Art & Textiles
‘Art speaks where words fall short.’ - Pablo Picasso
What makes Art and Textiles excellent at Chulmleigh?
The Art Curriculum at Chulmleigh College is designed to develop mastery in a range of thinking and making skills. Pupils are supported to engage with ‘big ideas’ and sustain creative investigation whilst instilling resilience in their way of working and curiosity to develop the whole artist. Each pupil receives 1 hour a week of Art at KS3 and the opportunity to continue their learning through to KS4 with GCSE Art or GCSE Textile Art.
Assessment
Pupils receive regular feedback during Art lessons, both verbally and written, in order to ensure they keep a good track of their progress and identify skills to improve. Skills and understanding are assessed through work produced in 2 projects a year at KS3.
Year 7 Curriculum
Two projects across the 3 terms
Project 1: Drawing – Observing the Seen and the Unseen (HT1, 2 and 3)
Pupils develop an understanding of drawing used as a form of language and the importance of looking carefully outside and inside themselves.
Practical skills will include:
- Point, line, shape and plane in drawing
- How to control weight of line
- Tone using shading and cross-hatching
- Texture
- Drawing from observation techniques
- Symmetrical patterns
Pupils will be using colour pencil, paper cut symmetrical patterns and digital skills such as Photoshop to create symmetrical images.
Artists in focus:
- Paul Klee – using drawing as a visual language
- Ernst Haeckel – careful observation, using drawing for analytical purposes and studying the natural world in the Victorian era
- Czech Mediumistic drawings – drawing the unseen, imagination and intuition
- Emma Kunz – symmetry and pattern
Project 2: Place and Space – Neo Romantic Landscapes (HT4, 5 and 6)
Pupils develop an appreciation of the connection between artists and their environment, of how artists interpret the landscape in a way that is personal to themselves and in the manner of tradition.
Practical skills will include:
- Creating space in a drawing using different methods – overlapping, size of marks, light and dark
- Mark making for textural effects
- Drawing for composition
Pupils will use watercolour to blend, fade and layer colours, oil pastels, acrylic paint and practice a range of paint application techniques such as dry brush, glaze, graffito, impasto.
Artists in focus:
- Neo-Romanticism and the effects of the World Wars on artists' connection to the landscape
- Paul Nash
- Graham Sutherland
- Ivon Hitchens
- John Craxton
- John Piper
Year 8 Curriculum
Two projects across the 3 terms
Project 1: Making and Breaking Rules (HT1,2 and 3)
Pupils will develop an understanding of Artists working within traditions and rules as well as artists who find their voice through breaking the rules and challenging tradition.
Techniques developed will include:
- Technical drawing using one- and two-point perspective
- Using tone to create form
- Using the grid methods for duplicating an image or changing scale
- Drawing objects from observation
Pupils will use a range of mediums including collage and mixed media to experiment and manipulate images, planned compositions using collage and painting skills such as mixing and overpainting.
Artists in focus:
- Georgio Morandi – still life tradition
- Cubism, combining viewpoints and angles, 3D into 2D surfaces and breaking traditional rules of perspective
- Ben Nicholson
- Maria Blanchard
- Juan Gris
- Pablo Picasso
- George Braque
- Eileen Agar
Project 2: Insects and Ecology (HT4, 5 and 6)
Pupils will study artists who have used insects as inspiration for their work, with differing contexts of analysis, aesthetics and symbolism. Insects play a vital role in our ecology and environment and by studying insects through art we strive to raise awareness in this area.
Techniques developed will include:
- Using tone, mark making and texture with pencil, ink and other drawing mediums
- Mediums and materials used include printing techniques, such as poly print and collagraph and paper/card construction methods.
Artists in focus:
- Maria Sibylla Merian – documenting the natural world prior to the invention of photography
- E A Seguy – Art Nouveau and Art Deco – pattern and design
- Damien Hirst – butterfly paintings, symbolism of life, death and transformation
Year 9 Curriculum
Two projects across the 3 terms
Project 1: Visual Music and Synaesthesia (HT1,2 and 3)
Pupils study artists who draw on all their senses to make artwork, not just what they see. Music and spirituality had a significant influence on the appearance and ideas of modern art.
Techniques developed will include:
- Using drawing mediums to represent musical terms such as rhythm, harmony, dynamics, pitch and tempo
Watercolour, using tone and colour effectively to capture visual music ideas, will be used, along with acrylic paint, paper cut/collage and cardboard construction for relief sculpture.
Artists in focus:
- Abstract art and Modernism
- Theosophy – Thought Forms book by Annie Besant and C.W. Leadbeater
- Franz Kupka
- Wassily Kandinsky
- Sonia Delauney
- Oskar Fischinger animations
Project 2: Portraiture (HT4, 5 and 6)
Portrait and self-portrait are studied, with an emphasis on how artists through history have painted people to explore ideas of beauty, power, virtue, importance and cultural identity.
Techniques developed will include:
- How to use drawing systems for the proportion of faces, angles and viewpoints of the head
- Tone for creating form, contrast and chiaroscuro
- Drawing planes of the face to create form
Pupils will use charcoal and chalk, finding form, tone and chiaroscuro, oils pastel for expressive use of colour and other mediums and surfaces.
Artists in focus:
- Rembrandt Van Rijn – self-portraits
- Frank Auerbach – charcoal drawings
- Jenny Saville – using colour and mark making expressively
- Claudette Johnson – cultural identity
- Frida Kahlo – identity and symbolism
Year 10 Curriculum
Art
Project 1 – Natural Forms
Artists and designers find wonder in the shapes, patterns and textures that occur in the natural world. They use these for creative inspiration when making work. Pupils will be introduced to a variety of materials and processes to develop their technical skills in making art. This will include recording ideas through different drawing techniques, photography, and written analysis. Pupils will have the opportunity to explore painting, printing, sculpture, and mixed media during this project. Pupils will learn how to plan and create a personal outcome in response to the theme of Natural Forms.
Textiles
Project 1 – Texture, Pattern and Surface in Nature
Artists and designers find wonder in the patterns and textures that occur in the natural world. They use these for creative inspiration when making work. During this project pupils will build a foundation in practical skills and explore a variety of techniques. This will include using a sewing machine, wet felt-making, mixed media, weaving, fabric manipulation, batik, and printing techniques. They will also learn how to record ideas through drawing, photography, and written analysis. Pupils will develop their ideas and work towards creating personal responses to the theme of Texture, Pattern and Surface in Nature.
Year 11 Curriculum
Art
Project 2 – Identity
Artists often explore their own identities when making artwork. This could include themes inspired by culture, history, appearance, interests, or social issues. During this project, pupils will be introduced to a variety of relevant artists and make practical work inspired by them. Pupils will be encouraged to develop their own personal response to the theme, experiment with materials and work towards creating refined outcomes.
Textiles
Project 2 – Recycle and Reuse
Textile artists, fashion designers, and craftspeople may choose to repurpose or recycle materials when creating work. This could be for different reasons, such as cultural traditions or raising environmental issues. During this project, pupils will research into a variety of relevant makers and produce practical work inspired by their findings. Pupils will be encouraged to develop their own personal response to the theme, experiment with recycled materials and work towards creating refined outcomes.
Future Careers
Animator
- Comic Artist
- Portrait Artist
- Printmaker
- Art Tutor/Teacher
Games, Animation & Digital Art
- Game Artist
- 2D/3D Artist
- Background Artist
- Animator
- Motion Graphics Designer
- Storyboard Artist
Design, Architecture & Fashion
- Architect
- Interior Designer
- Graphic Designer
- Fashion Designer
- Set Designer
- Costume Designer
Modern Creative Careers
- Digital Designer
- Brand Designer
- Social Media Content Designer
- Art/Creative Producer
- Photographer
- Video Editor
- Content Creator
Museums, Culture & Education
- Museum Curator
- Art Conservator
- Art Therapist
- Museum Educator
Curricular enhancement opportunities (e.g. Fieldwork, trips, competitions etc)
The Art department thrives during lunchtimes with regular Open Studios, Drawing Clubs, initiatives and projects. GCSE students are encouraged to attend weekly to keep their Art projects progressing. Pupils have had the opportunity to take part in national initiatives such as the Big Draw and more locally, the Blue Heart Project. GCSE Art and Textiles pupils benefit from trips to research and prepare for their exam work, with recent visits to the RAMM museum in Exeter.