The Year 5 students embarked on an inspiring journey through the “Epoch Echoes” project in partnership with the Perth Festival in 2024. Over the week, students engaged in enriching sessions, gaining insights into local fauna and flora and then bringing their artistic expressions to life by painting native animals and plants on a magnificent three-panel artwork. This stunning piece will soon grace the walls of the school’s undercover area, serving as a lasting testament to the students’ creativity and connection to the environment as they grow older. Below is a list of each student’s chosen animal or plant, alongside some of the student’s reflections on participating in this memorable event with our esteemed artist-in-residence, Angela Rossen.
Angela Rossen, an accomplished artist and biodiversity educator, brings a unique blend of artistry and scientific inquiry to her work. Reflecting on her approach, she shares: “As an artist and biodiversity educator, I am deeply involved in exploring nature through collaboration with scientists, which enriches my perspective. By weaving together art and science, I create engaging opportunities for children, their families, and communities to discover nature’s wonders. Through biodiversity workshops, field events, and festivals, I aim to foster curiosity, a deeper understanding, and a lasting appreciation for our natural world.”
Dear Forest Crescent Primary School Year 5 Teachers & Students,
Thanks to you and all the year five teachers again for making everything flow so smoothly with the Biodiversity Workshop. I am thrilled with the students’ beautiful individual artworks and with the collaborative painting.
Message from Angela Rossen
Your work with our Year 5 students is impressive, and we are very grateful to be part of this program and to have access to such fantastic learning opportunities.
Principal Mr Andrew Holmes
ARTWORK
(click on thumbnail to open, according to media permissions; some students have been pixelated)
The artwork is described as “Biodiversity of the Gosnells area painting was created by the year five students with Angela Rossen, Artist and Biodiversity Educator. This workshop formed part of the Epoch Echoes with the Perth Festival in 2024.”
FOREST CRESCENT PRIMARY SCHOOL 2024 EPOCH PROJECT WITH THE FESTIVAL OF PERTH
Angela Rossen, Artist and Biodiversity Educator Environmental Science Art Workshop with Year Five students
Room 14 – Miss Del Rosario (with students and their thoughts)
- Marley – Marbled Gecko – “I enjoyed it, and I was happy because Mrs Rossen liked my Marbled Gecko, but it was hard to draw with charcoal.“
- Gavin – White Striped Freetail Bat – “I thought it was good, being taught by an artist, that I got to draw something on the mural and that it is going to be in the school undercover area.“
- Eli – Tawney Frogmouth Owl – “I learnt how to paint using shading and blending to create an animal picture. It was fun because we also got to draw with charcoal.“
- Eryn – Nankeen Night Heron – “I thought the activity was enjoyable, and I put a lot of work into drawing and painting the animal.“
- Odette – Purple Moorhen
- Torah – Western Jewel Butterfly – “I liked the experience of being taught by an artist and being part of a soon-to-be famous painting in a couple of years.“
- Ezekiel – White Spot Spider – “It was so fun doing this painting with a really good artist, Mrs Rossen, and I can’t wait to see it when it is hung up.”
- Caitlyn – Paper Wasp – “It was fun, and I think I did very well.“
- Ryuichi – Praying Mantis – “I had fun doing the activity. I hope we can do something similar again one day.“
- RG – Bobtail lizard – “I had a lot of fun painting the Bobtail, and I liked being part of it.“
- Nyssa – Bossiaea Pea Flower – “I really liked learning how to draw with charcoal. It was so much fun!!“
- Jaxon – Magpie – “It was fun, and I liked it. The excursion was the best.“
- Quindan – Crake – “I had a blast on doing this! Drawing the animal was difficult, especially with charcoal, but they always say, ‘practice makes perfect”.“
- Nancy – Straw Necked Ibis – “I loved meeting a real artist and learning new techniques from her. Once in a lifetime experience.“
- Ryda – Ring Necked Parrot – “I learnt how to use a paintbrush properly.“
- Tina – Echidna – “I thought the activity was calming, and it was great to see what I was capable of doing.“
- Harper – Centipede – “It was really fun and I never thought I would be drawing with charcoal, but altogether I enjoyed it.“
- Olizma – Western Snake Neck Turtle – “The best experience was learning to draw with charcoal.“
- Harrison – Australian Shellduck – “I thought that the drawing and painting were difficult, so technical, but what I like about it is that it looks Bellissimo.“
- Alyssa – Tiger Snake – “I thought the activity was amazing and new for me in different ways, and I enjoyed it when we learned about the animals we were drawing.“
- Mangar – Dwarf Bearded Dragon – “I thought that my activity was fun because drawing is one of my hobbies. I learnt how to paint and sketch with charoal.“
- Paris – Welcome Swallow – “It was fun, and I learnt how to do many things like drawing with charcoal with light pressure and doing many things with a paintbrush.“
- Dirk – Lined Lerista Ctenotus – small lizard – “I think it was easy to draw with charcoal when it was over.“
- Rylee – Bandicoot – “The activity was so much fun, and the painting was so cool.“
- Emma – Monarch butterfly
- Hunter – Nankeen Kestrel – “I learnt how to draw lightly with charcoal and how to draw a Nankeen Kestrel that looks like a parrot, which looks cool. I loved drawing on the mural; Mrs. Rossen provided an amazing background. Thank you, Mrs Rossen.“
- Charlee – Ghost Mushroom – “I found it very interesting drawing a Ghost Mushroom and how difficult it was to draw charcoal, and I loved how I got the unique plant.“
- Henry – Sacred Kingfisher – “I am very proud that I got to be a part of this wonderful painting that all the Year 5 students contributed to.“
- Sebastian – Patersonia acidentalis (purple flower sedge-like leaves)
- Lydia – Running Postman (native ground creeper) – “It was super fun, and I would really like to do something like this again.“
Room 15 – Miss Bee
- Elyas – Soldier Fly – “It was challenging but very fun.“
- Isaac – Golden Orb Spider – “It was extremely fun, interesting and a bit hard.“
- Isabella – Australian Raven – “It was extremely fun. I drew an Australian Raven.“
- Jayden – Leaf Cutter Bee – “It was fun and exciting.“
- Ava – Christmas Spider – “I felt very artistic and felt very calm.“
- Phoebe – Silver eye (small bird with a white ring around the eye) – “It was great.“
- Spencer – Wood Duck – “It was so easy to draw with the brush and looked good.“
- Connor – Crab huntsman spider – “It was really fun painting animals that I haven’t heard of.“
- Annalea – White-fronted chat (small bird) – “It was very strict but exciting.“
- Benjamin – Jans banded snake – “It turned out to be very easy.“
- Tanish – Earwig – “It was really fun and great.“
- Muhammad – Grasshopper (green) – “It was fun, and I was happy doing it.“
- Malaika – Grey Fantail – “It was great, and I didn’t know that I was that good.“
- Alisha – Western Heath Dragon – “It was really fun, and I wish we could do this again.“
- Jake – Southern blind snake – “It was fun, and I drew a southern blind snake.“
- Jessica – Shingleback lizard – “I learnt a bit about painting, and it was fun.“
- Nate – Fan-tailed Cuckoo – “It was really good. I learned a lot and had fun.“
- Bryan – Quail – “It was fun and interesting.“
- Violet – Rakali (also known as water rat) – “It was interesting.“
- Jessica – Gastrolobium – “It was fun and interesting, but it was also very hard.“
- Chelsea – Varied Sittela (Small bird) – “I love painting the pictures- it was fun.“
- Skyla – Elegant Parrot – “It was really calming and I found out about animals that I didn’t know existed.“
- Cooper – Western Whistler – “It was really fun and I loved the painting.“
- Tyler – Magpie lark (also known as Mudlark) – “It was fun an I loved doing the art.“
- Lola – Crested Pigeon – “It was very unique and cute.“
- Aleirah – Grey Currawong – “It was fun, and I really liked it.“
- Tshogyal – Kunzang Lorikeet – “It was really fun and I did the kookaburra.“
- Jackson – Grey Butcher Bird – “It was really fun to do.“
- Kayden – Preying Mantis – “It was fun and interesting.“
- Zihang – Brown Falcon – “I enjoyed how easy it was to draw.“
Room 16 – Mr Nicholas
- Ava – Eurasian Coot – “I did a coot, and it was a bit hard but cute.“
- Grace – Eurasian Coot chick – “I did a chick, and it was very cute.“
- Maci – Pygmy possum – “It was a bit hard at first, but I think I did a good job.“
- Aiden – Bush Fly – “It was fun, and I think I did a good job.“
- Trae – Western Black-Naped Snake – “It was fun drawing my picture.“
- Aaron – Shining Bronze-Cuckoo – “The Shining Bronze cuckoo is one of the smallest birds.”
- Seeret – Quokka – “One place where quokkas live is Rottnest Island.“
- Arianna – Female Jumping Spider – “It was a bit hard, but then I got better at painting on the canvas.“
- Liam – Redback Spider – “I think the redback looks really good, and I feel good about myself.“
- Corey – Turtle Frog – “I think drawing a turtle frog was interesting.“
- Harper – Pink Fairy Orchid – “It was exciting and inspiring, and I loved it so much!“
- Chelsea – Trapdoor Spider – “I painted a spider, and it was fun.“
- Aubrey – Conystalis – (Yellow flower with grey leaves) – “It was so amazing to paint the picture.“
- Chelsea – Chequered Swallowtail Butterfly – “It was fun to paint a wildlife picture.“
- Mandakath – Emmanuel Leller Long-Eared Bat – “I felt like I was in nature.“
- Milana – Flax Lily – “I felt the beauty when I was enjoying the wildlife and nature.“
- Paras – Grey Shrike Thrush – “My bird lives in an area near us.“
- Marlowe – Kookaburra – “It was fun learning to draw well.“
- Aaliyah – Red-Tailed Cockatoo – “It was interesting learning about the animal I drew.“
- Emily – Splendid Wren – “It made me feel really proud, and it was really fun.“
- Jeremiah – Western Wattle Bird
- Jesse – Striated Pardalote and Willie Wagtail on a nest – “It was fun and inspiring, and I would love to do it again.“
- Haider – Native Blue Banded Bee – “It was a very new experience, and I loved it!”.“
- Josh – Mistletoe Bird – “It was a fun painting to do.“
- Nicholas – Magpie – “I really loved painting a magpie. It looks great.“
- Kaia – Barn Owl – “It was a lot of fun learning how to paint.“
- Ashton – Western Spine Bill (small bird): “It was so fun and immersive with nature. It looks cool.“
- Giarna – Pink and Grey Galah – “It was really fun, and I enjoyed it.“
- Ella -White-Cheeked Honeyeater – “I loved learning about the White-Cheeked Honeyeater.“
- Uzna – Possum – “I loved painting, and I painted the possum. It was amazing.“
- Layla – Boobook Owl – “It was such an amazing experience. I absolutely loved it.“
