Term 3 2007 Plus... Careers In Art - Zart Art

Primary Article
Magpies
Over A
Dam
Source of Rick Amor’s painting: Civilized Magic by Ronald Millar
This artwork was inspired by
Rick Amor’s painting Magpies
Over A Dam. Magpies and muddy
dams are familiar images for
the students living in Christmas
Hills and Toolangi, in the Yarra
Valley, Victoria.
In the first lesson (1.5 hours) we
discussed dams - what colour they
were, how much water they had
in them and how the water changes
colour depending on whether it is
sunny or overcast. The students
had to decide on the viewpoint
they would use and we discussed
what an aerial view would look
like, a side view etc. What colour
would their dam be What would
the edges look like Would there
be reeds, grasses or trees around
the dam
The students made quick
sketches to decide what view they
would use. I explained that the
dam would be painted on thin
cardboard, but no brushes were
allowed. Some of the tools used to
apply paint were rollers, sponges,
rags, sticks and leaves. To mix
brown I used a recipe that required
the students to use a 50 cent sized
drop of yellow, a 10 cent sized
drop of red, and a dot (less than 5
cents worth) of black or blue.
Pieces of bamboo, sticks and the
edges of firm cardboard were all
used to print grasses and trees
around or over the dam. Most of
these were printed using a black
or dark coloured paint.
I distributed photocopied magpie
pictures from a bird book, and we
discussed the shapes and black
and white design of the magpies.
The students then made charcoal
sketches of magpies on to newsprint.
In the next lesson, I introduced
Rick Amor’s painting, Magpies
Over A Dam. We looked at the
images in the painting and talked
about and compared the colours
and shapes with the students’
paintings. We briefly discussed
what the figure was doing in
Amor’s picture, but did not dwell
on this aspect of the work. The
students then drew two or three
large birds on Cartridge Paper.
The students chose what media
they would use to achieve a flat,
sharp contrast. Most used oil
pastels (use white first to avoid
black smudges), markers or paint.
When finished, the birds were
carefully cut out and arranged
over the dam, and finally glued
into place. The finished pictures
were discussed by the students
and compared to Rick Amor’s
work.
Robyn Henchel
Visual Arts Teacher
Christmas Hills and Toolangi
Primary Schools
Zart Extra_Term 3 2007 3