Being an Artist

Artists use different ways to communicate ideas and emotions. They can use a variety of mediums         to help them represent the world around us like painting and drawing, sculpture or performance. Artists help us to understand the world from different perspectives.

Art and creativity are a form of communication in the same way as language and are imperative to learning. We firmly believe the ‘process’ of artwork is more important than the end product and this is reflected in our Art Curriculum. Children should have the opportunity to use art as a means of expressing their feelings towards the world and for translating how they see things within the environment using interesting and varied techniques and from a variety of starting points.

Art is one method of developing children’s aesthetic awareness. We believe that it is preferable to work from first-hand experience and have built up a resource area where interesting objects and materials are collected together for use in the classroom. We ensure children are exposed to a variety of mediums including drawing, painting, sculpture (using clay, Mod Roc or junk), weaving, printing and dying techniques including batik. The children are also given opportunities to lead their own artwork, make decisions about their art, be imaginative, consider improvements as well as actually being given the opportunity to improve a piece of art. We spend time discussing shape, colour, texture, light and shadow, smell and origin of the object with the children. They explore ideas and meanings in the work of artists, craftspeople and designers and learn about their different roles and about the functions of art, craft and design in their own lives and in different times and cultures. It is vital to show children that their work is valued and this is  done by displaying it around the school as well as in the classroom.