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During the creation of my nature assemblage, I am currently in a little town called Nordley which is in the United Kingdom visiting my mother. She has lived here for 4 years and this is my first time visiting her due to Covid and its many complications. My mother uprooted her life for her partners new job right before covid and because of this, she spent a large amount of time at home finding new ways to occupy her time. The main way she chose to keep active during this difficult time was by gardening. Her large property has little troves of beautiful plants, flowers and vegetables that thrive in the rapidly changing weather.

As this is my first time visiting, exploring the terrain of her large garden was fascinating as I had the opportunity to discover plants and flowers that are both familiar and unfamiliar. I often spend my time looking out at the garden from afar but this task forced me to brace the rainy weather and find the hidden gems within. Bright colours, many birds and various plants occupy this space and the assemblage I created showcases just a handful of the wonderful items this garden contains.

Embracing the nature that surrounds us helps educate us on the fragility of life, helps express our deepest thoughts and feelings as well as connects the local community especially in such a small town where I currently am.

To create this piece, I chose items in the garden that drew my eye; whether that be in their natural form still attached to the stem of the plant or fallen gracefully onto the ground, the items were picked and placed carefully. I also deliberately left the water droplets and little stow-away bugs in the image to give it a greater feeling of authenticity.

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What?

Using household items, this weeks task required us to focus on visual arts as a topic integrated alongside sustainability. The varying elements and designs of visual arts were discussed to give us a deeper understanding within the task and its set parameters.

When completing this task, I was unable to use household items as I was on a plane from the UK back to Brisbane so I had to get creative and use the items I received during dinner. Whilst eating dinner and brainstorming on what items to use, it came to my attention that majority of the food was wrapped in single-use plastic. The airline that I am on prides themselves in their sustainability actions and yet are to discover a way to store and hand-out their food items in a more sustainable way.

So what?

My flight was delayed by an hour and while I waited, I subconsciously began to pick at the single-use plastic on the pillow they give you. This instead inspired the piece I created.

My design is inspired by my recent trip to Holland where their national flower is a tulip. I used the entire plastic bag from the pillow, a ripped off section from the headphones wrapper and finally my headphones to create the tulip. The big piece of plastic was used to create the tulip shape, the ripped section was used to support the flowers hold and the headphone was used as a sturdy solution to a makeshift stem.

While creating this, deeper questions arose which included 'how many plastic wrappers are used within a day from just a single aircraft?' and 'why use single-use, disposable plastic?/Is it the best alternative?'. These questions may have obvious answers but when placing them in a classroom scenario, I would have the students create their own inquiry questions, discuss their opinions and begin to think of new, innovative and environmentally friendly ways to store these items without being so wasteful.

Now what?

I spent quite a bit of time (and receiving very strange looks) perfecting my design and artwork as I wanted it to look presentable as visual art is not my strong suit. However, after many trials and errors, I came to the conclusion that perfection was not the end goal of this task, it was about using the items in our immediate surroundings to create informative art pieces which can relate directly to our community.

What I took away from this activity was extremely valuable as it forced me to think outside of the box within the incubation stage. Instead of coming up with an idea and just 'sticking with it', I took my time to brainstorm differing ideas and creations. I then slowly and carefully created and dis-assembled my structures before arriving at the desired outcome.

Moving onto the next module, I intend to look at my art from an open-minded perspective knowing that the key outcome for art is understanding what you are creating and why you are creating it.

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What?

This week was all about using the knowledge from last week and turning it into a stop motion project using recycling items to tackle the subject of sustainability.

So what?

This project was surprisingly harder than I thought. I did a stop motion project in year 8 which from memory was a lot easier than this as the objects being used were not created by us. By having to create the items from recycling for the project, it is harder to manipulate the objects and have them do as you see fit. I used an old pizza box, toilet rolls, accidentally thrown out tissues and post-it notes to create a piece which aimed to discuss the domino effect of recycling.

The stop motion I created aimed to show the audience how by choosing to place your rubbish in the bin, others will likely follow. The message created with the very same recycling people tend to be careless with shows the adult character picking up and thrown away piece of rubbish and putting it in the bin. This prompts the child character to follow in the adults footsteps and pick up some rubbish to put it away. This domino effect hopes to show the audience that what we do has an affect on others and how we treat this earth can be helped if we teach others to recycle and not litter.

Now what?

After watching my final produce, I was not as happy with the results as I'd hoped as my camera decided to play up and change the zoom setting half way through, causing the stop motion to look jumpy. However based on my learnings from last week, I decided to embrace the mistake and appreciate all that I had created and learnt. This project helped me focus on sustainability and how I can do my part to help with the planets litter problem. I also reflected on the techniques and elements we talked about in the module and how I could have harnessed these better for a greater final outcome.

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What?

This weeks task is to incorporate Science and Dance through learning discovery and movement. In education, it is important to recognise the community we live in and how that effects the world around us and in this task, we looked at native Australian birds, their interesting characteristics and how this can be used to develop a short dance sequence. My chosen bird, the Emu, is commonly known as one of the world's largest flightless birds, their brown feathers and strangely long necks can make them stand at nearly 2 meters tall. These native birds can go weeks without food or water and tend to travel as a mob. Upon watching these gorgeous creatures in their natural habitat through research and video footage, we can see that their neck and head are the main element of movement using it to jab, swerve and curl to run, eat and interact. Emu's also use their large wings in flapping motions when running and their strong legs to carry them far distances and intense speeds.

So what?

For my sequence, I tried to use my extensive dance experience, the Emu's movements and the elements of dance to create a seamless piece that reflects the Emu's style and activity within their natural environment. I included long, powerful strides with pointed toes to emulate that Emu's walk whilst using my arm sharply as the neck and mouth to create swerving, intense motions. My back arches downwards and shakes side-to-side to simulate the emu's regular movements. These motions are joined with the elements of dance including time, space and action as the main contenders.

Now what?

Incorporating a task such as this one within the classroom is beneficial in creating a safe, confident, creative classroom where students have the opportunity to express themselves through animal movements, a task students have been doing since they were toddlers. In years 3 and 4, students focus on creating dance sequences by combining fundamental locomotor and non-locomotor movements, such as running and sliding, bending and stretching, running, swinging and walking, and using a variety of levels and directions (AC9ADA4C01). Through this elaboration, the students are continuing their learning of the elements of dance as well as incorporating movements they have easy access to through videos, research and their own movements. It is important to understand that while children enjoy moving and completing physical tasks, not all will be as open to creating dance sequences. These students need to be shown through warm up activities, dance based games and videos that dancing can be a great outlet for creativity.

As a dancer myself, I found this task fun and interesting to complete as it meant I could focus on the fundamental elements of dance and take my time to understand movements on a different level then I am used to such as through animals.

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What?

This task is to develop a drama activity for Katie’s First Fleet unit that integrates both Drama and HASS. I have chosen to focus on the week four topic of 'The Voyage - What would it have been like to travel on the First Fleet?' and combine this with puppetry as the drama experience for the students to engage in for this topic.

In year 4, students are learning about the first fleet in HASS and the causes of the establishment of the first British colony in Australia in 1788 (AC9HS4K02). This topic ensures that students are learning about the whole journey, starting from who was on the first fleet, to the voyage itself and finishing with the landing and subsequential survival of the first fleet members on new land. Katie's First Fleet unit breaks down each section into weeks so that the students are fully emersed in the learning of each specific topic.

This task has the students in small groups and using puppets (pre-made or made by the students themselves) to recreate what it would have been like to travel on the first fleet. This includes the weather conditions, different types of people on the boat, the distance travelled, time it took and the arrival on Australian soil. Students must create various scenes, a script and other specific factors that help bring the story to life. The students are in control of this task, they are to complete the research, create the script and other required pieces before presenting their puppetry. During this task, the teacher has gradually released control of the students by beginning the week with their own puppet show of a different topic as a demonstration and then letting the students control their own performance whilst supervising and stepping in when required.

So what?

Students at a young age understand topics better when they have experienced them, hence why teachers constantly relate tasks to everyday topics. If the students were to simply research the topic and write an assignment on it, the knowledge they have learnt is merely surface level but by having the students fully immerse themselves in that part of history, they are understanding exactly what it would have been like for the members of the first fleet to travel to an unexplored, unknown land.

Now what?

Formative assessment:

During the completion of the task, the end of each lesson should include an exit ticket to clearly see which students are understanding the topic completely and which are using the group situation to their advantage. Observations and checklist are also incredible ways to formatively assess the students before the final summative assessment.

Summative assessment:

The main task of this topic is the final summative assessment. The students will present their puppetry presentation to the class, this will be recorded by the teacher using video and written notes. The teacher will also then as the students a few questions at the end to ensure they have fully understood the topic. These questions will be related to each group individually and may include questions such as 'What types of people were aboard this fleet? How do we know this?' or 'what types of websites and resources did you find to support your presentation?'.

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What?

This task had us practising our arts integration by connecting art with music by listening to a one minute segment of music to see what visual emotions could be portrayed on paper. Varying shapes, lines and colours in relation to the elements of art were used to create an abstract art piece full of emotion and thought. Going into the sequence of music blind was helpful with the outcome as there were no preconceived notions or ideals to taint the true meaning behind the piece.

So what?

I believe that the emotions felt during the song 'The Carnival of the Animals' can be associated with whatever is the current feeling of the listener, meaning that if the intended audience is in a sombre mood, the music with evoke these emotions and the same with if the listener is in a happy mood, the notes carry this emotion. When I was listening to this piece, my mood was flat as I had had a long day of work, meaning the visual abstract art depicted this. The further into the song you get however, differing emotions begin to surface as the intensity of the song increases.

The different colours on the picture represent a new section or emotion within the music. The blue line shows the whimsical beginning and how swirly and curvy it starts as however it does begin to get sharp and lower as the music dims. The green lines are actually little short bursts that follow the pitches in the music and the length of each note. The pink is very sombre and low as the music begins to deepen and change from that simple, whimsical music to deeper, more emotional sections. And finally, the yellow lines shows the new beginning, the uplifting and bright section of the music that curves and waves throughout.

Now what?

Taking a step back and analysing the shapes, colours and lines brought out during my initial listen to this song, you can see the emotions flow sweetly through the page during the beginning and end of the section, however in the middle, the lines turn more sharp and specific to demonstrate the emotions elicited. I also recognised upon further analysis that and a second listen to the song that the lines I have created follow the pitch, rhythm and expression quite clearly as each section/colour is completely different from the previous.

Moving forward, I would like to use this method as a classroom method of creativity as students can easily complete this task in any form, with any artistic style and to many piece of music. The emotions and thoughts that were provoked in me would benefit my future students lately.

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What?

Creating an atmospheric soundscape in response to an individual piece of artwork was the focus of this weeks learning. A lesser known painting by the artist Sidney Nolan called the 'Desert Storm' was chosen for this activity which focuses on combining visual art with music in a unique way by revising the visual art and musical elements and incorporating them into a soundscape. This expressionist painting was inspired by a disastrous drought which afflicted Australia in 1950.

So what?

When viewing this painting I originally felt a sense longing and loss brought up through the use of deep, musty colours in the soil but the lighter sky. The land looks barren and void of any true love and warmth where as the opposing sky looks hopeful. The view of this landscape and the perspective seen helps bring these emotions to life, specifically the longing and loneliness aspect as the vast majority of the painting spans on with barley anything within its sights. The main emotion elicited from this painting comes from the dead tree in the foreground of the image, it's strongest impact coming from the fact that the land as far as the eye can see is destroyed due to the drought.

Expressionism is an artform used to depict the artists inner emotions by creating an image distorted from reality. The lines within this painting are soft, simple strokes arranged amongst sharp trees and harsh, darker lines to help convey the artists emotions. The blending of each stroke is used to blend the individual colour, however the separate colours themselves are more distinct.

When creating my soundscape, I struggled to find a suitable beginning sound that encapsulated my feeling of wistfulness and longing however, after much research I found a simple violin sound that tugged at my emotions and conveyed the exact feelings elicited from the painting. To blend with this, I added harsh breathing sounds, creepy synth layers and an off beat piano as the violin became more intense to truly encapsulate the feeling this painting brings. When listening to this sound whilst viewing the painting it gains more meaning and understanding.

Now what?

This task challenged me greatly as I am not the most musically creative however I am proud of my final outcome and would most definitely challenge others to complete this task as well as it pays to step out of your comfort zone. Integrating the visual element with the musical made the task easier in my opinion as there was a basis of ideals and emotions to draw upon. In the future, I would like to create a longer piece on its own to gain more confidence in this area.

This task brings forth a great deal of General Capabilities to be brought up during lessons including critical and creative thinking, personal and social capability and the ICT capability as well as the cross-curriculum priority of sustainability.