the drawings stand out on different colours. Well done!

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Spring 1 Week 4 - 26.1.23

This week the children have created an oil pastel piece. They chose a picture of half an animals face and then had to draw the other half with pencil before adding colour using the oil pastels. When sketching out the outline of the face, the children had to really think about the shapes they could see and how to mirror them on the other side to complete the face. The children were experimenting with the oil pastels to find the right colours to use by using the edges of their paper to test the colours first. They found that they had to blend different colours together to make the colour they needed for different parts of the face. The children were very resilient with using the oil pastels as sometimes they had to correct parts using the white or try and scrape the colour off to add a different colour. They loved trying to complete an animals face and have asked to use the oil pastels again to develop their skills.

Fantastic work everyone!

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Spring 1 Week 3 - 19.1.23

This week the children have finished painting their clay 'Wish Pot'. The children who painted  their pot last week were making Chinese New Year Dragons. They painted a dragon's face and tail, and then used different coloured card to create the body of the dragon. Once made, they stuck their dragon onto sticks so that they can make their dragons move!

Happy Chinese New Year!

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Spring 1 Week 2 - 12.1.23

This week the children have continued to make their 'Wish Pot' from clay. The children who made their pot last week were the experts and they supported the other children to make their pot this week. The experts made sure to show the children the method of coiling clay to make their pot, and how to join the clay coils together by scoring the surface, using water to dampen the clay, and then blend the clay together to ensure it sticks. Once the experts felt the other children were becoming more confident in making their pot, they began to paint their pot from last week. It is fantastic to see the children's creativity shine and even using the same method, each wish pot is unique.

Well done!

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Spring 1 Week 1 - 5.1.23

This week the children have begun to make a 'Wish Pot' from clay. We are making a Wish Pot to celebrate the New Year, and once they are finished we will write our Wish for this year and place it in the pot. They are using the method of coiling clay to make their pot, and when it is dry they will paint them! The children were very resilient when using the clay and they learnt how to join the clay coils together by scoring the surface, using water to dampen the clay, and then blend the clay together to ensure it sticks. We got a bit messy but it was great fun!

Happy New Year!

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Autumn 2 Week 4 - 15.12.22

This week the children have used their printed Christmas design to make a Christmas card and then made secret Christmas pictures using white oil pastels and watercolour paint!

To make the secret Christmas pictures the children first used the white oil pastel to draw out their design, and then they used watercolour paint to reveal the picture.

Merry Christmas!

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Autumn 2 Week 2 - 2.12.22

This week the children have experimented with printing to create a Christmas design. They first drew designs on paper, getting inspiration from example pictures, and then they drew onto a polystyrene block to create an indent of their chosen design. Next they rolled some printing ink onto a flat surface until it was tacky, and then they rolled the ink over their polystyrene block. Once it was covered in ink, they then placed some paper on top and used a dry roller to apply pressure to the paper so that their design would be transferred onto the paper. They then peeled off the paper to reveal their Christmas Print. They children loved using the printing ink to make their artwork and their favourite part was peeling off the paper at the end to reveal their designs!

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Autumn 2 Week 1 - 24.11.22

This week the children have looked at the designer maker Clare Youngs, and then experimented with different paper to create their own artwork. Some children chose to draw their design first before they cut the different paper. The children really enjoyed being creative and deciding which paper to use for the different parts of the animals. Miss Dixon created a frog for her artwork, see if you can guess what animals the children have created...