During Terms 1 and 2, the Year 12/13 Sculpture and Year 12 Food Technology students have been working on a brief that has allowed them to spread their wings and create something a bit wild. The theme for each of the classes was to base their inspiration on an aspect of New Zealand flora or fauna. It challenged them to forage for ideas, capture their creativity, cultivate their designs before hatching the final product. The results were an impressive array of creations all stemming from the given stimuli. The Jack Paine Centre was a hive of activity last week during the launch of the ‘Creatures of Aotearoa’ exhibition, with parents and friends in attendance to view the Sculpture work and bid on the Food Technology items in a silent auction.

Year 13 Sculpture

Using New Zealand flora and fauna as inspiration, the Year 13 Sculpture project required the class to investigate and create headpieces. The research included investigating the sculptural opportunities for contemporary adornment, taking note of the sociological significance of the ornamental and functional roles of headpieces – why they are worn, who wears them and how are they stored when not in use. To this end, the students had to investigate how artists and designers present their work in this field. The results cleverly incorporated the demanding brief into a variety of crowns, headbands and mesh headpieces.

Year 12 Sculpture

The Year 12 Sculpture students had to apply the NZ flora and fauna stimulus to the design and construction of a creature character bust for a specific film genre. They researched the forms, content and techniques of their chosen genre and other artists and designers working in a similar field to inform the development of their creature. Using sculpey clay, the students have shaped amazingly detailed three-dimensional busts that pay homage to the cinema canon they are working in and their inspiration from the natural world. Students were drawn to the colour palettes of plants, the texture of fungus, and shapes of flower petals to guide their creations.

Year 12 Food Technology

Cake design requires both creative and logical thinking. A successful specialty cake has to balance form and function as it not only has to look amazing, but also taste as good as it looks. It requires the designer to work in three dimensions as they solve structural and aesthetics problems along the way. Functional modelling and testing is crucial, as is working within a budget to optimise presentation and taste. The outcomes from the flora and fauna brief ranged from literal interpretations through to highly conceptual, including Swiss rolls inspired by assassin bugs, cakes based on the octopus stinkhorn fungus and cupcake arrangements in the shape of a blue damselfly.

The launch was a fantastic way to celebrate New Zealand's native flora and fauna through Cake Design and Sculpture and a great opportunity for the students put their creative and technical skills on display! 

Share this