08 Oct 2011
Last March the annual CLC Visual Arts Camp was held at Hill End Public School. Children from 8 different schools worked together in small groups to stimulate their creative thinking processes to solve a 3 dimensional construction challenge.
Throughout the rest of the camp sessions included observation drawing, sketching some of the captivating sights of Hill End. Children selected some of these images to develop in other artistic media such as acrylic paint on slate and ink sketch and wash. Paint was layered generously onto canvas using sgraffito techniques with the addition of beads and powdered paint to create art works representing the passage of the seasons.
Children created pastel works on black paper using magazine photography as their inspiration. Marble rolling acrylic paint on canvas and acrylic finger painting on board and scratch art using special layered paper was yet another part of the experience.
Wooden goannas (girrawaa) were constructed, painted and decorated to reflect the cultural significance of the girrawaa to the Wiradjuri people as this is their totem.
Hill End is home to two cottages (Murrays and Haefligers) utilised by professional artists as part of the Artists in Residence program run by Bathurst Regional Art Gallery. We were very fortunate to have artist Kim Anderson involved with our camp. She addressed the children with images of her work shown on the interactive white board and outlined her artistic journey from school to the present day, recounting the re-emerging thread of her art work. Children then enjoyed using oil pastel on paper to create hand and feet images of their own (a recurring image in Kim's art work).
Staff participated in all the art activities with the children and the children participated in an evaluation session, which was extremely positive, prior to departure .
All children took away their art work, including a framed piece, an art bag containing sketchbook for continued artistic endeavours and many happy memories of their time as the "artists of Hill End".
