Ealaín SS / JC Art

Art or fine art, is the expression of creative skill in a visual format. It emphasises ideas, feelings and visual qualities through imaginative and/or technical skill. Apart from the creation of artworks, fine art also encompasses the study of art through appreciation and critical discussion.

A fundamental part of the aims of the Visual Art specification is that “students will experience the authentic visual art processes of imagining, investigating, experimenting, making, displaying and evaluating.” Four important and interlinked aspects of achieving this are working with primary sources, the development of ideas, the development of skills and the use of the Visual Art sketchpad. This creative process begins with students responding to a stimulus.

Primary Sources: Primary sources are sources, physical or conceptual, that are viewed in their original state and are not filtered through another person’s interpretation of them. The use of primary sources is integral to the production of artwork by students and is an essential approach to creative art making. Primary sources provide opportunities for students to engage with the world around them and therefore help them to take ownership of their work and make it more personal. Students should choose primary sources appropriate to the theme they have selected, from which to develop their work.

Development of Ideas: A fundamental part of being creative in any discipline, as stated in Statement of Learning 23 in the Framework for Junior Cycle, is that “the student brings an idea from conception to realisation.” If students are to build the capacity to successfully develop ideas, teachers need to focus on strategies to help them do this. For example, students may develop an idea thematically, through historical and/or contemporary aspects, philosophical aspects and addressing issues relating to it in different media.

Development of Skills: Students should be able to express their ideas in visual form, which means that they need to acquire the skills necessary to refine and express their ideas. In acquiring these skills, students will also develop an understanding of the potential and limitations of the media and techniques they use.

Visual Art Sketchpad: The Visual Art sketchpad is a collection of ideas, processes and work, in physical or digital form or a combination of both. It is essentially the student’s own personal record of the creative journey; the format of which will be decided by the student in collaboration with their teacher. Throughout these guidelines, the Visual Art sketchpad will be referred to as a single document which may be taken to include one or a number of sketchpads. The number of entries in a Visual Art sketchpad may vary but nonetheless present all the necessary preparatory and developmental work.

CBA 1 takes place in 2nd Year

Classroom Based-Assessment 1 (CBA 1) ‘From Process to Realisation’ gives students’ an opportunity to experience an approach that reflects that of a practising artist/craftsperson/designer.’ The window for CBA 1 ‘From Process to Realisation’ 2019, is between January and May.

In place of a grade, students will receive a comment/descriptor on their CBA1 on their Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement -JCPA (previously Junior Certificate) It will be reported as follows: Exceptional; Above Expectations; In Line with Expectations; Yet to Meet Expectations

CBA 2 takes place in 3rd Year

As part of Classroom-Based Assessment 2, students will:

• Interpret the theme/s

• Indicate the two Visual Art strands through which they will primarily generate their realised works

• Research and explore their initial ideas

• Engage with the elements of Visual Art

• Record all their work and annotations in their Visual Art sketchpad

• Curate and present their initial ideas to their teacher and peers

• Record and reflect on the feedback received from their teacher and peers

Students must research and explore three-dimensional work in CBA 2 if they did not explore three-dimensional work in CBA1 Students will receive a descriptor on their CBA2 on their Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement -JCPA It will be reported as follows: Exceptional; Above Expectations; In Line with Expectations; Yet to Meet Expectations

Final Examination

The final examination leads on from CBA2. Students use feedback and advice to develop two finished piece. These pieces will be marked by an external exaiminer. The grades received will read as follows:

Distinction 90 to 100 %

Higher Merit 75 to 89 %

Merit 55 to 74 %

Achieved 40 to 54 %

Partially Achieved 20 to 39 %

(not graded) 0 to 19 %