This term, Year 7 Visual Arts students have continued their creative journey through an in-depth exploration of the elements of art, with a strong focus on texture, tone, and line. With each project, students have built on their understanding of how artists use these elements to create meaning, mood, and visual impact in their work.

To explore the element of tone, students created vibrant chalk pastel artworks of fruit on black paper. This was a new and exciting medium for many, allowing them to experiment with blending, layering, and shading techniques. They learned how to control pressure to build tonal contrast and highlights, and how to smudge and soften edges to give their fruit a sense of realism and depth. The black background provided a dramatic surface that enhanced the brightness of the pastel colours, helping students understand how tone can create a sense of form and light in an artwork. The results were outstanding, and students showed great enthusiasm and skill in developing their chalk pastel techniques.

To further their understanding of texture, students worked in pairs on a collaborative painting project inspired by aerial and profile views of ocean waves. Drawing on real-world imagery and natural forms, students used acrylic paint and texture medium to add dimension and tactile elements to their compositions. This hands-on activity challenged students to think critically about how artists use materials, the frames, and visual conventions to convey meaning. The project was not only an opportunity to explore visual texture but also a valuable experience in teamwork and creative problem-solving. The final artworks captured the dynamic and layered nature of waves, and students demonstrated growing confidence in making artistic choices and expressing ideas through texture.

As we look ahead to the final weeks of the term, students will apply everything they’ve learned in a large-scale collaborative artwork for NAIDOC Week. In this project, they will create Zentangle-style designs that will form part of a giant rainbow serpent jigsaw artwork. This piece will celebrate Indigenous culture and storytelling, while also highlighting students' individual creativity and their understanding of line and pattern. By coming together as a class to contribute to one meaningful artwork, students will experience the power of art as a shared cultural and creative practice.

It has been a productive and inspiring term in Year 7 Visual Arts, and we can’t wait to see their work come together in the upcoming NAIDOC Week display!

Marina Rasic I Visual Arts/HSIE