KS3 Art & Design

Category: Landscape

Project Title: ‘A sense of place’

Students look at the work of David Hockney and British landscapes. They build on their knowledge of landscapes by exploring how to develop mark making to describe textures within the landscape. They will create a first-hand observation drawing of the landscape outside the classroom based on Hockey’s drawing techniques. They develop their understanding of colour mixing whilst using paints and oil pastel and how it can convey a sense of place. Drawing on their mathematical skills, they also use a basic measuring and gridding technique to enlarge a study. Their final outcome will be an A3 colour study in a medium of their choice.

Future Learning

In Y8 students will look at urban landscapes and develop their drawing skills on a 3D surface. They will also develop mark making in pen. They use more complex gridding methods in the Y8 Surrealism project.

Category: Portraits

Project Title: ‘Why am I blue’

Students look at the work of Edvard Munch and look at how he changed the purpose of a portrait. Students will learn about the proportions of the face. They will investigate how colour can convey a meaning, in this case how it conveys emotion or mood. They build on their understanding of colour theory whilst experimenting with Charcoal. Chalk and oil pastels. They will then transfer these skills into paint where they will create a large-scale self-portrait in the style of the expressionists.

Future Learning

In Y9 students will develop their understanding of portraiture by looking at animal-based portraits. And GCSE students will look at portraiture in Photography and Art.

Category: Still life

Project Title: ‘Bottle Fish’

Students will build on their understanding of making during this project. They will explore 3D objects by gathering found vessels and bottles that they can use to draw from and eventually recycle into a sculpture. They will research current concerns with plastic pollution in the oceans and look at the species of sea life that are most affected by it. After creating their drawings and designs, students will explore how to manipulate and connect the plastic to create their own sea life sculptures. The will look at the work of sculptor David Edgar for inspiration on how to assemble their final pieces. These will be displayed as a collaborative underwater scene to highlight our concerns with plastic pollution.

Future Learning:

In Y8 Students will continue to look at found resources and 3D structures in their Slum City project.

Prior learning:

In Y7 students experiment with mark making in a variety of different media. Students have also previously explored human portraits and basic gridding methods.

Category: Portraits

Project Title: ‘Weird and wonderful characters’

Students will research Surrealism and look at the three key themes the Surrealists explore. They will specifically look at the work of Max Ernst and Hannah Hock and respond by creating a collage that they will develop into a drawing. In preparation for their drawing they will expand their knowledge of mark making but now using pen to create texture and tone. These will be applied to their final drawing of a Weirdly Wonderful Character. They will build on their understanding of the gridding method which will allow them to draw more accurate shapes.

Future Learning:

In Y9 Art students will explore drawing through the formal elements. In Y9 photography students will look at the ‘rule of thirds’ grid to create more effective compositions.

Prior learning:

In Y7 students explore rural landscapes. They also experiment with 3D materials.

 Category: Landscapes

Project Title: ‘Slum house city’

Students will look in to improvise housing in urban poverty struck areas of the world. They will watch a video to contextualise their studies. They will create a perspective drawing of a slum house which draws on their mathematical knowledge. They will research the artist Eric Cremers who creates sculptures of the Rio Flavelas and refer their perspective drawings to design their own slum house using found materials. They will learn how to construct and fix non-resistant materials together. The outcome of this project will be a 3D sculpture of a slum house.

Future Learning:

In GCSE Art students investigate Coastal environments.

Prior learning:

In Y7 students explore a variety of painting and drawing techniques. They also draw from observation.

Category – Still life

Project Title – ‘Blast from the Past’

Students will look at the work of John Piper, Henry Moore and Paul Nash who are all war artists. They will draw on their knowledge of war and conflict that they have learnt in History and create mixed media piece using printmaking and painting techniques that refer to objects associated with war.

Future learning:

In Y9 Art students will continue to develop their understanding of the printmaking process.

Prior learning:

Students will reflect on and use all learned skills and techniques.

Category: Art and Photography

Project Title: ‘Music in my eyes’

Students will investigate the formal elements in Art and use different techniques to explore each one. The will use musical subject matter to inform their studies and research the work of street artist Dain to inspire their work. Over the course of the term they will create a mixed media piece that could be used to advertise the New Forest School end of year leavers performance. They will then swap to Photography for the second term.

Future Learning:

If following the GCSE route, students will be encouraged to reflect on prior learning, including presentation skills and art techniques. They will further develop these in line with the GCSE Art criteria.

Prior learning:

Students will reflect on and use all learned skills and techniques.

Category: Art and Photography

Project Title: ‘Composing Rhythm’

Students will spend a term learning about the basic compositional rules of photography. They will develop their understanding of how to use a digital cameras or iPads. They will take and save images and edit them using a digital editing program. They will refer to the Cubism movement and joiner photography to develop a final piece that records rhythm and movement.

Future Learning:

If following the GCSE route, students will be encouraged to reflect on prior learning, including presentation skills and art techniques. They will further develop these in line with the GCSE Art criteria.

Prior learning:

Students will reflect on and use all learned skills and techniques.

Students will complete a hybrid project of Art and Photography to embed and secure the skills they have built throughout the year. They will look at typography and develop their own graphic fonts that they will build into their work from the previous terms.

Future Learning:

If following the GCSE route, students will be encouraged to reflect on prior learning, including presentation skills and art techniques. They will further develop these in line with the GCSE Art criteria.