A creative working environment focusing on the development of observation skills. Our programme for children between the ages of 4 and 10 is designed to instill confidence, foster a passion for the Arts and to help them learn artistic values. The teaching method adopted for the little ones encourages freedom of expression and material handling which in turn helps develop their motor skills and cognitive abilities. We understand the psyche of the child and focus on making every student a confident and happy individual with a stress-free, comfortable atmosphere.

Encouraging a young mind to think freely and use an open mind, visualizing eyes and enthralling imagination with lots of material given at Art School makes our kids different.

Thalawathugoda Classes:

Age Group: 4 - 12 years
Time: 10.30 a.m. - 12.30 p.m.
Venue: 137/6, kalalgoda Road, Thalawathugoda.

This class is for any young person who may have hidden artistic talents, who may be overwhelmed with stress from day-to-day life and seeks a hobby that can give hours of pleasure as a stress reliever. Apart from Drawing, General Sketching, Painting, Clay Sculpture and Unicycling, we additionally conduct Craft projects and experiments that help the learning process.

At this age, an adolescent goes through a great deal of change and physical and emotional imbalance as is the norm in the growth process of a young person. This may result in a loss of self-confidence as well as reduced self-esteem which is dealt with by turning to Art and Design. Art is therapeutic and has tremendous healing powers that deals with the emotional turmoil inside one’s head and improves one’s mental well-being. It is to support this change that the Art School has tailor-made courses designed to help young people bring out their positive energy into the world through creative activity thereby gaining self-assurance, motivation and expanding their creative mindset which is needed to move further on in life amidst a competitive world.

In this age group, creativity together with demonstrative teaching develops the skills needed to pursue a career in Architecture, Fashion, Interior or Graphic Designing, Motion, Digital Arts, Film or Theatre. The Art of Animation and Game Design too requires the basics of Art and Design without which higher studies cannot be pursued. Here at the Art School, guidance and practice for career development is offered so that one steps out into the world with a well-rounded and balanced set of skills and a personal drive to achieve. This encourages young people to enjoy pursuing their passion while at the same time, developing their talents and skills.

The Classes:

At the Shyamala School of Art – Colombo 5, Weekday Classes will be held from 5.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday while Weekend Classes will be for 2 hours on Saturday, the time slot of which can be adjusted according to the student’s needs.

There is a great deal of skill that is not taught in schools though the students have the capability and the capacity to do great things in Art. The syllabus for Ordinary Level Art will be taught over the duration of 2 years and covers Local and European as well as Indian Art History. These topics are taught at a simpler level for the Ordinary Level Examination while the syllabus for the Advanced Level Examination covers these topics more critically and in depth. A fantastic way to learn about one’s own country and its Art History as well as what happens around us is taught through this syllabus. It also becomes a stepping stone towards Advanced Level Art, should your child later wish to pursue degrees in any of our local universities.

If a student is passionate about doing Architecture or any Design-based course, Art is a very integral part of your subject selections. Similar to Ordinary Level Art, there will be 3 practical papers on the following areas:

1. Still Life sketch and painting.
2. Student will select from composition or design.
3. History of Sri Lanka, Europe, India and mix of our crafts and art plus theory.

The Classes:

Exam Classes will be held 3 days a week. At the Shyamala School of Art – Colombo 5, Weekday Classes will be conducted on Monday and from Wednesday to Friday from 3.30 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. while on Saturday, the classes will be from 9.30 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. and from 11.30a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

IGCSE Art and Design

The ideal age to start grooming a student who is talented and has great dreams and visions is when they’re around 12 or 13 years of age. At this age, all young people begin to feel the pressures of performing, in addition to those related to adolescence and growing up. This exam, which students sit for from school if they are taught Art and Design, takes 2 years to prepare for and practice makes perfect. The syllabus will change once in a while and students need to be updated with the latest. The first component is an independent topic selected by the student and brainstormed with the teacher. The student will collect the needed resources first-hand, based on this topic, and start sketching and drawing. The student’s own ideas will be integrated into the work and this will make up the student’s first preparatory board which will be on A2 watercolour paper. The next board will create the topic’s mood and feel, delving deeper into the subject matter using an array of appropriate mediums and materials. On the 3rd preparatory board, the student will create the atmosphere needed for the final work which should be done on an A2 watercolour paper. The final preparatory sheet will display the developmental details of the final piece, laying out the student’s thought process and the planning undertaken to work towards the end-result. This unit needs to be completed by January of the same year that the student sits for this exam. Art and Design has only one sitting and that is in May. This is a 10 hour paper which will be regulated by exam conditions.

As an approved centre for Art and Design, Shyamala School of Art offers a student a choice of two routes to sit for their examinations. One, the student can sit for the exam from their school and the Art school can aid the process. Two, the student can be coached and registered for the exam here from the Art school as a private candidate. Such an exam can be taken one year prior to the year in which the student will be sitting for the rest of their subjects as well, to avoid stress and time-management nightmares.

GCE Art and Design

A student who has already done London GCSE Art and Design as a subject will find this syllabus much easier to follow. Here we have 2 components. Component 1 is internally set and moderated and externally marked. This component is a self-driven topic which the teacher will guide the student through. Research, first-hand resource collection and critical analysis through visual mediums are all part of this unit.

Students maintain a sketch book with analytical skills and developmental skills. Such work is then transformed and creative outcomes are experimented and the process to a very powerful visual language is created. This unit also has a personal study. It is a 1000 word easy with illustrations and first hand resources. Students maintain a sketch book, further building up their analytical and developmental skills. Such work is then transformed, creative outcomes are experimented with and a very powerful visual language is developed. This unit also has a personal study. It is a 1000 word essay coupled with illustrations and the first-hand collection of resources. Such a study will help the examiner understand the student’s competence in written communication skills as well as visual skills.

The course work will be attached to large boards. Creative work will be done on these pages, such as digitally modified and photo-shopped edits of your photographs, sketches or paintings. All 3D work and installation work can be photographed during their developmental stages and attached to the boards together with the final work. 2D or 3D paintings and craftwork, transformed from sketches done on the sketchbook, could also be attached. Appropriate materials will be used and photographs of resources collected first-hand documented. This unit must end with a final piece done on an A2 watercolour board. All annotations on the sketch book and course work must be done artistically.

Component 2 is in the form of an exam paper set externally, marked internally and moderated externally. The paper arrives on the 1st of February every year and the student will sit for this in May. The sketch book and course work follow the same pattern as Component 1 and the student will create their final piece under exam conditions for 15 hours. At the close of the exam, the student will hand in both, Components 1 and 2, as well as the exam work.