Barrow Hill Junior School

Big Draw Award

Here are some photos of our day out at the British Museum...

 

       

   

               

     

              

         

           

We did some drawing before collecting our award and meeting author/illustrator Posy Simmonds.

You did it!

Do you remember way back in October we spent a whole week being creative? Well the organisers of The Big Draw thought that you deserved an award for your hard work and creativity!

1,250 events took place in 1,100 venues across the UK . Out of all these Big Draw programmes,  we won a Runner Up award for The Living Picture.

We have been invited to the British Museum at the end of this month where we will collect our award.

I'd like to say a HUGE well done to everybody who took part. Thanks to all of the staff at the school, without whom our event could not have taken place. Thanks to the parents who came and led workshops and of course to you guys for being so enthusiastic, creative and for producing some amazing work!

THANK YOU!

I look forward to seeing you very soon!

Arwen

Well done Barrow Hill!

Every pupil and member of staff has time to be creative

Barrow Hill Junior School wins a prestigious Drawing Inspiration Award for a top 2008 Big Draw event.

Barrow Hill Junior School and event organiser, Arwen Roberts, Art Coordinator, will receive a prestigious Drawing Inspiration Award from the Campaign for Drawing for the successful event they created for The Big Draw 2008.  Last October, 1,250 events took place in 1,100 venues across the UK. Out of all these Big Draw programmes, Barrow Hill Junior School won a Runner Up award for The Living Picture.

For a week, classes took part in a broad range of drawing activities, using different media to bridge the gap between science and art, and to link to their Modern Foreign Languages studies in Italian. Each year group had a different focus for creating and illustrating their own books – some individually, and some in groups. Year 3 made collaged concertina books after studying Eric Carle’s stories; Year 4 constructed pop-up books, Year 5 painted the view from Primrose Hill in watercolours, representing the four seasons; Year 6 animated their drawings. Some activities were based on books and others introduced particular skills and techniques. Members of the school community shared their creativity, enthusiasm and skills by leading workshops. Staff offered ideas and support, enabling all the children to be creative, and to enjoy drawing, talks and a cross-curricular workshop using recycled materials.

At The British Museum On 30 March Barrow Hill Junior School will receive its Award and a commemorative certificate designed by leading illustrator and Campaign patron, Quentin Blake. The winning event will be illustrated in the Campaign’s new book, sent to thousands of museums, galleries, schools, heritage and community venues as inspiration for the Campaign’s tenth birthday Big Draw in October 2009. 

The Big Draw sweeps the UK each October with a drawing bonanza, involving an estimated 350,000 people in exciting, and often unusual, creative activities.  Children, parents, grandparents, conservationists, designers, artists, cartoonists and scientists meet in venues ranging from castles to shopping centres, national galleries to village halls, libraries to hospitals, universities to nature reserves – to draw with charcoal, paint, light, even skateboards and robots!   

Sue Grayson Ford, Campaign Director, comments “ Barrow Hill Junior School fully demonstrated the Big Draw’s aims of bringing people together, engaging them creatively and supporting active learning – all through drawing.  I am amazed how organisers constantly expand the boundaries of drawing by bringing vast amounts of enthusiasm and imagination to their events.”

 

Free Family Workshops...

I was given a leaflet (thanks Ruth - Joseph's mum!) for a free workshop, which I'd like to recommend...

Miro, Calder, Giacometti, Braque: Aime Maeght and His Artists

Royal Academy of Arts

The exhibition runs from 4 Oct 2008—2 Jan 2009, but the workshops are on Tuesday 28th October and Thursday 30th October between 10.15am - 1pm. You will need to book on to the workshops, by calling the Royal Academy on 020 7300 5995 or email education@royalacademy.org.uk

Have a great half term...

We invite you to...

 

Thank you Lily for designing the poster and to Vlad, Vika, Paige, Sara and Ava for their artwork.

Last day...

 'I use drawing as an extension of my brain. It is the ones done with spontaneity that give me most pleasure and help crystallize an idea.'

Terence Conran

So the week has come to an end... it has been wonderful walking around the classrooms this week, witnessing the amazing work going on in each class. The whole school has been busy drawing, painting, printing, animating and creating.

      

     

      

                   

                 

 

A big THANKS to everybody for all your enthusiasm, hard work and creativity.

Photographs from today will be up on the blog next week and we'll also be busy mounting work from this week, ready for our exhibition which will be the week of 19th October.

Day 4!

 'In pictures you can express things you can't say in words. It's fun, it's relaxing, it adds another dimension to life.'

Robbie Catterick, Kitchen fitter

Another successful day of drawing here...

   

                 

   

   

 

Year 3 - working on their collages

Year 4 - drawing workshop with Tony - Thomas's dad

Year 5 - watercolour painting and bridging the gap between science and art with Vincent - Joshua's dad

Year 6 - Finishing animations

Thank you so much to all the parents who have been in this week, supporting and leading workshops - Caroline, Tom, Tony, Vincent and Paula.

Day 3!

'When you get drawing, you're young again.'

Stan Foot, Pensioner, aged 80

 

Another fun day of drawing activities here at Barrow Hill…

 

     

     

     

     

   

Year 3 – have been planning their Eric Carle inspired books

Year 4 – were very lucky to have had a drawing workshop with Tom – Lily’s dad

Year 5 – began sketching out their landscape drawings from Primrose Hill onto watercolour paper

Year 6 – 6K created their animations today and 6N finished planning their animations

 

All the photographs from yesterday are now up, the ones from today will be up tomorrow...

Today’s highlights!

 

                 

 

                 

   

                

                 

               

                 

                 

   

               

 

Year 3 printmaking

Year 4 started working on their pop-up books

Year 5 went to Primrose Hill to draw, in preparation for their books

Year 6 continued working on their animations

The whole school came together to draw some very patient models – thank you!

 

Thank you so much to everybody who took photographs today.

And we're off!

'To young children, drawing is as natural an activity as running and playing but, as we grow and develop, in general we drop the drawing - why? It's sad that so many people lose this ability: for me, drawing has always been a natural form of expression.'

Gerald Scarfe, Campaign for Drawing Patron

'The artist, Paul Klee, once said that drawing, quite simply, means taking a line for a walk. If you look at it like that, The Big Draw is a stroll, on a national scale.'

Sir Christopher Frayling, Chairman, Arts Council England & Rector, Royal College of Art

Our art week started with an assembly this morning - introducing the week and creating a line library in our drawing books. Here are some of today's photographs...

 

   

                

                  

   

                 

                 

   

   

               

More photographs in the Art Week - Big Draw 2008 album...

What is the Big Draw?

 

The Big Draw is the Campaign for Drawing's flagship, with some 1300 drawing events across the UK each October. This month-long season celebrates creativity, and encourages experiment and enjoyment. It takes place in national museums, regional galleries, castles, parks, schools, libraries, community centres and village halls. Drawing is a universal language which unites people of all ages, abilities and cultures.

The Big Draw  extends the vocabulary of drawing and challenges conventions and preconceptions. It shows how pencil, pen, chalk or the computer mouse can inspire observation, imagination and invention. Drawing connects us with our environment and helps us to see, think and communicate.

More Doodling...

'If you can draw, even a little bit, you can express all kinds of ideas that might otherwise be lost - delights, frustrations, whatever torments you or pleases you.'

David Hockney, Campaign for Drawing Patron

   

   

More doodles in the album 5F Feet Doodles...

Drawing...

 

The Campaign has revealed and animated and organised an extended national interest in drawing. It has allowed people to draw, and to gather together to draw, in the same way that they gather together to sing. It has brought thousands of people into our galleries and museums. Many of these might not otherwise have come; and almost more importantly, the Campaign for Drawing has, noticeably, altered the relationship of these visitors with the institutions. They arrive with a purpose, their interest has a focus. This is a triumph of the best kind of accessibility…establishing the importance of drawing not only as a mode of self-expression but a tool in learning and in science and design.

Quentin Blake CBE, Campaign for Drawing Patron

Big Draw Launch 2008

      

As I mentioned in the previous post, in a couple of weeks time our art week will be underway and again, the focus will be drawing - linking to The Big Draw, which is organised by The Campaign for Drawing.

'The Campaign for Drawing has one aim: to get everyone drawing!'

'Everyone can draw.' Posy Simmonds

'Without some drawing each day, there's no proper seeing. That's how it is for me.' Andrew Marr

This weekend is the Big Draw launch 2008. This free festival in London launches The Big Draw 2008 - a month of national drawing events.

There are some amazing sounding masterclasses, performances, workshops, screenings and talks happening over the city starting on Friday - some require tickets but some are drop-in events. Take a look at the website here.

We're still here!

Ok, so we're well into the new school year here and I'm busy planning for Art Week 2008, which will take place in a little under two weeks time!

For those of you who weren't with us for our last one, in October 2006, here are just some of the many photographs that were taken throughout the week.

   

    

         

      

     

Y4 Journeys...

Here are some examples of the 'Journeys' that we've been working on in Y4 over the last term. I am very impressed with them all. There is a link to the 'Journeys photo album', which can be found on the right hand side of this page.

Symbols

In Year 4 our topic this therm has been 'Journeys'. We discussed the use of symbols and looked at some symbols that people use to represent objects. I asked the children to design symbols to represent the sun, rain, wind and fire. Here are Antonio's ideas:

Antonio 4H

Elmers here at last!

Way back in March, we celebrated world book day... we looked at the Elmer series of books by David McKee...

...and then we designed our own 'Elmers'.

I have now scanned and uploaded the ones that were given to me and have organised them into photo albums, which you will find on the right hand side of this page. If yours is not there, or you weren't here when we did them, come and see me and I'll give you a sheet so that you can make your own and then I'll add it to the blog :)

          

           

Well done, they are very imaginative!

Summer!

Last winter we looked at snowflakes and the different ways they could be represented with pencil and paper. The children created lots of snowflakes in their drawing books before choosing their favourite and reproducing it on a circular piece of paper. I stitched the 'snowflakes' together and hung them like curtains on the windows around the school.

                                                          

                                             

As these have now been taken down, I thought that we could make some summery ones to brighten up the windows.

We are in the process of repeating the above, only this time creating lots of Sun.

Here as some examples of the Year 5 & 6 studies from their drawing books. Hopefully everyone will have had the opportunity to create their own sun by the end of this week so that I can stitch them together and have them brighten up our windows with their rays of light next week!

       

       

       

       

       

I am in the process of uploading photos from everyones drawing books - check them out!

Special Chinese flower!

Lilly has been busy drawing some beautiful flowers at home using oil pastels.

Some more drawings from home...

Here are some of Nishath's drawings that she made at home... lots of patterns!

Nishath, 6N

Klara's Half Term!

Tate Take Over: 3D Design

'This event was organised by students from Camberwell College. You could do all sorts of things. My favourite was making a plush doll. A plush doll is a square doll that is made out of fabric. You had to choose fabric and stick it on. You could write on your doll as well. Here is mine...

These were some of the other events at Tate:

Mastermaze

An invisible maze you had to go through and beat the clock.

Need a seat?

Make yourself a lovely seat and take it home.

The best thing about it was that it was all free and you could take home whatever you made!'

Klara 4L

More drawing at home...

This week Tallulah and Farida came to show me some drawings they had made at home.

What medium do you think they used?

Shoes by Farida, 6K

 

 

 

Fruit by Tallulah, 6N

Young Fashion Designers...

The Design Museum are currently holding an exhibition called 'Mathew Williamson 10 Years in Fashion'. To celebrate the exhibition, they are running a competition for 4-12 year olds to design an outfit for a special event or occasion.

All winning entries will be exhibited on the Design Museum website and each winning entrant will receive a Design Museum goody-bag.

The closing date for entries is the 31st January.

Click here for more information.

I'd love to see your designs, so make sure that you bring them in to show me before sending them off to the Design Museum!

Dress design by Cerys, 4L

Favourite Illustrator...

In our reading group over the last couple of weeks, we have talked about the illustrations in picture books. I asked the children in the group to choose their favourite illustrator and to explain why they like their work...

Ignis

Author: Gina Wilson

Illustrator: P.J. Lynch

Published by Walker Books

"I really like the pictures in this book because they are so colourful and detailed, you almost feel like you are there. The media of the pictures is watercolour and outlined in pencil.

Ignis is a dragon that is amber with red dots. He is quite a young dragon who looks very friendly.

The pictures go very well with the story.

Some pictures are quite bright and others dark and gloomy."

Joe, 4L

I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato

Author: Lauren Child

Illustrator: Lauren Child

Published by Orchard Books

"I like Lauren Child's work becasue the pictures are realistic, some of them are drawn. The pictures that Lauren Child draws must take a lot of time because they are so detailed. Lauren Child uses real wallpaper, photographs and fabric in her illustrations. Lauren Child is one of my favourite authors/illustrators."

Dior, 4L

Hand Doodles...

Here are some of the hand doodles that 4L created a couple of weeks ago. I have posted the following children's work here because of the attention to detail and originality.

J.J. 4L

River 4L

Nicholas 4L

Lily 4L

Raheem 4L

Catherine 4L

All of the hand doodles can be found in the album called '4L Hand Doodles'.

Which one is your favourite and why?

 

Sneaky Peek...

Here's a sneaky peek at the art and craft that's been going on here lately!

Some Christmas cards and envelopes - just like the ones you might receive from the Jolly Postman!

   

Maryam 5W                                      Anastasia 5W

And some stamp designs...

   

Melody 5W                                      Charlotte 5W

   

Isabelle 5W                                      Indico 5W

And the winners are...

It was very difficult to choose the winners because there were so many very good entries... but the winners are:

1st - CHARLOTTE 5W

2nd - LILY 4L

3rd - INDICO 5W

Thanks to everybody who entered the competition :)

Winter Fair and Christmas Production preparations...

In preparation for our winter fair and our Christmas Production our art lessons for the next two weeks are going to be linked to these events.

Years 5 & 6 are in the process of designing wrapping paper, which will be used to wrap boxes that will be displayed around the school...

    

Years 3 & 4 are in the process of designing and making Christmas themed bunting, which will be hung around the school...

More photos in the album 'Christmas 2007'

Y3 & Y4 photos to come this week.

There's lots more to be done in order to transform the school... just you wait and see!

Poster competition

Last week I set a competition to design a poster advertising the Winter Fair.

The closing date is Monday 19th November... I will choose a winner, whose poster will be used to advertise the event.

I will upload photos of some of the entries here...

I can't wait to see them!