During the Week 3 Assembly, we had the opportunity to recognise the talents of our Visual Arts students. At the end of Term 2, the Visual Arts students showcased their work so far this year in our Semester 1 Junior CAPA Showcase. Ranging from more traditional drawings on paper to mixed media artworks, our 7 - 10 artists adorned the hall with a variety of subject matter to engage our audiences.

This year we not only asked our audience to vote in our People’s Choice awards; we have also introduced the inaugural Principal’s Award for Visual Arts, recognising the dedication and creativity students have shown in the resolution of their completed artworks.

Students received certificates as well as Eckersley’s gift cards from the College and we encourage them to continue to strive for excellence!

Congratulations to Amyllia Maneze and Allistaire Reyes for their selection as Year 9 and Year 10 People’s Choice Award recipients respectively. Amelia Korczowski and Kathryn Baginski are the proud recipients of this Semester’s Visual Arts Principal’s Awards. Well done to all students!

On Friday 2nd August, our Stage 5 Visual Arts students journeyed into the city for their visit to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. This annual excursion is planned around the students’ units of study in Term 1 and 2 and provides the opportunity for students to engage with artworks in real life. Year 9 students recently completed their Unit 1 study of “The Archibald Prize” whilst Year 10 completed their Unit 1 titled “Suburbia”. After exploring these themes within their own artmaking, students immersed themselves in the finalists for the prestigious Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2024. 

After an exciting bus trip into the city, we disembarked in front of the South Building to begin our day; where we received comments from the general public who commended our students for their positive behaviour. Students had a quick visit to the permanent collection of the gallery before entering the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes for our booked session. Seeing artworks that are larger than imagined in real life, left many of our students in awe - as they were able to take in every brush stroke and observe the minute details the artists splashed across their artworks. Students recognised focus artists from their units of study, such as Christopher Zanko - displayed among the other Wynne Prize finalists.

As the weather started to turn, we managed to gather for a picnic lunch outside under the covers of the new North Building. We were lucky to be able to utilise the cafe facilities, where many students enjoyed a fresh pizza or hot chips; before we ended the day with what ended up being the most interesting part of the day. 

In the What Does the Jukebox Dream Of? Collection exhibition, students found themselves in the world of installation art. From controlling a 3D world operated by branches to a jukebox in the gallery space; our students thoroughly enjoyed the contemporary artworks, which sparked great conversation on our way out. 

Thank you to our Stage 5 Visual Arts students for their growth mindset and positive attitude on the day. Our next excursion will be our very special Visual Arts Camp to Bundanon in Term 4. We look forward to sharing with our College community more photos and stories of our Visual Arts adventures!

Mrs Claudia Harris

Leader of Learning Visual Arts

Our new Semester 2 Year 7 classes have been exploring the various contributors to popular culture including food, music, TV shows, movies, trends and clothing. This was then reflected in their creative title pages in which they were tasked to incorporate elements of pop culture that they engage and relate to. Over the coming weeks, students will create two major artworks, a food drawing and a large-scale food sculpture reflecting the popularity of food items of today - talk about YUM! This will definitely challenge students working both individually and collaboratively.

Over the past week, students have been learning about colouring and drawing techniques in their most recent lessons as this will play a key role in their upcoming artmaking task, pop art food drawing. Techniques included blending, burnishing, observation and using the grid method. The grid method proved to be quite challenging for students at first however, rest assured, with more practice, students will become more confident with this technique in time.

Year 8

Year 8 students have begun their study of Cubism and learnt about how it allows the audience to view artworks from different angles and gain new perspectives. In their most recent lessons, students engaged in a still-life drawing task where students had to draw chairs that were arranged in a complex manner in order for students to sketch from a range of perspectives. Students were given 7 minutes per side of a square table and were instructed to move to their left to get a new perspective of the chair arrangement. Stay tuned for our future articles to see their final creations!

Year 10

Year 10 are reaching the end of their unit, Fine Diner. Their ceramic dining vessels have finished their final firing process and are looking fantastic! Students have explored a range of vessels from a range of cultures and have incorporated the style and design into their own creations. To finish off our unit, students will engage in a ‘banquet style’ peer review allowing for students to provide valuable feedback to their classmates.

SAC Art Club

Art Club has returned for 2024! This year, Art Club is run during sport time allowing for all students to have an opportunity to participate. The Term 3 group, by popular request, are interested in painting and drawing skills which they will be developing upon throughout the upcoming weeks. Our students have an overwhelming talent for the Visual Arts and it is excellent to see the enthusiasm and interest of students to learn more about their interests. 

Miss Leezah Rivera

HSIE & Visual Arts Teacher