Stuart High School
Based in the outskirts of Whyalla in South Australia, Stuart High is one of the Year 8–10 schools which make up the Whyalla Secondary College. The college includes Edward John Eyre High School, Stuart High School and Whyalla High School which are all part of the South Australian Department of Education and Children Services.
Whyalla Stuart Primary School is situated on the same site as Stuart High and caters for students from Reception to Year 7. A number of areas, inside and outside, within the high school are shared with the primary site.Stuart High School boasts an outstanding reputation for student academic success in the Whyalla Community and across the State.
Students attending Stuart High School and Whyalla Stuart Primary come from a wide range of economic and cultural backgrounds. A large number of students are school card holders and there are a small percentage of Aboriginal students and students with disabilities enrolled.
PROJECT COORDINATOR: Tammy Smith
ARTIST: Dianne Turner
PROJECT: ‘United as One’ – a Bas Relief clay tile installation
Aims:
- Bring together two schools on one site through a visual arts project that develops a sense of pride, identity, self-esteem and ownership of a shared environment;
- Develop a visually creative landscape, where two schools can contribute as one in the design and production of Bas Relief ceramic tiles. These were used as an, Arts in Space project;
- Provide an opportunity for a broad range of students to be involved in developing skills in the visual arts, collaboratively with a practicing artist;
- Foster a positive environment where students can confidently contribute to decision-making processes;
- Visually enhance the school grounds; and
- Promote the value of the arts to the school community.
The Artist:
Dianne Turner is an experienced visual artist and has worked in many schools and enjoys working with students developing their creative skills.
The Process:
- Students generated ideas in small groups and then shared these ideas collectively in one larger group.
- Drawings were completed and contributed towards potential ideas of final outcome.
- Dianne and I went through all the ideas and drawings and generated a handful of possibilities and presented these to the principal of Stuart High School, teachers and students involved with the project.
- Two concepts were decided on: 1. To construct three benches depicting the portrait of every student involved and 2. Mosaic a wall with clay tiles (jigsaw style), which illustrated the activities undertaken by each school site.
- Students worked collaboratively with each other and Dianne to develop the imagery to be illustrated on a small existing brick wall in the yard of the school.
- Created portrait tiles in clay after having a session with individual class teachers on portrait drawing.
- Students worked with Dianne to shape the clay into large slabs to the size of the brick wall.
- Drawings were transferred to the slabs and the process of building up the images began.
- Glazed finished pieces and when it was near the leather hard stage cut the slabs into jigsaw pieces.
- Once pieces were fired the tiles were adhered to the wall in the yard and grouted.
Benches:
- Hebel stone was adhered together and then cut to desired size.
- Some pieces were carved into the shape of books that were stacked four high to form one leg of each of the three benches.
- These were then painted, drilled, rod inserted and pieces welded to the bottom to secure them together, to allow them to be cemented into the ground.
- The remaining pieces had the portraits tiled to them.
- These blocks were then drilled, rod inserted and pieces welded to the bottom to secure them together, to allow them to be cemented into the ground.
- Jarrah was then dyno bolted to the block to form the seated area of the bench.
Outcomes:
The aims of this project have been achieved by facilitating an opportunity where students could claim ownership of a project through developed ideas that were created together.
Students from both schools were provided with opportunities on a number of occasions to work together in a shared environment, where ideas and skills could be transferred amongst each other positively.
The final concepts decided upon and created, enabled the students to gain a sense of pride and identity through the making of a self-portrait that has left a visual signature to express their contribution towards the project within the school community.
Their sense of pride and ownership of the project is continued through to the jigsaw puzzle wall, where a broad collection of their drawings are represented in clay, in the form of bas relief tiles. These tiles represent a semesters worth of hard work, where students can identify visually their contribution to the project no matter how small.
Highlights:
Students:
- Working positively from week to week to reach a common goal.
- Interacting with members of other classes in a respectful manner.
- Valuing each other’s ideas.
- Working collaboratively to create functional works of art.
- Having an opportunity to influence the landscape of an environment they inhabit.
- Taking ownership of the project and directing each other to do tasks that needed to be worked on.
‘The overall highlight of this project was that we could do more interesting things instead of sitting in a classroom, writing all the time. I also enjoyed working with the younger people.’ Student
‘I liked designing and sculpting and we worked positively and safely while doing this project.’ Student
‘It was interesting seeing a different perspective from the students in Horticulture, to that of my Year 8 Art Class. As one group looked at the point of view of what would work well with the garden to what would look good aesthetically.’ Teacher
74 students participated in this project
