getting there

Think I'm beginning to get to grips with things. Still having to 'trick' Blogger into uploading my pics but am slowly warming to the idiosyncrasies of Windows 8.

First up today - in y6 we sketched and then painted tonal/aerial/atmospheric (choose according to preference) perspective pictures. They painted straight into their sketchbooks - the ones we use have a lovely heavyweight paper that takes paint quite well.

 

 

Our Globe model is nearing completion. The seating units were glued onto a baseboard and the 'thatching' tidied up to fill in the gaps between them. You can just see the stage taking shape at the bottom. The current plan is to have the back of the stage area open so that puppet-type shows can be performed to an 'audience' whose head and shoulders will be in the central space normally occupied by the 'groundlings'. It will be just like being there - almost.



 

 

 

And finally, I couldn't let you escape without another footy picture. 'Christmas 1914' depicts the first international encounter between England and Germany (unless there are some very knowledgeable soccer historians out there who can name both teams from an obscure pre-war fixture).

Again, ink and pencil crayon on paper, roughly A4 sized.

 

slowly but surely

The Globe rises from the ground. Stage section is yet to be built.

 

A view along the middle tier - seating/audience yet to be installed.

The view from the stage area!

We think it's looking quite good. The plan is still to be able to poke your head up through the middle and imagine yourself as one of the 'groundlings'.

In y6 today we made some origami boxes, upturned them and repurposed them as tanks - to tie in with our WW2 topic.

The Globe

We thatched the Globe model today.Various threads, strips of felt, raffia and wools were wrapped and woven around the upper seating units to give an impression of coarse thatch.

 

 

These are the partially completed units temporarily arranged to give an indication of the size when complete.

The whole thing is just about ready for assembling - we've just got the stage left to do!

Globe update

Our model of the Globe Theatre is really beginning to take shape. Today we added floorboards (lollipop sticks) and railings.

 

 

When it's finished (hopefully in a couple of weeks!) it should stand about 50cm tall and be not far short of a metre in diameter.

globe shaping up

Week 3 of our 'Globe' model. We've got as far as assembling the seating 'units'. Here they are glued and held together with bulldog clips. Each stack of 3 is about 30cm high. Stacked like this, even at this early stage, there's a semblance of similarity.

 

 

Once dry, the brown paper will be torn off and the boxes opened up. Next week we plan to floorboard and attach the front railings. Keep watching this space.

the globe theatre - foundations

Today in y4 we embarked upon an ambitious technology project. We are aiming to build a representation of the Globe theatre, using (real!) wood for the main structure. We sawed and glued a lot of pieces that we then assembled into panels that will be clamped together to form the cylindrical shell. It won't be an accurate scale model but will hopefully bear more than a passing resemblance to Shakespeares old stomping ground. I'm envisaging it taking a good few weeks to complete as we only get an hour or so once a week in which to do it. I'll hopefully post pics as it takes shape - if I can remember to take them in the heat of construction.

 

 

you can't see the wood for the trees..

3D decoupage today with y4's (8/9 yr olds). They're about to start looking at 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in Literacy so we created wooded landscapes at night. The aim is to use them not only for display purposes but, via the visualisers, to project them onto the classroom wall as a backdrop for drama. They could also be used for small puppet type shows. 

 

 

romeo & juliet 2

My wife works with a teacher who is leaving the school. I reprised a diptych I did last year as a gift, 'cos I can't find the original! The teacher in question teaches English so a painting of R & J is quite apt. This version was painted on canvas board. 'Romeo' measures 18x13 cm whilst 'Juliet' is 10 cm sq. Done with acrylics & inks. It's supposed to represent the moment when Juliet appears at her window - 'What light through yonder window breaks'.

summer school

For the last 6 years I've helped run a summer school for gifted & talented youngsters in Art & Drama. This year the theme centred around Shakespeare. The children produced some fantastic pieces, that unfortunately I can't show you because we have hush, hush plans for them!



Here's a diptych I quickly painted using acrylics and inks. I tried to be all arty farty with different sized images. Can you guess the characters (no prizes )?

Now off on summer hols down to deepest, darkest rural France.

Have a great summer everyone.