Last Day!

Today is the last day of the cow and emotions are running high as everyone hurries to finish everything on time. Blossom looks amazing with the bridge and the street sign. Everyone has been working very hard and the support of the teachers has been appreciated. To see the cow finished and finally completed has been great. It’s taken a lot of time and effort from everyone which has helped with what we believe is a Crestwood interpretation.

The colours of the cow harmonize together

Sheina and her finished bridge

Last Week

This week is crunch time with the due date for Blossom vastly approaching. With plenty of work still needed it will definitely be a big week ahead for all the members of the Archibull. Today the whole day has been dedicated to the Archibull competition in which a lot has been achieved. With a large area constantly getting finished the changes seen in the pictures are amazing everyone. With plenty of ideas zooming around the excitement of Blossom coming to an end is evident. With the help from peers and teachers different ideas have been incorporated into our quickly changing cow.  The development of the bridge and sign has helped with the overall picture and the conjunction of both sides. We all look forward to Friday to see the final result.

The modelling compound gives the wool a nice texture

Blossom is starting to come together

The colours are bright and beautiful

Second Last Week

It’s the second last week of Archibull and things are getting hectic. With the help of our fellow peers, the number of hands have increased and our cow Blossom is slowly starting to blossom.  Yes, we have finally thought of the name for our cow, after much debating where names such as, Sheryl, Shirley and Helen were brought up and tossed back during the weeks of Archibull.

Sheina has finally come in after fighting the flu and has started to build the bridge. This bridge brings our two sides of the cow together, creating a full picture.



Sheina, happy and working hard

There were times of tension due to the clash of ideas but we understood that everyone was trying to do what was best for the cow.

We have changed many parts of our cow, for example the sky which was patched up by our friend Natasha. If you looked at the before pictures and then at the after pictures of Blossom you would not even be able to recognise her!

As the due date of our cow is nearing, we try to make the best of every second. Our advisor Miss Mcloughlin has been working very hard behind and on the scenes, arranging time schedules and providing us we art equipment. Thank you Miss Mcloughlin!



Anna mixing paint



Lily and Nicky enjoying the painting







Nicky focused on paintin Blossom's ear

Back to School

We're back from school and pumped to continue painting our cow. Each friday lunch time, we meet at the art block. The painting is built up bit by bit and the cow is coming together nicely. Here's a glimpse of our work and process so far.

 

Let's Get Drawing

It’s the last day of the term and Ms Barry had kindly allowed us a day off from lessons to focus drawing and painting the cow. We had everything ready: colour pencils,  paint, paintbrushes, palettes, aprons and newspaper. But how and where to start? Thankfully, Ms McDougal suggested the idea to project our sketches onto the cow using a projector, and then tracing it with a colour pencil. It made life so much more easier! The drawings were done in no time. After that was the painting; our group was divided into two to work on each side of the cow. The left side is about the connection of rural and urban areas, with a free- flowing style of drawing, while the right side is about production of wool, expressed in cartoon. We had fun along the way, asking each other for advice and enjoying some snacks we brought to share.

Anna's sketch projected onto the cow

Drawing as a team



Lily and her sketch

Happy Caitlin, enjoying the moment



Starting with the base colour,yellow on the left and blue on the right



Lily's sketch projected onto the cow

Brainstorm

Its two weeks into our project and ideas are firing up. Our group members have come up with various different sketches delivering different themes. Some included rural barns and farms, while others presented fun facts and the manufacturing process of wool. Our teachers wished to incorporate and merge the designs together, not to waste any one of our concepts. Here are the sketches:

By Nicky and Christina

By Simone

By Lily 
This cow depicts the process of wool manufacturing:
1) Shaving
2) Scouring
3) Carding
4) Combing
5) Drawing
6) Spinning
7) Dyeing
8) Weaving/Knitting


The picture is in the form of a cartoon because it will help the public,especially kids to better understand the process. The bright colours and bold outlines will hopefully draw attention.

By Anna

My inspirations into designing the cow were simple yet effective. It had to have plenty of detail yet it had to be something everyone was capable of doing. The small and neat detail is carried out from the houses to the buildings as not one corner is not decorative. The use of a variety of colours makes it appealing to the eye and from different viewing points its attention to detail is evident. The overall design was a team effort and everyone got to have a say and input into the final design.


By Katelyn, (picture not available)
The inspiration for my sketch just came from anything really like everyday life and country life.  I thought of a way to bring the urban and rural together with the bridge as it brings the two more close together. Also in my design I  incorporated the process of making clothing and anything else that's  made out of wool. On the bridge would be the 3 ABC reporters who died in that tragic helicopter crash. Paul Lockyer was among the 3 men who died and was well known for bringing the urban and rural divide together and one of his coworkers said that "he was the one who brought the urban and rural together as one". I also had on the urban side billboards on buildings and the ones you see on the side of the road and on them I have written facts about the wool, sheep, and the rural life. I have really enjoyed doing this and I am glad to see that some of my ideas were used in the design of the cow for example the bridge was my idea of a way to bring the rural and urban divide together. So I thank you and everyone who has been involved in this for giving us this opportunity.

Meeting With Melissa

Today, Melissa Henry visited Crestwood High School. The Archibull team and some Agricultural students got the chance to meet the young wool farmer and ‘Young Farming Champion.’ Her visit and knowledge was precious to us, especially since our Archibull cow is based on the commodity of wool. As we were in our first stages of planning and designing the cow, her visit was a critical part of the process.

We gathered at our school library with Melissa and she briefly introduced herself. Her passion in agriculture began in Year 9 and followed after her two student exchange experiences to Quebec and Moholoholo.  Assisting with that, she studied a Bachelor of Animal Science (Hons) at the University of Western Sydney (Hawkesbury). She currently owns her own Corriedale Sheep stud and works with the Lachlan Catchment Management Authority. In addition, she judges sheep as a part of the Hawkesbury Show committee.

Melissa informed us about the history, careers and environmental impacts of the wool industry. In particular, we were amazed by the career options available including fashion and research. We got to handle fleece and other wool products, which was new and exciting for us.

Melissa’s visit was beneficial to the numerous agriculture and Archibull members. The wool she supplied us with will be very helpful with our cow. Melissa’s advice and knowledge will be helpful for the future stages of the cow.  

Unwrapping!

Ready… One, two, three, go! We rushed to the bubble wrap surrounded cow and started ripping and cutting it like it was our best ever Christmas present. And to be very honest, it felt even better! Excitement and anticipation grew when parts of the cow started appearing as we unravelled its wrapping. Finally, we saw its whole body- white with round eyes and a swirly pattern on its head. We patted it, examined it and took pictures with it. It was an amazing experience and already, we felt it was part of our family at Crestwood.

 Last picture before unwrapping the cow, feeling excited.

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Frantically pulling off the bubble wrap, even Ms McLoughlin had to join.

We finally saw the head and...

the body.

Cownap!

In September every year, all students and teachers expect a prank from the due- to- graduate year twelves. This year, it was no different.

On a peaceful and fair day, one of our group members just happened to walk pass our cow in the art block only to realise that the year twelves were trying to kidnap it! Thankfully, she and our Art teachers defended with all their might, saving our beloved cow.

Now, our cow is resting peacefully in a secret spot, where no one (except us) can find her. I'm sure you're all wondering where we put her, so leave a comment and tell us where you think it is.

First Meeting

It was our first meeting after the Archibull launch and Sheina, Lily and Katelyn had so much to tell. They talked about the prize- winning cow at the Archibull and the their conversation with Lynne. The teachers had prepared many materials for reference, including books, cartoons and even games! As we gathered around the table, everyone was already filled with suggestions of what we could do. We were each given a sketching paper to put forward our ideas and bring in our next meeting.




Visual Arts Head Teacher Ms  Barry shows Simone some interesting information and facts

All our resources, including computer games, books, pictures and cartoons

Our group members focused in reading the books

Group photo (left to right, top to bottom): Christina, Nicky, Anna, Katelyn, Simone, Lily, Marley

The Start of Our Journey

This Monday (29th) was the official launch of the Archibull Prize. Our three representatives (Katelyn, Lily and Sheina) went to the Woolworths head office in Bella Vista to attend the launch. We certainly felt the competition when we saw all the different school uniforms as we stepped into the lounge!

Our representatives and prize winner of last year's cows.

In the auditorium, the presenters gave us great insight on the importance of agriculture and the relationship between rural farming communities and urban areas. It was shocking to know that the entire Australia was fed by only 1% of its workforce, and that the media has altered the face of our hard- working farmers into laid back, careless men. We felt the urge to tell people about this.

At the end of the session, we had a chance to speak to Lynne Strong, co-owner/ operator of Clover Hill Dairies. Her passion for sustainable agriculture influenced us all. She raised the issue of increasing food demand and how we could reduce the population in Australia. It was indeed food for thought.



Taking notes as we spoke to Lynne.



The one and a half hour briefing filled us we great ideas and inspirations, we definitely had a heated conversation on the car back to school. There's still a lot to do, but we're confident and optimistic about our journey ahead.