Schools in the Studio : Landscapes Foundation Programme

Tuesday 19 March 2013
Mandy Jakich

Recently, Year 1 and 2 students from Parnell District School enthusiastically participated in the gallery and studio sessions of one of our Foundation programmes- Landscapes.

After looking at traditional landscape artworks in the Gallery, we explored Golden Cloud by Gretchen Albrecht. We wondered - could this work be a landscape?

The children initially retorted, 'NO it could not!' But then, on reflection and further observation, some children changed their minds. Perhaps it could be?

'It reminds me of the sea, the sand and the sky...'
'I can see some clouds!'
'It looks like the sunset!

We decided as a group that this was a work that ‘reminded’ us of a landscape we are familiar with. We discovered when Gretchen Albrecht painted Golden Cloud, she was living on the West coast of Auckland.

Back in the studio, inspired by Gretchen Albrecht’s work, we experimented with dye to create an artwork that somehow reminded us of a landscape. We applied two or three bands of colour, then tipped the paper and watched the colours run together.

Once again, we shared our creations and talked about what parts of the landscape we could see in our work. We even turned the work upside down to see if another part of the landscape appeared and then discussed which way we wanted the final work to go, and why.

Some of the children created a title for their work, to help others understand what part of the landscape the work represented for them. 

Thank you Parnell District School for a wonderful day!

Useful links:

• This documentary (made for TV One's Artsville series) traces the development of Albrecht's work from her art school years through to her current interest in sculpture.
• View artworks by Gretchen Albrecht in the Gallery's collection