Exploring Identity and Place Through Art – Term 1 Highlights
Students in the Visual Arts programme have had a vibrant and creative start to the year, producing work that connects deeply to the theme of identity and place.
During Term 1, students:
- Decorated clay heads that express personal identity
- Created watercolour landscapes inspired by the West Auckland beaches connected to their school houses: Wai Karekare, Te Piha, Muriwai, and Te Henga
- Studied kowhaiwhai patterns, incorporating them into layered mixed-media pieces under the theme Where the Land Meets the Sea
To wrap up the term, students worked on designing house logos to be printed onto school beach house shirts using textile inks. The final designs will be voted on, with the winning logos becoming permanent visual markers for each house group.
Well done to all students for the effort and creativity shown throughout the term — and good luck for the vote!
Turning Sustainability into Art
Students explored the meaning of sustainability and used recycled materials to create unique covers for their art journals.
Coral Reef Ceramics and Animal Studies
Sketches moved into paint this week, with collage backgrounds taking shape. Coral reef bowls were glazed and finished with glass for the ocean. More pieces are firing.
Week 3 Crown of Thorns study
(From Week 3, shared now) We studied the Crown of Thorns starfish and reef loss, then designed and began clay bowls with coral and sea creatures.
Art Inspired by Coral Reef Conservation
After learning about the Crown of Thorns starfish and its impact on coral reefs, students began creating clay bowls featuring coral and sea life.
Bottle Top Art Turning Waste into Creativity (Part 1)
Students transform reclaimed bottle tops into unique art pieces while learning about recycling, upcycling, and environmental responsibility.
Mosaic Mirrors Workshop
Students designed and made mosaic mirrors, choosing colours, breaking tiles, gluing, grouting, polishing. Hands on skills and one of a kind pieces.
Mini Worlds in Progress
Students are constructing miniature worlds that reflect personal connections to land and sea, while building their confidence in composition, construction, and creative expression.
Collage, Imagination and Dreamwork
Collage with guest artist Naomi Azoulay, then mixed media. Students built papier-mâché mask pieces to paint their inner world.
Inspiration, Contour & Wirework
Students made visual responses to inspiring quotes, then used contour sketches to build beaded wire insect sculptures.
