Visual Arts in Kildimo National School

Our Vision for Kildimo NS

We cultivate an awareness and appreciation of the world around us in the children and encourage a response in the various media to the wonder of that environment.

Aims

The aims of the visual arts curriculum are

to help the child develop sensitivity to the visual, spatial and tactile world, and to provide for aesthetic experience

to help the child express ideas, feelings and experiences in visual and tactile forms

to enable the child to have enjoyable and purposeful experiences of different art media and to have opportunities to explore, experiment, imagine, design, invent and communicate with different art materials

to promote the child’s understanding of and personal response to the creative processes involved in making two and three-dimensional art

to enable the child to develop the skills and techniques necessary for expression, inventiveness and individuality

to enable the child to experience the excitement and fulfilment of creativity and the achievement of potential through art activities

to foster sensitivity towards and enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts

to provide opportunities for the child to explore how the work of artists and craftspeople might relate to his/her own work.

Broad objectives

When due account is taken of intrinsic abilities and varying circumstances, the visual arts curriculum should enable the child to

look at, enjoy and make a personal response to a range of familiar and unfamiliar objects and images in the very rich and visually stimulating environment around Kildimo N.S. 

explore and begin to develop sensitivity to qualities of line, shape, colour and tone, texture, pattern and rhythm, spatial organisation and the three-dimensional quality of form, through working with same in painting and drawing, through observation of line, shape, colour and tone in fashion design and in the environment 

express ideas, feelings and experiences in visual form and with imagination, enjoyment and a sense of fulfilment

experiment in spontaneous, imaginative and increasingly structured ways with a range of art materials, including pencils, paints, crayons, chalks, markers, inks, clay, papier mâché, fabric and fibre, and construction materials

explore the expressive and design possibilities of the materials within a range of two and three-dimensional media, including drawing, paint and colour, print, clay, construction, fabric and fibre

apply skills and techniques, demonstrating increasing sensitivity to the visual elements in his/her art work

look with curiosity and openness at the work of a wide range of artists and craftspeople through visits to Limerick Art Galleries, Hunt Museum workshops, displays of the works of famous artists, accessibility to prints and images of famous works for observation and discussion

explore atmosphere, content and impact in the work of artists, especially when they relate to his/her own work by inviting artists or craftspeople to the school to talk about work or run workshops;  by  accessing  the Artist-in Residence scheme or other schemes

identify a variety of visual arts media and describe some of the creative processes involved

develop an ability to identify and discuss what he/she considers the most important design elements of individual pieces, especially when they relate to work in hand

discuss the preferred design elements in his/her work and in the work of classmates

begin to appreciate the context in which great art and artefacts are created and the culture from which they grew, through learning about the artists and the contexts in which they worked

use appropriate language in responding to visual arts experiences.