Art and Design
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Miss Bamber
Art subject lead
At Brunton the arts are highly valued. We are very proud to have achieved Artsmark Gold status in 2017 and will be submitting our second application later this year.
We recognise that the arts embody some of the highest forms of human creativity and understand that art has the power to raise us up and enrich our lives. We therefore aim for all children to achieve their artistic potential so that the arts can become a fulfilling part of their adult lives whether they work as artists, professionals in creative industries or engage in visits to galleries and practise arts and craft for relaxation and inspiration.
Art and design lessons at Brunton aim to challenge, enthuse and inspire. Children develop their skills in drawing, painting, sculpture and printmaking through well sequenced lessons with plenty of opportunities for self and peer assessment. They develop their own unique styles by making individual art as well as collaborating on large scale group pieces which encourage children to take risks.
As they build and develop their practical skills, they also develop a good critical understanding of different historical art movements that include local, national and international artists and crafts people. Children develop their knowledge and understanding of how art and design reflects and shapes our history, and makes an important contribution to the culture, creativity, diversity and wealth of our society.
Furthermore, they develop key life skills of creative and personal expression; communication of ideas; the ability to visualise and imagine; and to critically observe and interpret the visual world around them. Children discover how art can help support wellbeing, by learning to how to be immersed in the creative process, experience a state of flow and develop positive self-talk even when mistakes are made and things are perceived to have gone wrong.
Authentic opportunities to engage in the arts are provided through visits to museums and galleries; meeting real artists and participation in community arts projects and exhibitions.
Each term we have a different artist in focus who is celebrated in displays around school and through presentations delivered by our very own Arts Ambassadors. We have 18 Ambassadors from years 2, 3 and 4 and children are invited to apply for this role annually. As well as delivering presentations to their classmates, they also give us extremely valuable advice on how we can develop our arts curriculum.
Art and design achievements include sending two ‘No Outsiders’ Elmer sculptures off on parade to Newcastle City Library and St Thomas Church, welcoming local MP Catherine Mckinnell as part of Artsmark celebration week and working with Unfolding Theatre to create an illustrated story about caring for the planet.
Ways you can further your child’s art education at home:
Drawing in a sketchbook! Drawing is all about practise rather than being an innate talent, the more you draw the more confident you will become.
Visiting Galleries: we are so lucky to be surrounded by some wonderful places to view art in the North East including the Laing Art Gallery, Shipley Art Gallery, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Seven Stories, the Biscuit Factory and many more. Children love to talk about the different art work they see and can even sit down and draw their favourite pieces. We always love to hear about trips to galleries during our art lessons and find out what has inspired the children.
Baltic has a wide selection of art workshops to try at home as well as information about their latest exhibitions and family fays.
https://baltic.art/learn/learning-resources/family-resources
Tate Kids is a fantastic art website for children, providing a hub for playing interactive art games and quizzes. Children can watch videos (find out about surrealism or watch Jacqueline Wilson's tour of Tate Britain) explore art and artists, make art with different techniques, and share art with other users. https://www.tate.org.uk/kids
The Cartoon Museum offers step-by-step instructions to drawing cartoons and free panel page templates to print and complete to get your child started on their own caricature and cartoon strip creation https://www.cartoonmuseum.org/learning-resources
Discover New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art collections using an interactive map and by watching behind-the-scenes videos presented by children, then travel through more than 5,000 years of art in the MetKids time machine and find out fun facts about works of art, from dragons to dancers and mummies to masks. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/metkids/
Artsology is a site designed to introduce children to art history through play eg, children can walk through New York City looking for walls to tag with digital graffiti, challenge Mondrian to a classic game of dots or escape to the Hieronymus Bosch Underworld.