Musselburgh Grammar Art & Design Blog

S2 aims to build on experiences and techniques learnt in S1. Like S1, this course provides a breadth, balance and range of activities for pupils to undertake, allowing them to further gain confidence in themselves, their skills and their work.

High standards of work are continued to be encouraged and the Department aims to provide a stimulating and supportive learning and teaching environment that encourages individual responses to units of work. As in S1, pupils are encouraged to work mainly from first hand sources and experiences.

In S2, four main units of work are undertaken, with each unit allowing pupils to study in depth a particular genre of Art & Design.

As in S1, there is a non-assessable starter Design unit that is completed before the start of either the New Media or 3D Design units. Once again, the purpose of this block of work is to get pupils thinking about design quickly with the focus on function, design issues, problem solving and presentation skills. Work by pupils can be undertaken individually or as a group depending on the project.

New Media Design Unit

S2 Graphics - Research for ‘Insect and Butterfly World’ Poster

This unit gives pupils the opportunity to develop their design skills further and build on their experience gained in S1. TECHNOLOGY forms an integral part of this unit through the use of IT. Pupils are issued with a Design Brief and work through the Design process before producing a final solution using appropriate media. COLOUR, SHAPE and LINE are the specific elements targeted in this unit and awareness of target markets is also a focus. Appropriate Evaluating & Appreciating forms an integral part of this unit, usually in the form of an essay based on research of new media design.

Types of projects undertaken may vary from traditional Graphic work to Animation or other New Media.

Expressive Sculpture Unit

This is an Expressive unit with a 3D outcome. This unit is concerned with the working methods of the sculptor and pupils are encouraged to investigate form, spatial relationships and other sculptural elements, based on working studies developed from first hand observation of a teacher negotiated theme. The main visual elements tackled are FORM, SHAPE and TEXTURE and examples of media that may be used are:

• Paper

• Card

• Wire

• Clay

• Mod roc

The work of a sculptor is investigated and commented upon by pupils.

3D Design Unit

This unit deals again with the working methods and materials of the designer. However, this unit specifically requires a 3D solution giving pupils the opportunity to translate 2D working drawings into 3D Designs. Pupils work from a Design Brief, from first and second hand sources and experiences, and follow the Design process to a final solution and evaluation. Examples of 3D solutions may include:

• Masks

• Jewellery

• Gift Boxes

• Shoes

• Hats

COLOUR, FORM, TEXTURE and SHAPE are the specific elements targeted in this unit and again, an awareness of target markets is a focus, as is function and other design issues. Written work will be linked to the specific design area e.g mask design.

2D Expressive Unit

This unit builds on previous experience of the elements LINE, TONE, TEXTURE, COLOUR, SHAPE and COMPOSITION. Pupils are encouraged to work from first hand sources and the unit centres around the subject matter, methods and materials of the artist. Pupils are encouraged to use a range of media, and a variety of drawing and painting techniques to produce an individual expressive outcome.

For the written element of this unit, pupils will base their work on an artist who uses a similar theme to the one pupils are working on in the practical unit.

S2 Still Life Outcome

Evaluation continues to be an important part of all our S2 units as it allows pupils to reflect on what they have learnt and helps to continue to identify strengths and weaknesses.