Art and design: creating collage bonfires and Great Fire of London silhouettes
During the Autumn term, Year Two’s learning in art linked to their ‘Gunpowder Plot and the Great Fire of London’ Connected Curriculum topic. To start the art topic, Year Two collected sticks and leaves which they used to create the base of a bonfire. The children thought carefully about the position of the sticks and how they could use them to create a bonfire shape. The children then used collage materials including leaves to add flames and embers to complete their bonfires.
In the next part of the art topic, Year Two learnt about the sculptor David Best where they developed their understanding of what a sculptor is and the materials they work with. They learnt how David Best builds his sculptures from recycled materials and how his artwork is not displayed in a gallery. Year Two were astonished to learn that David Best’s sculptures are burnt once they have been displayed for a few days. David Best built ‘London 1666’ which was a replica of the 17th Century skyline in 2016 for the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London.
Year Two learnt about primary and secondary colours and how to mix these to create a palette of warm colours. The children were taught about silhouettes and they investigated the different types of materials they could use to create a silhouette, deciding that an opaque material would work well for this type of project. To end this part of their learning, the children applied their skills, mixing warm colours to create a fiery skyline effect, adding a 17th Century silhouette skyline on top and finishing off their artwork by adding painted, detailed flames. The children all agreed that their artwork resembled the 17th Century skyline during the Great Fire of London.
