Trips and projects inspire artistic creativity
SGS creatives have been working hard to develop their artistic skills and techniques under the expert guidance of our Art and Design department.
Architecture Trip
Third Year pupils made the short journey into Manchester for a new project on architecture.
The students started the day at Victoria Baths, a Grade II listed building that underwent a multi-million pound restoration project in 2007.
They were given a talk about the history of the building from staff at the venue before spending time exploring the site and completing a series of photography and drawing tasks. They also gathered source material to work with back in the classroom.
In the afternoon they headed to the Whitworth Art Gallery, examining the new extension and modern style merging into the older original façade of the building. They also researched pieces in the different exhibitions and explored the different processes and techniques that were used.
Printing Technique
Following their trip to Manchester in the Autumn term, Lower Sixth artists used the reduction lino printing technique to produce large-scale, multi-layered prints based on the source material on street art they had gathered.
Screen Prints
Fifth Year pupil Amelia Newton and Upper Sixth student Merryn Summersgill have each produced a series of highly detailed three-colour screen prints that will form part of their Art GCSE and A-level portfolio.
Under the expert guidance of Art Technician Mrs Michelle Brooks, the girls used photo emulsion to create their screens which they used to overlay a range of colours.
‘Aerial View’ Projects
Third Year artists have produced amazing ‘Aerial View’ projects using acrylic paint and oil pastel that are based on the work of the artist Ruth Piper.
Some are compositions informed by the pupil’s own home postcodes and the rest are by surface texture, such as grids and brickwork.
Brutalist Essay Competition
Well done to Upper Sixth student Charlotte Bradley-Potts who won the Art department’s Brutalist essay competition.
SGS artists were challenged by Old Stopfordian and current School Governor Mr Jonathan Lee (OS 1983), an expert in the history of architecture, to submit a short written analysis in response to the statement, ‘The Main Hall at SGS – Stockport’s Brutalist architectural gem. Discuss.’
Mr Lee was looking for the writers to expand on the essay’s proposition by explaining what it means and outline a counter proposition or propositions before finally coming to a judgement. The essay should discuss brutalism and consider other Brutalist buildings.
After fully addressing the proposition, Charlotte was crowned the winner and Olivia Firth was runner-up. Mr Lee commented: “I enjoyed reading the essays and was fascinated by the range of approaches – they all contributed something different. If they had collaborated and had a bit more room to express ideas in terms of word count, I think it would have been a very good later year’s university level answer.”
