Art & Design at Cotsford
At Cotsford Primary all children will have the opportunity to enhance and expand their skills and techniques using a range of media and materials. Using the Cornerstones curriculum, alongside the Kapow scheme of work, children learn the skills of drawing, painting, printing, collage, textiles, sculpture, 3D work and digital art. They will creatively design and make products using a range of media and materials and are given opportunities to explore and evaluate different creative ideas and works of art. Children will be introduced to a range of artists and their artwork and will be able to develop their knowledge of the styles used.
Please click the link for Art National Curriculum Information
Spring 2
In art this term Early Years completed lots of different paintings of farm land and how it looks from above. They learnt that this was called an aerial view. They mixed their own colours to create shades of brown, green and yellow. They have also created some funny faces with fruit. They also learnt that lots of fruit come from trees and not just the supermarket!
The children also made Mother’s Day and Easter cards this half term, including portraits of their Mams and a daffodil for Easter.
In Year 3/4 children began looking at graffiti. They researched graffiti artists and had a look at their work. The children then created their own graffiti wall. They then took parts of each child’s graffiti and put them all together, to make one big graffiti wall for display. They loved having the freedom to express themselves with their artwork!
Year 4 started this half term by sketching some ammonite drawings in their books, using fine line sketching pencils and printed images to look at. They did a superb job really taking their time and adding detail. Following this the children focussed on some of the work of Fibonacci. The children drew their own Fibonacci pattern and then explored using some great colours. Building upon this the they did some relief painting. Year 4 created their own designs imprinting them into a polystyrene tile, they then used printing ink to transfer the image from the tile to paper. Our results were phenomenal and the children were very proud of the work they produced. The final piece the children produced this half term was rolling and coiling clay making their own ammonite. This was a messy but fun task and the children thoroughly enjoyed it, especially painting them.
Year 5 had an amazing half term with our art topic. As a part of the Black to Green Project, we were lucky enough to work with local mining artist, Derek Slater. He came in and helped the class create an amazing display, showing all aspects of a miner’s job. This was brilliant and the children worked hard on creating colours which showed the personalities of the miners through the coal.
They also looked at the mining banners which are so famous and created both individual and group ones. They used different media, pencils, pens and paints to create their final pieces.
For their computer animations, they sculpted model figures, using plasticine. They built the bodies, using weighed out amounts of materials to get the proportions correct and then dressed their characters. They also worked on enhancing their background to the animation, using collaging techniques, and digital art work in the animation itself.
Spring 1
Early Years have completed lots of different paintings including painting their own story map! They have completed some colour mixing too when painting their bridges and making colours light and darker. Can you remember what colour is added to make paint lighter?
The children also created their own pictures of the this year’s animal for Chinese New Year. Do you know what the animals is?
Year 1 have thoroughly enjoyed their ‘Funny Faces’ topic. They have looked at portraits and self-portraits and can explain the difference and identify the features of a face. They then explored funny face portraits cutting and sticking given features to make their own funny face, then they used pastels to recreate a given funny face portrait. A range of materials were used to make a funny face collage and Purplemash was used to create a funny face portrait. Here’s a gallery of their amazing portraits so that everyone can see!
Wow! This half term Year 2 have worked extremely hard to improve their drawing and painting skills. They looked at a range of still life drawings and paintings by famous authors. The children loved mixing paints to create different tones to match a range of paintings. They explored textures, composition and themes of famous paintings to support careful observations. Thumbnail sketches were proven be a big hit! This led the way to still life drawings; the children began with one object and extended to 4 / 5 objects. Everyone’s still life paintings were outstanding and lots of people have complimented the children’s work on display in our art gallery.
The children in Y3/4 have loved their art topic this half term! They have had the opportunity to explore the Ancient Egyptians through the art they created many years ago. First, the children looked at different artefacts and had a go at sketching some of their favourites. The children then studied hieroglyphics by looking at the inside of the tombs and pyramids. They then created their own cartouche with a secret message, written in hieroglyphics. The children also loved creating their own Egyptian headdress! Finally, the children developed skills by moulding a canopic jar from clay
Year 5 have been researching all about the ‘Day of the Dead’ skulls. They have been investigating what they are, where they originate from, and what countries celebrate this type of celebration. The children were really intrigued and excited about this topic. After gaining a great understanding on the subject they began to design their own skull, using lots of different colours and learning how to mix colours. Following this the children made 3D models of their skull designs. All children were very proud at what they had made and their teacher was too.
Autumn 2
In EYFS, the children did an amazing activity where they mixed coloured paint in the snow, it was so much fun! They couldn’t believe the colours they made! The children applied their thinking to make colours back in class. Mrs Laverick was so very proud.
The children created a lot of pictures as the holiday season approached. They painted a picture of their class elf Nick, and also completed a self-portrait for their calendar to give to their parents.
Wow, we have some amazing artists in Year 4! I have been so impressed with their finished landscapes. The children took inspiration from their trip to the Dene where they used their own viewfinders to create sketches and from famous artists such as Van Gogh and Monet. They practised different techniques including, cross-hatching using fine line markers and watercolours to begin to create atmospheric perspective.
Year 5 children have enjoyed mixed media exploration, sketching, soap carving and stenciling whilst exploring the world of the Inuit’s. The children have looked at a famous Inuit artist, Kenojuak Ashevak, and explored how her work has influenced others and themselves.
Year 6 have been exploring art based around Native American cultures and their beliefs around dream catchers. They have designed their own dream catcher according to a specific criterion and selected materials that would best suit the desired outcome. Their knowledge and skills were revisited when they made dream catcher inspired Christmas decorations for the tree.
