Harrow Way Art Department would like to celebrate the success of the art exhibition held recently at The Fairground Arts and Crafts Centre at Weyhill. Key stage 3 students from Harrow Way took on a Victorian theme which covered issues such as curiosity cabinets, using portrait photography to judge character, imagining themselves in the shoes of a Victorian child, textile design and industrialisation.
A team of judges scrutinised the artwork and awarded prizes as follows, some of their comments are in inverted commas;
Year 7
This category produced work which was of ‘exceptionally good quality, thoughtful and well executed’. The judges felt that all the ceramic teddy cookie jars were ‘unique and different and some seemed to be alive with emotions’. They said it was hard to choose a winner from the 3D work, but for careful sculpting and character the prize went to Ben Straffon (8IC). A special mention also goes to Hannah MacCague (8AA), Kaylum Tuck (8IC), Leah Toms (8AA) and Jordan Richards (8AA).
The winning 2D work by a year 7 student was Beth Thompson (8ADH) for her colour pencil and collage work which incorporated a child’s legs hanging out of a chimney. They felt it reminded them of ‘the exploitation of child workers who were faceless and nameless’.
Year 8
The judges felt that the ‘quality of the work was very high and that each student had obviously worked to the best of their ability. The work showed skill, imagination and artistic talent’. Two prizes were awarded;
For the different textures and types of fabric used and the 3D quality of the plaited flower stem, a prize was awarded to a fabric hanging which was created as a collaboration between Kai Bradbury (9KT), Chloe Ramsden (9KT) and Katrina MacDonald (9HD).
Another piece of work was congratulated because ‘it stood out as being carefully composed. The colours were cheery and the lines were exceptionally neat’. This prize goes to Molly Jarvis (9KT) for her batik work.
Year 9 prize
The judges felt that all the fabric work in this year group was ‘fantastic, with lots of attention to detail and good use of colour and texture’. They also commented that ‘the ceramics in this group were really hard to judge as every piece showed the wonderful imaginations the students have in showing ‘lovely use of colour, clever use of tools to create marks and textures and a good variety of techniques to shape the works’. A special mention goes to the following students; Sian Williams (10KLW), Jasmin Holland (10CAL), and Laura Jones (10JC). The ceramic prize went to Paige Brown (10GF) for a ‘fabulous bold piece of work’. The judges particularly liked ‘the texturing and use of coloured glazes’. A prize was also awarded to Chadd Alexander (10KLW) for his stunning fabric work which incorporated ‘great machine work and use of textures’.
Two local primary schools joined Harrow Way in the Michaelmas Fayre exhibition. They worked in the Art Department with a visiting artist; Linda Bristow, who is a ceramicist. We would like to praise all those talented artists who worked so diligently and creatively to make the very appealing ceramic sheep, each with their own personality, which were displayed on hay bales. From Appleshaw St Peters came Jazmine Allingham, Phoebe Swan, Shannon Whitman and Katie Willis in year 5 and Aaron Dunham, Caitlin Loveys, Robyn Sharp and Jordan Whitman in year 6.
Congratulations goes to Jordan Whitman who won the prize for the best primary artwork. He was chosen because the judges liked the ‘expression and detail in the face and the curly coat’. Well done Jordan.
From Knights Enham came Anita Garwolinska in year 6, Bethany Cruickshank and Jodie Moore in year 5, Jasmin Peters and Callum Stephens in year 4 and Bethanie Letlin and Jaden Reynolds in year 3.
The public got their chance to vote for their favourite artwork too. Coming in as a close second was Kelly Butler for her ceramic fruit piece, but the overall winner was Katie Willis a year 5 pupil from Appleshaw St Peters. Well done to you Katie.
Many congratulations to all the prize winners, those with a special mention and everyone who took part. Well done to you all.
Our thanks go to the Weyhill Fairground Craft & Design Centre for inviting Harrow Way to exhibit artwork in their gallery during the Michaelmas Fayre celebrations. It is a wonderful space and an exciting opportunity for the children to make work to go on show to the public. Special thanks go to Wendy Atkinson and Sue Jones who made us feel very welcome and ensured the smooth running of the exhibition and organised prizes for the winners.