Easter Holidays

 Easter holidays begin today but during the break SCCArt will continue to post a few items. Over the coming days some of the pupils whose work was awarded a distinction at last weekends Art Prize Evening by our visiting guest speaker Catherine Greene will be posted. Shown today is a pencil drawing of a pewter mug by Samuel Clarke in Form I.

Form V Q Set

While the Form V Q Set did not win any prizes on Saturday Evening, our guest speaker Catherine Greene spent some time discussing the merits of having a non-exam art class  and was very impressed with the work exhibited by some of the Form V pupils taking this class.  She commented that any of the three following paintings were only short of a frame,  and then they might hang anywhere! Even  a gallery !

Well done to the Form V Q Set.

Miriam Poulton Form V

 Susannah Cooke, Form V

 Olivia Plunket, Form V

Art Prizes.

Congratulations to all pupils involved in the fantastic Art, Craft and Photography Exhibition and Prize Evening. It was a most enjoyable event and we were treated to an insight into the work of the Sculptor Catherine Greene. Especially interesting was her visual explaination and description of the Bronze Sculpture she made for the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Fatima, Portugal.  Prizes were awarded in the following catagories;

Junior Craft Prize: Oliver Glenn-Craigie, Form II.

Senior Craft Prize: Jessica Dean, Form VI.

Photography Prize: Patrick Faulkner Form VI.

Junior Art Prize: Pia Gromotka, Form II.

The Earl of Meath Senior Art Prize: Toni Hoffmann, Form V. 

OVERALL HOUSE PRIZE: HOLLYPARK

Distinctions were awarded to the following pupils;

Roman Sharykin, Form I

Samuel Clarke, Form I

Lydia Johnson, Form I

Jessica Beresford, Form I

Molly Dunne, Form II

Matt Brooke, Form II

Sally Kemp, Fom II

Lilly Guinness, Form III

Daphne Wright, Form V

Imogen Wardell, Form V

Ciara Conway, Form VI

Lauren Cooke, Form VI

William Reade, Form VI

Poppy Vernon, Form VI

Art Prize and Exhibition

The Art Prize and Exhibition takes place this evening in the BSR at 8pm and we are looking forward to meeting our guest speaker, the well renowned sculptor, Catherine Greene. Posted below is a glimpse of what one can expect to see this evening....

Annual Art Exhibition

Over the next few days the Art Department will be a hive of activity preparing for the annual Art Exhibition at which Junior and Senior prizes are awarded for craft, art and photography. There are lots of really excellent art  works this year so there will  be much to see.  The exhibition takes place on Saturday evening and the prizes will be awarded by our guest speaker and adjudicator Catherine Greene . Catherine Greene is a figurative sculptor and works mostly with bronze.  Posted here is an example of a large outdoor sculpture Trilogy 3 (below), and smaller bronze piece, Angel- ascending 1 (above).

Mother and Child

     Leaving Cert Mock Craft Exam             

The work posted today is by Kaila Korschen in Form VI. The theme for her clay model is 'Mother and Child'.   Her drawings display good understanding of the design process and the finished model shows careful attention to detail. The glaze will be applied after the initial bisque firing. 

The theme of Mother and Child appears over and over again in Art. The Pietá is the name commonly given to depictions of Jesus Christ and his Mother, Mary. One of the best kown of these depictins is Michelangelo's La Pietá.  

Another example displaying the theme of Mother and Child  is the 'Virgin and Child Studies' by Raphael.

The 'Father of Western Painting' has his work viewed in a new light

Giotto's Florentine Masterpieces seen in a new light.

Yesterday Micheal Day wrote in The Independent "Restoration experts have used ultra violet rays to shine an astonishing new light on the work of one of the most important painters in the history of Western art.The paintings of Giotto di Bondone in the Peruzzi Chapel in Florence's Santa Croce church are considered among the most important by the medieval artist who introduced a revolutionary emotional depth and degree of perspective in his painting. The Peruzzi chapel, with its murals honouring John the Evangelist and John the Baptist, is thought to have inspired great painters in the Renaissance a century after Giotto's death in 1337. But neglected for hundreds of years, and encrusted with dust and crime, it is only now that some of the finest details have been seen again. The ambitious "non-invasive diagnostics" project designed to assess the condition of the 12-metre-high chapel, which Giotto painted in about 1320, began last year. By chance restorers working on the three-storey steel scaffolding noted that when ultra-violet light was directed on the frescoes a remarkable degree of extra detail became visible. The influence of Giotto, who is often referred to as the "Father of Western painting", is said to be visible in the work of the great figures of the high Renaissance such as Michelangelo. Ms Frosinini told Reuters of her surprise and delight when she saw the "images come back to life".  The use of ultra violet light has to be limited because it too, might damage the paintings, which are particularly fragile because they were painted on dry plaster, unlike traditional frescoes." Read the whole article HERE.

Irish Graduate wins Oscar for Visual Effects

  RONAN MCGREEVY writes in the Irish Times today, "IRISH OSCAR WINNER Richie Baneham is proof that the “fires of Irish talent continue to burn as bright as ever”, the Irish Film Board said yesterday.

Dublin-born Baneham’s win for best visual effects for Avatar put a gloss on what was a relatively disappointing night for Irish filmmakers, who won only one Oscar out of five nominations.

Film board chief executive Simon Perry said the Academy had honoured Irish film-makers with five nominations, “but for Richard to win an Oscar is international recognition at the highest level”. The Minister for Arts Martin Cullen also congratulated Baneham. The Minister described it as a “great personal success and a further recognition of the talent available in the Irish film industry”.

Maureen Conway, the principal of Ballyfermot College of Further Education said it was worth staying up until 5am this morning to watch Baneham win.

The Ballyfermot graduate, who attended his old alma mater just last week, acknowledged the influence of the college in his post-Oscar speech.

Conway said: “We had him pestered to mention us. We’re so delighted for him.”"

Read the full article HERE and read all Oscar winners HERE.

Figure Drawing.

Exams begin for all Forms this week and Junior Certificate pupils will sit their Mock Life-Drawing Exam during this time. Life Drawing is quite a challenge but like most things continuous practice will really improve your drawing skills.  Marks are allocated for the pupils' interpretation of the art elements and principles required to develop a composition; these include  shape, scale, proportion and form. Pupils have the choice to draw the  Entire Figure or a Head and Shoulders portrait. The video link below gives one artist's response to drawing a head and shoulders portrait.       

                                                       Egon Schiele  The Artist's Wife
                                                                                           (above)