Celebration

Welcome to the Shirley Community Primary School Online Art Gallery!

Here we will be sharing work from our Shirley Community taking place both at home and in school. We hope that you enjoy seeing what we've been up to!

If you would like to share something in our art gallery then please do get in touch.

Enjoy!

Miss Walmsley

Art and Design subject leader

Class Animals

Art competition 2022

To mark the end of a successful term in their new classes, the children were asked to create an animal in the style of the artist they had been learning about in their art lessons. We were so impressed with the talent, effort and skill demonstrated across the school, a testament to how hard the children have worked in their art learning during the Autumn term. Mr Cattermole and myself looked at all the entries and picked our favourites - although it was not an easy task with so many brilliant entries! We hope the winning children feel proud that their artwork will be framed and displayed outside their classroom and that the runners up enjoy seeing their artwork displayed in the hall.

Well done and thank you to all the children who entered and a special thank you to the teachers for your hard work making the competition a huge success.

Miss Walmsley.

Year 1

Children in Year 1 were asked to set their class animal against a dramatic sky inspired by their learning on JMW Turner whose work captured the emotions of different weather.

Swifts

1^st place – James.

2^nd place – Cain.

3^rd place – Alexander.

Robins

1^st place – Sidra.

2^nd place – Zosia.

3^rd place – Izzabella

Year 2

Children in Year 2 created their class animal using Impressionist style mark making and a limited colour palette. They used dots to build up their paintings and filled the background with pattern.

Kingfishers

1^st place – Arfa.

2^nd place – Songha.

3^rd place – Oliver.

Nightingales

1^st place – Sameeha.

2^nd place – Jessica.

3^rd place – Bella.

Year 3

Year 3 studied artist Rosa Bonheur whose love of animals inspired her to create detailed and realistic drawings of animals. They sketched in pencil and some added colour using pencil crayon to create their final pieces.

Foxes

1^st place – Emikhe.

2^nd place – Eitan.

3^rd place – Oliver.

Badgers

1^st place – Frank.

2^nd place – Oliver.

3^rd place – Joshua.

Year 4

Wassily Kandinsky created abstract pieces using shapes, lines and other marks. Year 4 challenged themselves to use colours and shapes to represent their class animals.

Otters

1^st place – Ahmed.

2^nd place – Shahad.

3^rd place – Thomas.

Squirrels

1^st place – Maria.

2^nd place – Freya.

3^rd place – Abida.

Year 5

Year 5 were inspired by Salvador Dali, whose surrealist paintings were based on dreams. They created surreal and dreamy landscapes for their class animals, adding unusual objects much like Dali would add to his paintings. They worked in paint and pencil.

Blue Whales

1^st place – Barbara.

2^nd place – Vanessa.

3^rd place – Swaley.

Tree Kangaroos

1^st place – Saiha.

2^nd place – Ethan.

3^rd place – Teegan.

Year 6

Year 6 used pastels to create their class animals in the style of Henri Matisse. They used bright and unusual colours to create bold pieces inspired by this very famous and versatile artist.

Sea turtles

1^st place – Andre.

2^nd place – Jiahiu.

3^rd place – Jazlyn.

Rhinos

1^st place – Mitchell Dennard

2^nd place – Orla.

3^rd place – Kevin.

Pocket Adventures with Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination

Early in 2022, our EYFS children took part in an exciting project funded by the Talking Together team at Cambridgeshire County Council. Lead by artists, volunteers and Year 5 children - who had previously participated in another CCI project in 2021 - the children explored a local nature reserve and responded as artists to their surroundings.

They spent time there in all weathers, exploring the woodland, pathways and wildlife in Bramblefields, slowing down to listen and discover and imagine as they respond to the ever-changing space of nature…from an icy pond to the first snowdrops to slumbering slugs in the rain.

Inspired by their findings and experiences, CCI artist Sally Todd worked with the children’s ideas and artist Hilary Cox Condron to design a pocket sized set of five adventures. Despite the very heavy rain at the celebratory launch in late March, the woods were filled with families eager to explore this inspiring and beautiful ‘pocket of nature’ in the city. These cards are part of the 50 things to do before you’ve five app, a free resource to help parents develop their home learning environment. It shares a wide range of low-cost and no-cost local activities.

For more information on the project please visit: https://cambridgecandi.org.uk/resource/shirley-pocket-adventures

For more information about the 50 things app please visit: https://50thingstodo.org/

Here are some photographs from the project:

Our Class Animals - In school art competition June 2021

In April, we launched an art competition for all children in school to create an image of their class animals. Artists were chosen for each year group and the children had an opportunity to learn about their artist and were asked to create their pieces in that artist's style.

As this is the first year Shirley School have used animals to identify each of our class groups, we wanted to celebrate this by asking children to create an image based on their animal, and creating it in the style of the artist they had studied. There were some outstanding pictures and we have chosen winners from each class, who will have their work mounted in a special frame and put in corridors around school, as well as other wonderful entries being displayed in the school hall. Due to such unusual circumstances this year, this has taken a little longer than we expected, however, we hope that the children chosen feel proud that they leave their mark behind on what has been an extraordinary year!

Below are our winners from both classes in Years 1 to 6, who have had their work framed. Second and third places have also been chosen for each class.

We would like to say a big thank you and congratulations for all the hard work and effort put into this competition by all the children who entered, there was so much amazing work and it was tough to choose our winners, however these children have stood out not only for the quality of their piece but also the effort they have demonstrated in their art learning. We will be creating a display in the hall which will feature more of the work created.

Thank you also to EYFS who added their own pieces, which were created as a class.

Year 6

Year 6 studied Matisse and Favism, where colours are bright and abstract and aren't representative of real life.

Rhinos

3rd place - Alyssa. We really loved the rainbow colours in this and the effort Alyssa has put into her artwork.

2nd place - Riley. Well done, Riley. This is a brilliant drawing of a rhino with lovely bright colours.

1st place - Mihran. We really loved the blues and purples in this dreamy image of a rhino. Congratuations Mihran!

Sea Turtles

3rd place - Jacob. This is an eye-catching piece from an interesting angle.

2nd place - Manon. The detail on this sea turtle is fantastic. Well done Manon!

1st place - Kristen. We thought that this image had great movement and detail and we loved the colours and 'unfinished' look adding a nice contrast in texture.

Year 5

Year 5 studied Andy Warhol and recreated his famous blotted line technique using tracing paper and indian ink.

Tree Kangeroos

3rd place - Shruti. A really good example of the blotted line technique with lovely bright blocks of watercolour.

2nd place - Jemima. We really liked the detail of the habitat in Jemima's image. Well done!

1st place - Elena. Elena has repeated her print in alternative colours to really capture Warhol's trademark style.

Blue Whales

3rd place - Reese. Reese has done a great job using the technique to create a realistic looking blue whale.

2nd place - Edward. Edward used a brush to create his lines and we think it's worked really well. This is a nice simple image with a good use of watercolour.

1st place - Elena. We loved the colours in this piece and think that the overall composition is very stong. Super work Elena!

Year 4

As Year 4 have spent so much time developing their art skills this last few weeks, we wanted to celebrate this in their art competition entries. Therefore, instead of choosing them an artist, Year 4 used the techniques they have been learning to experiment with different media and express themselves as artists in different ways. There will be more to follow about the Year 4 art project so watch this space.

Otters

3rd place - Beau. Well done Beau, we really liked your bold image of an otter underwater.

2nd place - Zohar. Zohar has shown huge enthusiasm throughout the art project and this special mention is thoroughly deserved. We loved the use of different media to create this picture.

1st place - Leo's expressive and abstract style has been much admired by the artists during our project. Leo is confident when experimenting with mixed media and we love this composition which includes pastel, paint and collage. Congratulations Leo!

Squirrels

3rd place - Samuel. Samuel's expressive style stood out for us and we liked his use of squirrel photos.

2nd place - John. John showed good resilience in his session and created a lovely pastel drawing.

1st place - Lottie. Lottie's name has come up many times in our discussions with the artists on the project. She has shown such enthusiasm for her art work and has grown in confidence throughout the last few weeks and we felt this needed a special mention. Well done Lottie!

Year 3

Year 3 looked at Rosa Bonheur, who was a French artist from the 1800s. Her love of animals led her to create very realistic paintings paying close attention to their anatomy.

Foxes

3rd place - Matthew. Matthew showed such a positive attitude towards his learning in art, we felt he was a very deserved runner up. We really liked the colours of his fox's fur.

2nd place - Barbara. Barbara showed good resilience in her final painting session and put lots of effort into this colourful piece.

1st place - Siba. We loved Siba's study of a fox and we liked the detail she added to the fur. Superb work Siba!

Badgers

3rd place - Tamin. We loved this realistic study of a badger. Well done Tamin!

2nd place - Henry. Well done Henry, we loved this composition. Henry loves his art lessons and shows good enthusiasm in his learning.

1st place - Erin. Erin's work stood out and she put a huge amount of effort in. The green eye of the badger is really eye catching.

Year 2

Year 2 created their paintings in the style of William Blake who captured dream-like images using watercolours.

Kingfishers

3rd place - Beth. We liked this study of a kingfisher showing it's bright colours.

2nd place - Elizabeth. The rainbow makes this piece very dream-like.

1st place - Leah-Mai. The diving kingfisher made this painting really unique.

Nightingales

3rd place - Shaked. Well done Shaked for creating this bold and colourful nightingale.

2nd place - Alfie. We really liked the colours and composition of this painting.

1st place - Julia. The rainbow, which represents the nightingales song, is a lovely addition to this painting. Congratulations Julia!

Year 1

Year 1 used collage in the style of Henri Rousseau's jungle paintings to create their own bird habitats.

Robins

3rd place - Layla. We loved the swirly painting effect in this work.

2nd place - Elora. The green colours in Elora's painting are really striking.

1st place - Carys. Lots of effort has gone into the habitat in this one and the robin looks happy in the tree.

Swifts

3rd place - Lorena. The bold shapes cut out of paper stood out in this picture.

2nd place - Joe. We really liked the use of greens and yellows in Joe's painting.

1st place - Sophia. The swift is hidden away in this image which makes it a really different. Well done Sophia!

EYFS

Here are our super EYFS collaborative pieces. Dragonflies studied Mondrian to inspire their printing - fantastic work!

"The Way I See It"

A remote art competition for everyone in the Shirley community based on our experiences of lockdown.

Back at the end of January 2021, we launched an art competition and invited everyone in our school community to take part - children, adults and staff were all included in our invitation. We asked you to try and capture your experience of lockdown in a creative way.

We were overwhelmed by the response and so impressed with the creativity across all year groups. We are pleased to announce our winners from each of the phases as well as special mentions for the creative adults both in and out of school.

Years 1 - 2

3rd place - Elias (Year 2)

Elias created some beautiful 3D swans, inspired by his daily walk down to the river.

2nd place - Freya (Year 2)

Freya's 3D piece shows the world in a cage. We really liked this work as it shows how some of us might feel during this unusual time.

1st place - Naomi (Year 2)

Naomi had this to say about her work:

'In lockdown we discovered we could walk around the Science Park and we went there a lot for exercise and to see lots of interesting things, like ducks, geese, rabbits, fish and a heron! One day we collected some natural things from our walk to the Science Park and put them in trays of water to make some ice hangings.'

Well done Naomi, we think these ice hangings are very cool!

Years 3 - 4

3rd place - Bridget (Year 3)

Bridget has this to say about her work:

"My picture is of me walking from the beach through the forest. It makes me feel happy because it feels where I'm meant to be"

We love the detail in this and how Bridget has imagined a happy place for herself.

2nd place - Orla (Year 4)

Orla had this to say about her work:

"To enter the competition, I decided to use pop-up art. I chose 5 things which remind me of lockdown: baking, homeschool, bike rides, rainbow pictures in windows and Zoom calls then I used cardboard strips to make them pop up"

This was a very interesting and colourful way to recreate your experiences in lockdown, Orla!

1st place - Rosa (Year 4)

Rosa's poem "Lockdown"

"You've been sitting on a chair all day

There's nothing to do unless you play

The trees are swaying in the breeze

The wind is blowing up my sleeves

I can hear all the children's chants

I can see them watering the plants

I'm listening to a boring Zoom call

I'd rather be sitting in a dusty, old hall

I'm learning about Egypt

I'm reading an ancient script

You've got started now we need a rest

Playing with Lego is the best

I look outside it's nearly Spring

The birds are perched on our swing

Outside the sunset is growing

I fancy doing a bit of sewing

The silhouettes of trees are swaying around

I can't hear a sound"

Well done Rosa! We loved reading your poem.

Years 5 - 6

3rd place - Sammy (Year 6)

Sammy's work shows his interpretation of lockdown using chains and a padlock. We liked the detail used in this pencil and ink drawing.

2nd place - Shruti and Natalia (Year 5)

We couldn't decide between these two pieces and, as Shruti and Natalia had both decided to enter these beautiful imaginary moonlit scenes, we thought they both deserved to have their work featured. We really liked the detail in these paintings and how the moonlit effect was created using white on the dark background.

1st place - Kristen (Year 6)

This magical piece looks very intriguing and Kristen looks to have created a snowy scene from that cold wintery weather we had in the last month, captured from her window.

Well done Kristen!

Adult entries

Thank you to the parents and staff who entered our competition. Here are our special mentions!

Elsie's dad (Year 2)

Elsie's dad sent us this map of the cycling he has been doing during lockdown. It definitely has an artistic quality to it! Thanks for sending it in!

Abigail's mum (Year 2)

A familiar scene for many, Abigail's mum captured the view from her window. We love the detail in this drawing.

Miss Kozicz

Miss Kozicz has been getting "Back to Nature" with her assemblage art. Using found objects from her walks, she has arranged them into beautiful 3D pieces.

Mrs West

Mrs West took a photo each day of an activity she was doing. She put some of her favourites together for us.

Miss Walmsley

Miss Walmsley spent the whole of February making a collage each day. The collage was based on a one word prompt she got from an Instagram challenge.

Take a look at some of the other creative projects happening in and around school...

Year 4 Eco-capabilities Art Project with Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination and Anglia Ruskin University

Learn more about this project here.

More to follow!

Shirley Community Primary & Preschool

Celebration

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