Under the Sea – Wearable Arts Collaboration
Under the Sea – Wearable Arts Collaboration
November 22, 2018 at 12:27 PM
Seahorses, great whites, whales and penguins were just some of the creatures that our Year 5 girls and preschoolers presented at a special assembly yesterday! For the first time, our Girls’ School and the Preschool collaborated to put on an ‘Under the Sea’ wearable arts show to raise awareness around pollution and how it negatively affects the health and habitats of sea animals.
The wonderful show, filled with colour and creativity, showcased costumes created by Year 5 students, with the help from the preschoolers who made some of the props. All the materials used for the costumes were recycled and the Year 5s worked hard to measure and personalise their designs to fit their young Preschool models.
Whilst both schools focused on the topic in class at their own level, they joined together for a trip to Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium, which helped the students to visualise their ideas. The Year 5 students were briefed to research, locate, define, organise, summarise and innovate their ideas into a wearable art sea animal, displaying the type of pollution endangering their animal. This was a huge challenge!
On the day, there were 14 designs on display - a jelly fish, a penguin, a shark, an octopus, a clown fish, a turtle, a stingray, a seahorse, a dolphin, a swordfish, a whale, a giant squid, a seal and a pufferfish!
While their work was being modelled on the catwalk, each Year 5 group explained their inquiry question, design process and the things that worked and the things that didn’t. Each speaker also gave advice to ‘future designers.’
Emily Cornaga, who helped design the squid, shared her advice and said, ‘Don’t cut things without permission, big is better, have fun and keep calm.’
Phoebe Hirst, who helped design the octopus, shared her challenges with the audience stating, ‘Bits of material fell off when we tried to glue them onto the costume with a hot glue gun. We had to be open minded and try different options.’
The students had some great inquiry questions behind their work and focused not only on plastics and rubbish but also on other pollutants such as oil spills and chemicals, and how they affect animals under water.
The girls enjoyed their experience and learned many new skills. They had to work cooperatively and collaboratively within their group, especially when costumes needed adjusting. They loved working with the preschoolers and some very special bonds were formed.
Thank you to all the parents who came along to help the girls with their costumes! We applaud your patience and versatility when you were being directed by our ‘designers.’
