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Art and Design

Why art matters to us at Preston Park

Before humans could write they drew. They drew the things that mattered to them and maybe they drew their dreams too. Ancient rock drawings made some 73,000 years ago give us in the 21^st Century a strong sense of what it felt like to exist in that place at that time.

As artists continue to do today, our ancient ancestors interpreted the world around them as a matter of record and for their own pleasure and for others. While they used rocks as their canvas, now we can use iPads. But the medium isn't as important as the enduring power of creativity as a form of communication.

Creativity is an integral part of human history, without it we would be bereft and the world would be a bland, boring, monotone place. Which culture is without art?

At Preston Park we know art matters. We highly value the transformative power of art as both a tool for learning and for personal growth. Art is different from other subjects because whilst a pupil can gain technical expertise, when it comes to our likes and dislikes there is no right and wrong. What you may like others may not, which makes it all the more challenging and exciting.

What's in it for me?

Our art room is well equipped for drawing, painting, sculpture, printing, collage and making. In Key Stage 1 our children explore the wealth of art materials and mediums on offer and in Key Stage 2 master art skills and techniques and understand how to use a sketchbook to record and revise ideas.

We recognise that everyone's creative path is different and that difference is actively encouraged. Children may be a super-messy, speedy and expressive artist or intricate, neat learners who takes their time to create. It really doesn't matter! We just want to harness creativity and give you the skills, knowledge and understanding to grow as an artist.

In teaching art, we want our children to be equipped with skills that will be useful beyond their lives at our school. We want them to:

take creative risks, to be inquisitive
become critical thinkers
make mistakes and learn from them
listen to the views of others whilst not always agreeing with them. All are important life lessons that will equip learners for their lives beyond Preston Park.

Our children will find the answers to questions such as:

What does it mean to be a creative human being?
Can anything be art as long as you say it is?
Is a beautifully sculpted Dogon mask as important as the Mona Lisa?
Who decides what is great art?

How we teach Art effectively at Preston Park

Art is taught by our skilled specialist art teacher. Lessons have strong cross-curricular links and are meaningful and relevant. Your child could have a term inspired by the ancient civilisations (like the Greeks or the Egyptians) or by a contemporary artist working today. We also link our learning to our reading curriculum and children create work inspired by authors. We even conduct whole class projects such as appreciating the beauty of nature, for example, when we re-create the rocks we are studying in science!

Sometimes we will make tiny observational drawings and sometimes big collaborative imaginary artworks. Occasionally we go outside and forage for leaves and sticks to make a sculpture. We dress up and take a selfies to express our individuality through our artwork. When we are collaging we create our own patterned paper first. We are resourceful and find inventive ways to use found objects and recycled plastic for 3D work. We create big murals such as a whole wall of art dedicated to the plastic pollution in our seas. Whatever the topic, your child will be encouraged to find their own interpretation and follow their own creative path rather than just copy the style of a famous artist.

While we teach the traditional fine art skills of drawing, painting and sculpture our emphasis is on experimentation and discovery and embracing mistakes.

The outcomes are always most pleasing and adorn our school corridors. We are proud to display our glorious work but believe the process of making art is often more than the outcome.

Future careers in Art

The arts and culture industry currently now contributes£10.8billion a year to the UK economy! If you choose the creative arts as a career there are so many choices.

These are some of the jobs our children could go on to do: painter, sculptor, book illustrator, jewellery maker, font designer, ceramist, graphic artist, web designer, games designer, textiles designer, fashion designer, shoe designer, architect, TV, film or theatre set designer, art curator, art therapist, conservator, art historian, interior designer, costume designer, product designer, teacher or lecturer.

Links for art from home

KS1 Art & Design https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zyg4d2p

KS2 Art & Design https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zn3rkqt

Drawing Clips: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/ztjqtfr/resources/1

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/art-and-design-ks2-your-paintings/zjbxbdm

Visits you can do

Some top art galleries to visit : https://londonist.com/london/free-and-cheap/best-family-child-kid-friendly-art-galleries-london