Abingdon Preparatory School

20 April 2009

Following the style of William Morris' studies, detailed sketching of plants in and around the school grounds form the basis of a body of work which leads to mono printing, beautiful watercolour painting, clay tiles and printing. Henri Rousseau, the rogue painter who was convicted of fraud, captures the imagination of the pupils and inspires them to create wonderful, large jungle pictures in oil pastels. Group projects include batik work and a trip to the University of Oxford Botanic Gardens allows the children to work as Rousseau did, in the equivalent gardens in Paris. What is sculpture? A question that is posed at the beginning of the topic, in which pupils explore  their own interpretations of the subject, find suitable materials and generate designs to construct.