ALL NEWS

Showcase Celebrations! 2022 HSC Showcase Visual Arts and D&T

04 August 2022

Term 3 is a very special time for our most senior cohort. As our Year 12 students really buckle down to their study, focusing on a deep and meaningful synthesis of all they have learnt and honing their examination technique in preparation for their Trial and final HSC exams, it is also a period of celebration and fulfilment as the practical components of their courses are completed and put on show.

The Visual Arts and Design Showcase was an enormous success, and the works on display demonstrated perfectly the significant achievements that are realised when will is directed by thought and enlivened by feeling.

The functional yet incredibly beautiful Pedal Pod, the innovative Cricket Ball Buddy, the very aesthetic Gym Wall that anyone would happily install in a spare room and the calming Terrariums that revealed a philosophical understanding of past, present and future, all spoke to the fulfilment of the design process that births the new through considered, sustained effort. The culmination of Glenaeon’s Artisan program in the HSC Design and Technology course thus examples the pinnacle of student led will activity.

Championing the realm of feeling are the Visual Arts works and this cohort’s offerings were up to the usual very high standard we expect of Glenaeon’s Year 12 students. Whimsical worldviews from childhood, bodies and organs as commodities, perceptions of self, the art of aging, mental states of distress and tranquillity, everyday objects repurposed for adornment, 21st century maturing and the blueprint of form and function were all concepts that were subtly explored by the students through artistic endeavours that evidenced a sensitive feeling-into their personal experiences of being. These works demonstrate fulfilment of the visual branch of Glenaeon’s Aesthetic curriculum and speak to the beautiful awakening that is arrived at through art.

Most wonderfully this year, the Showcases are again open to the broader school community and, along with teachers and Year 12 families and guests, the great number of Year 10 and 11 parents and students present at the event on Friday, 22 July brought a lively buzz to the evening. The works on display were not only admired by all who recognised and appreciated the students’ valuable, creative output, they also inspired our younger cohorts and got students thinking about what they themselves may like to produce in the not too distant future! 

The celebrations will continue, and please come along to the Music and Humanities Showcase on Friday, 26 August!


Thank you!

Our senior teachers play an integral role in the development of each student’s Major Work and I and the Glenaeon community extends deep-felt gratitude to Visual Arts teachers Ms Alisan Smotlak (Head of Department) and Ms Donna Miller and to Design and Technology Senior Teacher, Mr Anthony Fiore. Their reflections on their course and their students’ progress, as well as their blessings, are a delightful read below.  

 

The Year 12 Visual Arts Showcase is a celebration of who you are and what you have achieved thus far.  May the arts take you forward into life with appreciation of what creativity and imagination can be, limitless in its capacity to feed the soul!

I am trying to imagine myself standing in front of you all and the harvest of your hard work and efforts over the past three terms!  You have all produced art that you likely never imagined would be possible!  You have each been on a personal journey of discovery, heartache, problem solving and realisation!  On that journey, I’m sure you have learned a great deal about yourselves, and just what you are capable of! With every hurdle, you drew strength and carried on. When it hurt the most, you recovered to be stronger!  Donna Miller, Teacher of Visual Arts Practical Year 12 2022

 

The HSC Visual Arts is a rich course where the student has the opportunity to explore and discover a variety of materials and concepts. The goal towards the dynamic synthesis of these elements reflects the world experienced by a senior student on the precipice of moving forward into the adult world.

The challenges and joys the artwork takes the student through are backbones to be drawn upon when encountering the many interesting experiences that life will bring.  Alisan Smotlak, Head of Department (Visual Arts)

 

Design and Technology has a unique focus on creativity, innovation and the successful implementation of inventive ideas. Through the development of a Major Design Project, students have the opportunity to explore and develop technologies and demonstrate insight into the future uses of technology. This year, the students have demonstrated qualities of perseverance, project management and creative problem solving in the development and realisation of their projects. Each of them have learnt and developed an appreciation for the complex relationships that exist between factors that impact on designing and using technology. Further to this, each student exhibits a deep understanding of the importance these aspects play in the future use of technology and its relationship to the environment and the forwarding of human kind.   Mr. Anthony Fiore - Design and Technology Teacher

 

*Please note photos of student works cannot be published yet due to NESA embargo restrictions