Sculpture by the Prep School

This year we have been challenged to work on increasing the amount of sculpture we include in our Visual Arts programs. Where we do other forms such as drawing, painting, collage, etc really well, sculpture is not as implicitly taught as much as it should be.You will see it in our early childhood classrooms students at play in learning centres with a variety of construction material creating the most amazing three-dimensional forms but do we or the students look at it as sculpture?

To help us with this challenge we have enlisted the assistance of a professional sculpture as a mentor. With her help we aim to create a permanent installation in our playground (hopefully the first of many) and hold our first exhibition 'Sculptures by the Prep'. In the following terms we will have mentors working with all the students in puppetry, ceramics and kites, all of which satisfy the sculpture section of our Visual Arts scope and sequence.

To start we needed to understand what Sculpture is...

Sculpture is the act and art of making three-dimensional works of art. Sculptures may be carved, chiseled, modeled, cast, or constructed. They can be made of many different materials such as wood, stone, clay, metal, sand, ice, and even balloons. There are many end products including carousels, dolls, animals, action figures, mobiles, and kinetic sculptures. These pieces of art maybe placed inside or outside. Sculptures are often thematic on topics such as wildlife, nature, religion, history, or fun. Many people create sculptures from found objects such as recycled materials.

That leaves us with lots of options.

There are so many resources out there to inspire us - just start with Google or Pinterest!

So now we begin our journey starting with small footsteps and it certainly will be a journey for many of us. Hopefully one that will be both enjoyable and educational for everyone.

Belinda