Year 7 and 8 Art Retreat Weekend
12th January 2018
Year 7 and 8 pupils thoroughly enjoyed spending a few days at Tambuzi Farm, using the environment to inspire sketching. Observational skills were progressively developed through extended opportunities to draw from real life. Gathering of items from the natural environment and setting up a still life allowed pupils to feel an affinity with their drawings. Sketching became even more challenging when attempting to draw moving animals. It is interesting that the brain takes over when we stop looking at the image we are drawing and so constant reminders were needed to keep looking at our images so that drawings became more life-like.
Printing blocks were created using natural materials like leaves and bark and then used to print onto cloth bags. The pupils talked about using these bags for shopping as an alternative to the recently banned plastic bags.
Our final activity was to create a flower bouquet considering colours, shapes and scents. Something to take home to parents.
An additional benefit of being on a farm was the opportunity for the pupils to milk Rose the cow. A first time opportunity!
