Year 7 Units
Autumn Term
Unit 1 – The Basics
Students will begin in Year 7 by learning about the formal elements in art; Line, Tone, Texture, Colour, Shape and Pattern. They will produce a series of drawings and paintings that will help them to develop their skills in handling different materials and in using various mark-making techniques. Students will be introduced to the work of artists such as Norman Hickin, Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Klee will adapt their techniques to produce their own artwork. At the end of this unit students will be expected to produce a mixed media still life piece, showing how they have developed their skills throughout the term.
Spring Term
Unit 2 – Pop Art Wrappers
Students will begin in Year 8 by learning about the work of Pop Artists such as Warhol, Lichtenstein, Hockney and Johns. They will produce a high quality drawing of a folded crisp wrapper, showing their skills in applying tone, which they learned in Year 7. Students will then use a viewfinder to abstract a section of their drawing. This in turn will be developed into a Pop art style painting using the flat, opaque colours of Warhol and the regular dots and lines, typical of a Lichtenstein painting. Students will be expected to develop their analytical skills, researching Pop art and analysing a particular piece of work by Lichtenstein. They will then deliver individual presentations at the end of the unit to say what is similar or different about their work and that of the Pop artists.
Summer Term
Unit 3 – Medieval Illuminated letters
The summer term will see students investigating the work of the Celtic monks who produced the Book of Kells, which is currently housed in Trinity College, Dublin. The theme for this unit will be ‘Me, Myself, I’ and students will explore patterns that represent their hobbies and animals and colours that represent their personality type. They will explore colour theory and develop their skills in colour mixing and will create a medieval illuminated letter using string, tin foil and colour using drawing inks.