My fellow Art teacher, Glenys Vella, and I have many activities we call our “tried and true acivities”. They are activities we’ve had success with in the past and in which the students have shown us their great imagination. These portraits were made using a square piece of calico which was dipped into a mixture of PVA glue, food dye and water, squeezed out and then spread over facial features modelled from Plasticene. The work was lifted off a plastic backing ( we used plastic icecream tub lids for support) when dry and the face, neck and hands were cut out to add to the collage. I hope you enjoy the “Cook” by Brennan and the “Old Lady” by Tara.

These holidays have given me a wonderful chance to establish connections with fellow teachers all over the world. In reading and commenting upon other blogs I am increasingly realising how valuable blogging can be  in promoting understanding between people. I am now keen to update the blog more often, even during the break from school.Today’s contributions are from my collection taken on travels within my state in Bendigo, Central  Victoria and the other in Oslo, Norway. The ceramic candle holder by Camilla Halvorsen was in a shop window in central Oslo and the dog based on a chair was made by a student at my old school, Girton Grammar in Bendigo.

Our  Summer holidays continue until January 28th so I thought I’d add some photos which I have taken over the past couple of years. These papermache hats were made by Grade 2 students. They are based on a margarine tub as the crown and thick cardboard as the brim.These are strongly joined with masking tape before being papermached, painted and decorated. Lots of fun was had when the toys came to school to try on their new hats.