Art and Design

Whatever you do, you have one thing that’s unique. You have the ability to make art…so make YOUR art, do the stuff that only you can do. Make interesting, amazing, glorious, fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for you being here. Make good art.”  – Niel Gaiman, British author.

Please click the link below to login to and access the Art Website:
https://sites.google.com/johnspence.org.uk/jschsart/home

‘Fit for Life’ through Art

By creating artworks that express the artist’s imaginative or technical skill, art is intended to be appreciated for its beauty or emotional power. We want our students to be curious, engaged and adventurous individuals who will make their mark, not only in their artwork but also on their future lives. Through empowering our students to find their voice and value their creative journey, we hope to inspire and enthuse a generation of independent thinkers, confident decision makers and above all, unique artists.

At JSCHS art we ALL aspire to be individuals. To be unique. To be fearless. To be passionate.  To be smART.

Skills and Knowledge

Just like a successful piece of Art, Craft or Design needs to take account of the many formal elements of Art in order to make an impact on the viewer; a successful artist, craftsperson or designer needs to explore many artistic directions on their own journey of creation. In Year 7 students will be taught the key building blocks to produce successful works of art, whilst repeatedly practising the core skills of observation and recording.  They will be introduced to various materials and techniques in order to gain a strong grounding in the fundamental principles of art and design.  They will therefore have the confidence and the tools needed to go on to accessing, appreciating and creatively exploring the wider art world. In Year 8 students will be introduced to working and producing art in many different ways, taking on specific artistic roles within groups or collaboratively combining skills to produce joint artworks.  Students will be given access to a range of inspirational sources including the works of other artists, craftspeople, cultures, and traditions in order to generate ideas and articulate personal opinions.  Research, analysis, recognition, and combining ideas will be key. Over the course of Year 9, students will undertake a lengthier body of work directly developed from an open theme, where they will need to combine all of the skills and attitudes developed in YR7 and YR8.  Artwork will need to be personally led with independent exploration and development of themes to show engagement and clear creative process.  Successful students will be able to demonstrate their creative expressions through the combination of practical, technical, and analytical skills.

The successful artist needs to know who they are, what they want and why they want to share it.  The act of creation is also an act of self-exploration, finding your passion and then exploring it is just the beginning of a long and fulfilling creative life. As a result, Key Stage 4 students will be encouraged to respond to their own thoughts, emotions, lives, likes and wants, in order to begin to understand who they are and what they want to say.  Projects will be personal and tailored towards discovering; ‘What kind of artist am I?’. The undertaking of technical artist workshops will extend knowledge of skills and materials whilst advancing techniques and artistic abilities with professional working methods and approaches. Students will be working as artists, craftspeople and designers to take work in the direction that they themselves want to travel as creative adults.  Focusing on an extended independent project that allows students to develop, refine, record and present their own ideas, opinions and views on a subject of their choice.  Independent sourcing of stimuli, working to deadlines, articulating processes and making artistic statements are all core components of becoming an artist.

Communication and Community

We believe that the study of Art, Craft and Design provides a platform for all students to positively observe the world around them and bravely find their own distinctive place within it; opening doors, broadening horizons and creating opportunities for self-discovery regardless of ability or background.  Visual art is a valuable tool for discovery, experimentation and development, where the process of creating is equally as important as any final outcome. We are committed to exploring possibilities, developing imagination, nurturing self-expression and supporting big ideas. We encourage our students to be open-minded, to make links between creative skills and other aspects of their lives and to value the importance of the arts on their own mental well-being. We hope our students enjoy creating, are enthused, playful in their experiments, and have fun.