Our Grade 5 and 6 students  studied the Art of Graeme Base and drew for most of last Term and, although eight one hour lessons  may seem a long time,  I realized how important it was to keep the momentum going so that their confidence in their drawing  continued to grow. With the emphasis on Literacy and Numeracy in schools providing less time for the Creative Arts I worry that  drawing,  painting, collage , modelling etc.are not getting the emphasis they deserve.

Julian’s crocodile is a case in point. I gave him plenty of time to persevere and complete this animal character and I am proud to display it on our Blog. But where could we go from here? This character lends itself to a story, a name , a setting and a sequence of events, maybe a cartoon strip. I’m not saying that should happen with every drawing . It’s just that by taking artwork as a starting point for discussion or as a stimulus for further work   we allow our students to see the connections between Art and Literature as evidenced in the incredible work of Graeme Base and Dorothy Wall with her Blinky Bill series.