Colourful creations on display at Perse Prep art and DT exhibition
Amazing artworks and ingenious creations by pupils are on display at The Perse Prep with the school’s annual art and design, technology & engineering (DTE) exhibition.
On the art side, Year 3 made abstract landscapes inspired by Paul Klee, exploring how colour and shape can suggest place and emotion, and detailed observational drawings of toy cars. They also explored printmaking and created attractive poppy heads from clay.
Henri Rousseau inspired Year 4 as they produced vibrant jungle scenes using oil pastels and paints, while they also composed sensational seasonal tree paintings in response to the work of Impressionist artist Berthe Morisot. The children also studied tropical birds, layering coloured pencil to create 3D form and texture.
Contemporary Brazilian abstract artist Beatriz Milhazes provided the starting point for the excellent efforts of Year 5 as they created vibrant, colourful compositions in her style. They explored radial printmaking inspired by Islamic geometric design and produced oil pastel drawings of a lighthouse based on the dynamism of the Futurist movement.
Meanwhile, Year 6 explored the abstract painter and designer Sonia Delaunay, producing colourful layered paintings in her bold, bright and geometric style. They also refined their drawing and oil pastel techniques through observational studies and scratch art inspired by Ming Dynasty vases and enjoyed constructing and glazing coil pottery projects.
The DTE display saw Year 3 design wall clocks in the distinctive style of homeware manufacturer Alessi, while learning how to measure accurately, use templates, cut with precision and assemble their timepieces with working mechanisms.
Pop-up books inspired by Michael Morpurgo’s Kensuke’s Kingdom were produced by Year 4 pupils, having looked at a variety of mechanisms, such as sliders and levers, to bring their stories to life. From intricate pop-up scenes to moving elements, they delved into the world of folding, creasing and attaching mechanisms to create captivating books.
Year 5 engineers investigated structural strength and stability through two exciting construction challenges. They designed and built ‘tornado towers’ – tall structures that must withstand simulated wind forces – as well as applying similar principles to create bridges, while considering span and load-bearing capacity.
Meanwhile, Year 6 developed their engineering skills as they created innovative controllable vehicles through researching and testing different methods of motion, including balloon power, air resistance and friction.