Suncoast Christian College Year 11 Visual Art students enjoyed a full-day workshop with local Sunshine Coast Artist Yanni van Zijl.
Seventeen students (including two new students whose first day was meeting the teacher, artists and fellow students on this incursion) spent the day learning from Yanni and practicing her techniques of environmental art.
Yanni, who has won numerous awards for her work in the SWELL Sculpture Festival (Gold Coast) or her wearable art pieces, first gave the students some history of her work and how she cognitively approaches making her pieces. Her work often comments about Queensland landscapes, aiming to spark discussion and awareness about local environmental issues. Her breadth of practice covers photography, found-object sculptures, ceramics, wearable and ephemeral land art.
Yanni led the group to the Outdoor Chapel, where the students spent the day collecting items they found and creating their own ephemeral or experimental artworks. Students will use this experience to create an inquiry question to direct their making of artwork for Year 12.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable and enriching experience to build skills and knowledge for their final year of art-making.
