The Vasse Primary School 2016 AiR (Artist in Residence) Grant Project was the catalyst for providing a creative learning space in collaboration with artists; Myles Happ (local Potter – Production Ceramicist) and Calvin Chee (Environmental Artist – 3D prototype and digital design), and Year 4 and Year 5 students to cooperatively construct an artwork “The Eureka Stockade” using resources such as digital printing and scanning equipment.
Skills developed by students included 3D printing software, drawing (portraiture), plasticine modeling, and ceramics. The project encouraged creating a knowledge base amongst students around their ability to solve problems and create ideas using a variety of technological experiences.
Learning areas addressed in the AiR project were; History, ICT, Visual Art, and Critical and Creative Thinking. The students created three scenes from the Eureka Stockade which they were learning about in History. ICT was utilized in the form of Chromebooks using a program called Tinkercad to design their 3D character representations.
Students were also exposed to the 3D printing process and used technology to research the content and their designs. Visual Art was addressed by developing the learner’s drawing skills as they studied the human form before they designed their characters. Also, some students created their character’s heads using plasticine rather than TinkerCad and utilized a 3D scanning tool to convert the plasticine sculptures into a digital file, that was then 3D printed.
