Grade 0 Teacher Rosa Adonis’s Master Class – Summerhill Nursery School
Written by Mrs Toet
“When I was about the age of my students my dad taught me how to paint the masters. I was a very shy, quiet child who lacked confidence, and through practise, I learnt to paint but more importantly, to express my emotions. I show my students that all the masters were different and painted with such incredible emotion; it’s beautiful to be different and you can be heard through your art too!” explained Rosa.
The lesson starts by deconstructing the painting. The children remove all the paint in their mind’s eye and see what skeletal framework makes up the piece. They draw the landscape or main areas in pencil. Rosa then guides them in the many ways this framework can be interpreted by them emotionally and creatively. From the mountains to the houses, the sky and even the stars.
Watercolours blend beautifully and this intrigues the children as they spend hours watching the 
colours blending. Movement, contrast, textures and fine motor skills are explored and developed as they paint layer after layer onto their creations.
“The beauty in exploring the masters is all of these artists are very different from your average painter. They are all weird and have these interesting stories and I think kids can relate to this
because I don’t think they always feel like they fit in. I like to give them an opportunity to be heard through another medium.”
Grade 0 Teacher Rosa Adonis’s Master Class – Summerhill Nursery School
