This resource shares how to create patterned papers which can be transformed into 2d and 3d fashion designs. Choose the 2d method if you can’t source 3d mannequins, time is short or children are less experienced.

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Pathway: Fashion Design

This is featured in the ‘Fashion Design’ pathway

Talking Points: Hormazd Narielwalla

Talking Points: Tatyana Antoun

Talking Points: Alice Fox

Talking Points: Pyer Moss

Talking Points: Rahul Mishra

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Pathway: Cloth, thread, paint

This is featured in the ‘Cloth, Thread, Paint’ pathway

Talking Points: Frank Bowling

Talking Points: Hannah Rae

Talking Points: Alice Kettle

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Pathway: Stick Transformation project

This is featured in the ‘Stick Transformation Project’ pathway

Talking Points: treehouses

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Pathway: Mixed Media Land and city scapes

This is featured in the ‘Mixed Media Land and City Scapes’ pathway

Talking Points: Vanessa Gardiner

Talking Points: The Shoreditch Sketcher

Talking Points: Kittie Jones

Pathway for Years 1 & 2

Disciplines:
Painting (Watercolour)

Key Concepts:

• That watercolour paint has special characteristics.

• That we can use the elements of surprise and accident to help us create art.

• That we can develop our painting by reflecting upon what we see, and adding new lines and shapes to help develop imagery. 

In this pathway children are introduced to watercolour. Through an open and exploratory approach, children not only discover what watercolour can do, how it acts and how they can “control” it, but also how the watercolour itself can help reveal the “story” of the painting. 

Themes:
Exploration, Discovery

Medium:
Watercolour

Artists: Paul Klee, Emma Burleigh

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Please find the CPD session recording of the Exploring Watercolour pathway here.

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

Geography: Adapt by choosing colour palettes which link with topics, e.g. blues/greens, for an exploration of imagery which evokes oceans. (The emphasis should remain on exploration of material, so any theme link should be applied lightly).

Maths: Explore identifying 2d shapes.

Music: Explore the connection between art & music and being in a mindful space.

I Can…

• I can explore watercolour and understand the different effects I can achieve.

• I can work without an end goal in mind – letting the paint lead me.

• I have had the opportunity to see the work of other artists who use watercolour and share my thoughts about their work.

• I can name and use primary colours and begin to understand how colours mix to make secondary colours.

• I can understand that we all see different things in the artwork we make. We all have a different response. 

• I can think about the marks I make and develop them further.

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Sketchbooks, A3 cartridge paper, watercolour paints, paint brushes, coloured pencils.

Pathway: Exploring Watercolour

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  This pathway aims to enable children to enjoy a freeing exploration of watercolour, building their understanding of the properties of the medium, and opening minds as to how imagery can be created. 

• Week 1: Exploring Watercolour
  

  Hands-On Exploration: What Can Watercolour Do?

  

  Working on sheets of paper or in sketchbooks, start with an exploration of what watercolour can do. Give children the opportunity to discover for themselves the way watercolour acts, and to decide what they like about it as a medium. 

  Take the opportunity to remind children about the names of colours, and to highlight primary colours, BUT let them explore all colours – they will start to understand colour mixing through casual experience and accident. 

  In the first instance the children aren’t drawing anything, instead they are just mark making with watercolour on paper. The journey is as important as the outcome.

  To aid your exploration take a look at the following resources:

  • Let Me Inspire You: Emma Burleigh

  • Exploring Through Watercolour

  The two videos above are made for slightly older children. Watch as a teacher to build your skill, and decide if you want to show any sections directly to your pupils. 

  • Teachers Introduction to Watercolour

  • Practising Watercolour Skills

• Week 2: Look & Talk
  

  Explore the Work of Paul Klee & Emma Burleigh

  

  Explore our free to access “Talking Points: Paul Klee” resource, and see the work of Emma Burleigh (who made the videos above). Talk as a class about your shared and individual responses to the work.

  Use the “Making Visual Notes” resource to encourage children to fill a couple of sketchbook pages with their personal responses to the artworks.

• Week 3: Developing Skills
  

  Building Imagery Through Watercolour

  

  Working on larger sheets of cartridge paper, children will continue to explore the kinds of marks that can be made with watercolour and the various techniques that can be used, this time working towards developing imagery from the imagination.

  Watch Emma’s video with the pupils, as she talks you through the process of the task. 

• Week 4 & 5: Continue Painting Development
  

  Working with Momentum and Focus

  

  Depending upon your pupils, develop the work and skills in the following ways:

  • If pupils need more time, allow them more time to work on the paintings they did in the previous week. 

  • If pupils have “finished”, invite them to make another painting using the same exploratory method, this time perhaps choosing different colours as a starting point.

  • Consider playing music in the classroom as the children paint. How does it change the energy levels and mood of the work?

  • If you are connecting this pathway to a curriculum theme, such as Continents, Oceans, Maps, Weather, Cities, Villages, Plants, Animals etc, then you may want to introduce the idea that children can explore these themes through watercolour painting BUT keep the exploration loose and open: don’t try to resist their exploration of the medium by controlling a desired “recognisable” end result. 

  • If you have some pupils who might like to push it further, watch “Part Three” from Emma Burleigh in which she works into dry watercolours with pen, pencils, crayons etc to build the image further. 

• Week 6
  

  Share, reflect, discuss

  

  Time to see the work which has been made, talk about intention and outcome.

  Invite children to display the work in a clear space, and walk around the work as if they are in a gallery. Give the work the respect it deserves. Remind the children of their hardwork.

  If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams. 

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit” to finish the project. 

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drawing fish with pen, pencil and watercolour

Explore drawing and painting materials

globe paintings

Let the paint decide what it wants to do

Text and images to help you explore the idea of Chiaroscuro (light and dark) in art.

Please note that this page contains links to external websites and has videos from external websites embedded. At the time of creating, AccessArt checked all links to ensure content is appropriate for teachers to access. However external websites and videos are updated and that is beyond our control. 

Please let us know if you find a 404 link, or if you feel content is no longer appropriate. 

We strongly recommend as part of good teaching practice that teachers watch all videos and visit all websites before sharing with a class. On occasion there may be elements of a video you would prefer not to show to your class and it is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure content is appropriate. Many thanks. 

*If you are having issues viewing videos it may be due to your schools firewall or your cookie selection. Please check with your IT department.*

This resource is free to access and is not a part of AccessArt membership.

What is Chiaroscuro?

Chiaroscuro is an Italian term which literally means ‘light-dark’. Artists have used it for centuries to help them describe form, and to create atmosphere or mood. 

To appreciate that the artist is using the chiaroscuro technique, squint at the artwork. Half close your eyes and notice how you can now see the light and the dark, but not the mid tones. You can also use this technique to help you see light and dark when looking at a still life, landscape or interior which you are about to draw.

Find more information on Google Arts and Culture. 

Leonardo da Vinci‘s Saint John the Baptist (1513-1516)

Art UK: The Superpower of Looking explores Joseph Wright of Derby’s An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump

Strange Flower (Little Sister of the Poor) (1880) by Odilon Redon. Original from the Art Institute of Chicago

Moonlight, Strandgade 30, 1900–1906 Vilhelm Hammershøi 

A Good Pool, Saguenay River (1895) by Winslow Homer. Original from The Clark Art Institute.

Questions to Ask Children

How does emphasising the light and the dark help create mood and atmosphere? 

Can you always tell in which direction the light source is?

Has the artist actually used “black” and “white” or are the light and dark areas different tones of “grey”?

Using Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro replies on you being able to create tonal values on a page which have enough difference between them. For example, you need to be able to create a “dark dark” and a “light light”. 

Depending on the medium you are using, there are different ways of achieving this. For example if you are using graphite (pencil) then you might create dark darks by cross hatching, repeat shading, intense pressure etc etc, and you might create light lights by using the pencil very softly – or even leaving the light of the paper to shine through. If you are using ink, you might like to use your ink undiluted for the dark darks, and diluted for the light lights. 

Take a look at these resources to help you explore Chiaroscuro.

See Three Shapes

Drawing by Torch Light

Graphic Sketches

Drawing Flames

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Gestural Drawing with charcoal

This is featured in the ‘Gestural Drawing with Charcoal’ pathway

ADDITIONAL PATHWAY: AN EXPLORATION OF COAL MINING, INSPIRED BY HENRY MOORE

This is featured in the ‘An Exploration of Coal Mining, Inspired by Henry Moore’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

Pathway for Years 3 & 4

Disciplines: Drawing, Sketchbooks

Key Concepts:

• That when we draw we can use gestural marks to make work.

• That when we draw we can use the expressive marks we make to create a sense of drama.

• That when we draw we can move around.

• That when we draw we can use light to make our subject matter more dramatic, and we can use the qualities of the material (charcoal) to capture the drama.

In this pathway, children discover how to make drawings that capture a sense of drama or performance using charcoal.

Children are freed from the constraints of creating representational drawings based on observation – instead they use the qualities of the medium to work in dynamic ways. Linking drawing to the whole body helps children see drawing as a physical activity, whilst a sense of narrative feeds the imagination. 

This pathway will take approximately half a term, based upon a weekly art lesson. 

Theme:
Cave art, Movement, Human Body, Relationship of Body to Place

Medium:
Charcoal, Paper, Body

Artists: 
Heather Hansen, Laura McKendry, Edgar Degas

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Find the Zoom CPD session introducing this pathway here.

Find a Zoom CPD exploring the properties of Charcoal here.

Before you begin, explore some simple tips for improving outcomes from this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

Music & Drama: Listen to music to influence marks and movement while children do the “Dancing with Charcoal”.

I Can…

• I have seen how artists use charcoal in their work. I have been able to talk about the marks produced, and how I feel about their work.

• I have experimented with the types of marks I can make with charcoal, using my hands as well as the charcoal.

• I can work on larger sheets of paper, and I can make loose, gestural sketches using my body.

• I can understand what Chiaroscuro is and how I can use it in my work.

• I can use light and dark tonal values in my work, to create a sense of drama. 

• I have used my body as a drawing tool to make drawings inspired by movement, and seen how other artists do the same.

• I have taken photographs of my work, thinking about focus, lighting, and composition.

• I have shared my work with my classmates and talked about what I felt was successful and what I might like to try again. I can voice what I like about my classmates work and how it makes me feel. 

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Watch Artist  Lancelot Richardson to find out about the different types of charcoal and how you can use them in the “Introduction to Charcoal” resource.

Use hairspray as a “fixative” for the chalk drawings. Spray outside or in a well ventilated room.

Materials

A2 sugar paper, A4 paper for ‘pallets’, willow charcoal, erasers, hairspray (for fixing), white chalk.

Project 1: Drawing by torchlight – Torches, small toys/objects, charcoal, white chalk, buff sugar paper.

Project 2: Small cardboard boxes, charcoal, A2 sugar paper, scrap card/modelling materials, small toys/objects, tape, drawing materials as above.

Project 3: Charcoal Cave – Medium/large cardboard box, newsprint, charcoal (ideally both willow and compressed) rags, small toys or dollhouse furniture.

Project 1: Charcoal and Dance – A2 or A1 paper/wall paper, charcoal.

Pathway: Gestural Drawing with Charcoal

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  This pathway aims to introduce children to the idea of making gestural drawing, exploring charcoal as a medium. How can we use our bodies to inform how we make marks?

• Week 1: Explore Charcoal
  

  Introduction to Charcoal

  The pathway begins with an an introduction to charcoal as a drawing medium.

• Introduce an Artist
  

  Introduction to Laura McKendry

  

  Introduce children to the work of Laura McKendry who uses charcoal to make large gestural drawings of dogs, using the free to access “Talking Points: Laura McKendry” resource.  Use the questions on the resource to help guide a class conversation. 

• Introduce an Artist
  

  Introduction to Edgar Degas

  

  Contrast the work of Laura (above) with the charcoal drawings of Degas using the free to access “Talking Points: Charcoal Drawings by Edgar Degas” resource.

  Use the questions on the resource to help guide conversation.

• Week 2: Explore Charcoal
  

  Exploring Charcoal

  For Weeks 2 and 3, invite children to draw on large sheets of sugar paper and fix the work using fixative or hairspray. 

  

  Next, children will begin to explore charcoal for themselves. Use the “Discovering Charcoal Warm-Up Exercise” resource to support their exploration. 

  Think about how they can experiment with mark making to create line, shape and tone. Explore the “Talking Points: What is Chiaroscuro” resource to  get pupils to think about light and dark. 

• Push Further
  

  Drawing Large

  

  You may like to watch the “Drawing Large” resource video to understand how your drawings can become very gestural. If you use this resource think about how children can use charcoal to make big loose marks, and use rocks or fossils as their subject matter. 

• Week 3: Personalise the Journey
  

  Drawing Like a Cave Person

  

  Remind children of the beginnings of drawing with “Talking Points: Cave Art“, and inspire simple mark making, through the medium of charcoal and handprint art.

  Be inspired by historic and contemporary images of cave art. Use the “Drawing Like a Caveman” resource to encourage children to explore how they can use charcoal and hands to explore mark making further. 

• Week 4 & 5: Find your Focus
  

  Choose a Project

  Choose one of the projects below, depending on how you want to link to other curriculum areas, experience, space and preferred approach. 

• Option 1
  

  Charcoal & Drama

  Explore how students can use charcoal to explore narrative and creating a sense of drama. Remind them of ‘chiaroscuro’ to deepen their exploration.

  Explore the following resources. You may choose to follow one resource, or combine more than one:

  

  “Drawing by Torchlight” resource…

  and/or

  

  “Set Design with Primary Aged Children” resource… 

  and/or

  

  “Charcoal Cave” resource.

• 
  

  Or…

• Option 2
  

  Charcoal & Dance

  Pupils will explore how they can use charcoal and gestural movements made by the body to explore charcoal, dance and performance. 

  

  Introduce the work of Heather Hansen using the free to access “Talking Points: Heather Hansen” resource. 

  

  Follow with the free to access “Talking Points: Dancing with Charcoal” resource.

  If you feel the children need a warm-up, find out how dance can be used as a response to art with the “Talking Points: Dancing to Art“

  Consider how you can enable the children to respond creatively in the space you have.

  You may want to run the project in the hall or large space, using cheap wallpaper lining paper taped together as your drawing surface. 

  If you don’t have space for the above, notice how in the last video on the Heather Hansen resource, the schools work on smaller sheets of paper in pairs or groups using hands and arms rather than whole body. 

  Whichever you choose, think about using digital media to record the event, or performing to an audience. Think about recording sound and using light to make it a multimedia performance.

• Week 6: Present and Review
  

  Share, Reflect & Celebrate

  

  Children can make a “Backwards Sketchbook” using the drawings made on loose sheets of paper. 

  Invite children to present all work in a clear space and take the opportunity to visit the work made like a mini gallery. Use the “Crits in the Classroom” resource. 

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Share photos of work made by tagging us on social media

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what is drawing?

Find out more about what drawing is & can be

Sketchbook Exercise: Drawing Brushes with Charcoal

Experiment with charcoal to create drawings of paintbrushes

Dressing Up As Fossils

Explore mark making on fabric

Balancing observational and experimental drawing

Balance observational drawing skills with more experimental, explorative drawing

movement map

Translate lines, marks & pattern into movement

the AccessArt Drawing Journey for children: pedagogy and understanding

Plan a dynamic and rewarding creative education in drawing for ALL children

charcoal as a medium

Explore all charcoal resources on AccessArt

warm up exercises

Find a range of warm up activities to start your session with

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Pathway: Making Monotypes

This is featured in the ‘Making Monotypes’ pathway

Talking points: What is a monotype?

Talking Points: Kevork Mourad

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Pathway: Simple Printmaking

Featured in the ‘Simple Printmaking’ pathway

Pathway for Years 3 & 4

Disciplines: Drawing, Collage, Design

Key Concepts:

• That the act of making drawings can be mindful.

• That we can use line, shape and colour to create patterns.

• That we can use folding, cutting and collage to help us create pattern.

• That we can create repeated patterns to apply to a range of products or outcomes.

In this pathway, children have the opportunity to explore pattern and develop a range of technical skills and knowledge through drawing and collage.

The pathway also introduces them to the idea that working with pattern can be a mindful activity, and that as humans we respond to patterns made by other people.

This pathway will take approximately half a term, based upon a weekly art lesson. 

Medium:
Paper, Pens, Paint

Artists: 
Rachel Parker, Shaheen Ahmed, Andy Gilmore, Louise Despont

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

History: Focus on patterns from your chosen ancient civilisation.

Maths: Measuring, symmetry, tessellation/repeated patterns, orientation.

Science: Look at patterns in the structure of fruits or plants, reflections and shadows.

Music: Use music and sound when doing mindful drawing as part of this pathway.

I Can…

• I can relax into making a sensory drawing using a pencil, making marks on the page without having a predefined outcome. 

• I have explored the work of an artist who creates artwork inspired by pattern. I have thought about where we use pattern in our life to make our worlds brighter.

• I can work in my sketchbooks to explore how I can make drawings inspired by “rules.” I can generate lots of different types of patterns.

• I can make a tessellated design and think about colour and shape, exploring positive and negative shapes.

or

• I can explore the work of a surface pattern designer and make my own repeating pattern, exploring colour, shape and composition. 

or

• I can fold paper and use pattern to make an object which other people can respond to.

• I can present and share my work. I can reflect and share my thoughts with others. I can listen to the reflections of my classmates and feedback on their work. 

• I can take photographs of my work.

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft B pencils, handwriting pen, A2 cartridge paper, rulers, tape, string, coloured paper & card.

Option 1: Making Tessellated Designs – Thin cardboard or stiff paper, pencils, handwriting pens, felt tip pens, scissors, masking tape.

Option 2: Creating Repeated Patterns – Collage papers, A3 cartridge paper, ruler, masking tape, PVA glue, scissors, scanner for digital rendering (optional).

Option 3: Puzzle Purse – 21X21cm squares of card, soft pencils, handwriting pens, felt tip pens, ruler.

Pathway: Exploring Pattern

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  This pathway aims to enable a mindful approach to working with pattern. Pupils explore how artists and designers use pattern in their own work, and then go on to explore ways in which they can create pattern in a playful way. 

• Week 1: Slow Down & Tune In
  

  Making a Sensory Drawing

  

  The aim of the first session is to enable children to quieten and slow down into the process.

  Use the “Making a Sensory Drawing” resource as a warm-up, enabling children to make sensory patterns without a theme or subject focus. The emphasis should be on the process not outcome. 

  The repetitive nature of the exercise will allow the children to not worry about outcome, but will encourage them to make decisions as they go along. Use needles and sharp pencils with a variation of width to create a rhythmic piece.

  Work on thicker paper (cartridge or sugar paper is ideal). Work on sheets small enough to be stuck into sketchbooks at a later point. 

  Spend half an hour on this.

• Look and Talk…
  

  Shaheen Ahmed

  

  Explore the free to access “Talking Points: Shaheen Ahmed” resource to discover an artist who explores patterns, signs and motifs that hold significance to her identity. Use the questions at the bottom of the resource to help guide your class conversation.

• Week 2: Inventing & Exploring
  

  Rules and Resolutions

  

  Use the “Rules and Resolutions” resource to enable children to explore the idea that they can devise their own process criteria to help them make drawings. 

  Work in sketchbooks and encourage children to collaborate and discuss aims and outcomes. 

• Week 3, 4 & 5: Find your focus
  

  Explore Tessellations, Surface Pattern or Puzzle Purses

  For the next three weeks work on one of the projects below. Intersperse the projects by looking at the work of the artists below to help inspire your journey. 

• Option One
  

  Making a Tessellated Design

  

  Explore working in colour and making patterns which fit together over and over again by using the “Making Tessellated Designs” resource. 

  This activity links really well with maths. Begin by asking them to invent a shape. Push them further by asking them to look at an object and try to create a shape inspired by it.

  Use the project to explore colour. What happens when they make a tessellated design using complimentary colours? How many colours do they need? How does the design change if they use cold colours, or warm colours? 

  Use sketchbooks to test colours and refine tessellation design, and then make final outcomes on larger sheets of cartridge or sugar paper. 

• Explore an Artist
  

  Explore Andy Gilmore

  

  Use the free to access “Talking Points: Andy Gilmore” resource to explore the work of an artist inspired by repeated shape and pattern. See where Andy finds inspiration. Remember, pupils are not aiming to reproduce Andy’s work – just introduce the artist to the children and build their creative thinking, visual literacy and oracy skills through conversation. 

• 
  

  Or…

• Option Two
  

  Explore Surface Design with Rachel Parker

  

  Explore the work of surface pattern designer Rachel Parker.

• 
  

  Make A Repeat Pattern

  

  Use the “Creating Repeated Patterns” resource to enable pupils to think about colours and shapes, and the relationship between these components to create an overall balanced pattern. Using collage allows them to make these creative decisions as they work.

  Get children to think about where they find patterns, what are they used for? Make it known that children can grow up to make patterns for a living if they enjoy the process.

  Have their sketchbook open and ask them to make notes about their decision making, with swatches and thoughts as they go along.

  For the second part of this session children will get the opportunity to scan their pattern into the computer and create a repeat pattern using a Word Document or an equivalent editing software.  

• 
  

  Or…

• Option 3
  

  Making a Puzzle Purse

  

  Use the “Making a Puzzle Purse Part One” resource to show children how to make an origami puzzle purse.

• Explore an Artist
  

  Louise Despont

  

  Explore the work of an artist who makes meditative drawings through pattern with the free to access “Talking Points: Louise Despont“. Use the conversation to highlight to children how the act and outcome of drawing can help with feeling calm and in the moment. 

• 
  

  Making a Puzzle Purse Part Two

  

  Adapt the “Making a Puzzle Purse Part Two” resource, focusing on pattern rather than narrative. Explore colour, line, and shape to create patterns within the puzzle purse. Use the folded geometric structure to help inspire pattern making. 

• Week 6: Reflect & Discuss
  

  Present, Talk, Share and Celebrate

  

  End the pathway by taking time to appreciate the developmental stages and the final outcomes in a clear space.

  Invite children to display the work in a way that best suits the project, have open sketchbooks. Use the “Crit in the Classroom” resource to help you. 

  Have children use tablets or cameras to take photographs of the work. 

  Encourage children to reflect upon all stages of the journey, and reference the artists studied. 

See This Pathway Used in Schools…

If You Use AccessArt Resources…
You might like to…

Join our Facebook Group

Join the AccessArt Network group on Facebook and ask questions of others using our resources

Share and Tag

Share photos of work made by tagging us on social media

You May Also Like…

Making Ruler Drawings

Use a straight edge to explore how you can find freedom by applying simple rules to your drawing

Explore Paper weaving

Explore different methods for paper weaving

Making Stronger Drawings

If children in your class struggle with making confident drawings try this warm-up/intervention exercise

Pattern and Collage

More tips and ideas in this whole school project

Pathway for Years 1 & 2

Disciplines:
Printmaking (Mono Print), Drawing, Collage

Key Concepts:

• When we make mono prints we use mark making to create one off prints.

• When we make mono prints we create an impression of a drawing.

• That we can generate playful narratives and inventions through drawing.

• That we understand that using a range of marks will generate different effects when creating mono prints.

• That we can create creative responses to different stimuli and make the work our own.

Building on the exploration of drawing in Autumn term 1, this pathway starts with two explorations of drawing – one drawing from photographs or film, and two drawing from small, closely observed objects.

In both sessions pupils develop drawing and mark making skills.

Children are then introduced to mono print. They explore the work of an artist who uses mono print in his own work, and are introduced to a simple mono print technique.

Classes then have a choice of projects to develop mono printing and drawing skills, depending upon their preferred area of subject focus.

This pathways encourages children to take creative risks and use drawing as a way to playfully invent and create narratives.

Themes: Natural and Manmade Forms, Invention, Narrative

Medium: Graphite pencils, Oil Pastels, Carbon Paper 

Artists: Xgaoc’o X’are, Leonardo Di Vinci

This pathway will take approximately half a term, based upon a weekly art lesson.

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

See the recording of the hour long zoom CPD to introduce teachers to this pathway.

Curriculum Links

English: Link to English by asking children to draw upon their own experience for narratives.

Geography: Adapt to explore habitats, continents. 

Maths: Use language to develop understanding of symmetry (peeling back monoprints). 

Science: Animals, trees, materials. 

PSHE: Peer discussion. Collaboration.

Be aware that you leave the making open enough for the children to explore fully and freely (not constrained by working too closely to a theme).

I Can…

• I can make drawings using photos from films as my source material.

• I can look closely guided by my teachers voice, and work in my sketchbook or on paper to make drawings using soft pencil or handwriting pen. 

• I can look closely at small objects close to me and make drawings with soft pencil or handwriting pen at the same scale or size. 

• I can think carefully about which marks I will include in my drawing.

• I can share my sketchbook work with the class and talk about what I like about my work. I can listen to others talking about their work, and sometimes I can add my thoughts. 

• I have seen what a mono print is and have explored the work of an artist who uses mono print. I can share my thoughts on the artists work. 

• I can use carbon paper to make mono prints.  I can experiment with the kinds of marks I make, and think about how they help make my drawings interesting.

• I can base my drawings upon careful observational looking. I can slow down my looking and mark making and work for 5 to 15 minutes on a drawing. 

• I can explore a theme and make mono prints using my imagination to make my drawings personal.

• I can share my work and talk about what I like, and what I would like to try again.

• I can enjoy looking at the work of my classmates and sometimes I can share my thoughts about their work. 

• I have understood that through art, I can invent and discover.

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft pencils, oil pastels/wax crayons, handwriting pens, carbon paper, A3 cartridge paper, tracing paper.

Pathway: Exploring the World through Mono Print

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  This pathway aims to encourage children to explore the world around them through monoprint. How can we use line, mark, shape and colour to make imagery informed by our own perception of the world?

• Week 1: Explore
  

  Draw from Stills & Film

  

  Children will spend the first week making drawings in their sketchbooks. Use the free to access “Drawing Source Material: Natural World” resource to inspire their drawings.

  Use the “Show Me What You See” resource to help guide the children’s drawing. 

• Week 2: Drawing from Observation
  

  Drawing Small

  

  Use the “Drawing Small” resource to help children become aware of the relationship of drawing, looking and mark making. 

  Pupils will work in sketchbooks or on larger sheets of loose paper.

  If you want further challenges, invite children to draw with their non dominant hand, create a blind drawing, a backwards forwards drawing and also a continuous line drawing.

  By the end of week two sketchbooks should be full of a variety of images – from drawings of the natural world capturing movement and energy made in week one, to collections of small, still,  found objects made in week two. 

• Recap
  

  Reflect and Discuss

  

  End week two with a short class or small group discussion about the sketchbook work. Encourage children to remember what they did and discuss whether pupils prefer drawings from week one or week two. 

• Week 3: Introducing Mono Prints
  

  What is a Mono Printing?

  Introduce pupils to the technique of mono printing with ink. Watch this video on “trace monotype” and find out how you can facilitate a lesson on printmaking.

  NOTE: In this pathway you will be using a slightly different method which is cleaner and easier!

• Introduce an Artist
  

  Explore the Work of Xgaoc’o X’are

  

  Explore the work of Botswanan Printmaker Xgaoc’o X’are using the free to access “Talking Points: Xgaoc’o X’are” resource. Use the questions on that resource to discuss his work.

• Experiment
  

  Mono Printing With Carbon Paper

  

  Use the “Mono Printing with Carbon Copy Paper” resource to start the print making journey.

  This activity encourages children to look carefully at their subject matter and make thoughtful marks in response. The addition of oil pastel enables children to experiment with colour and shape as well as line.

  Children can either draw from the same objects that they drew in week two, or new objects. The aim of the session is for pupils to explore and see what they can do with this technique – the journey is more important than any final outcome. Pupils will work in sketchbooks or on sheets of paper. 

• Week 4 & 5: Find Your Focus
  

  Choose a Theme

  

  Choose from one of the projects below, or adapt a similar approach to your own area of focus/curriculum theme. 

  All the resources below share the common aim of enabling children to explore printmaking with a focus on mono print. Whatever the focus or theme you attach make sure you give pupils plenty of freedom to play and invent.

  Give children plenty of time and space to explore, take creative risks, discover and share, without working towards a predefined outcome. Encourage and celebrate individuality.

  Have sketchbooks open on tables and encourage children to make notes (whatever form they take), and record and reflect.

• Option 1
  

  Mono Printing Session with ‘Change, Grow, Live’

  

  If you’d like to continue the theme of animals/natural habitat/natural world, then use the “Mono Printing Session with Change, Grow, Live” resource to make prints inspired by animals. (Pls note: the resource describes using carbon copy paper to print and also using ink and rollers to print. In this case use carbon copy paper). 

  Xgaoc’o X’are’s prints are inspired by the cave drawings made by his ancestors. It could be interesting to get children to think about a narrative involved in the animals that they choose to draw. For example an animal that they think represents them.

  Invite children to bring in animal toys or find images of animals with significance to them.

• Option 2
  

  Inventions Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci

  

  If you would like to continue working with small objects and link to curriculum areas such as materials, then you might like to use the “Drawings of Inventions Inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci” resource. 

• Week 6: Display & Reflect
  

  Present, Talk, Share and Celebrate

  If children worked on separate sheets of paper throughout the project, consider if they would like to make a “Backwards Sketchbook” from the experimental loose prints and drawings made throughout the half term.

  Invite children to display the work in a clear space, and walk around the work as if they are in a gallery. Open out sketchbooks. Give the work the respect it deserves. Remind the children of their hardwork.

  If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams. 

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit” to finish the project. 

See the Pathway Used in Schools…

If You Use AccessArt Resources…
You might like to…

Join our Facebook Group

Join the AccessArt Network group on Facebook and ask questions of others using our resources

Share and Tag

Share photos of work made by tagging us on social media

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Painting & printing the savannah

Give children the opportuntity to mono print, paint and collage

A collection of imagery and sources which you can use to prompt drawing in schools and community groups. 

Please note that this page contains links to external websites and has videos from external websites embedded. At the time of creating, AccessArt checked all links to ensure content is appropriate for teachers to access. However external websites and videos are updated and that is beyond our control. 

Please let us know if you find a 404 link, or if you feel content is no longer appropriate. 

We strongly recommend as part of good teaching practice that teachers watch all videos and visit all websites before sharing with a class. On occasion there may be elements of a video you would prefer not to show to your class and it is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure content is appropriate. Many thanks. 

Food

Use the film below to enable children to explore drawing food. Try to create a sense of momentum – for example you might pause the video 4 times and ask the pupils to make a 1 minute, 2 minute, 3 minute and 4 minute drawing at each pause. 

Encourage close and slow looking by talking as they draw – use your voice to attract their attention to qualities of the food.

Try the same exercise using different materials, ie handwriting pen, ink and nib, pastel, watercolour…

You May Also Like…

Pathway: Festival Feasts

This is featured in the ‘Festival Feasts’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

Pathway for Years 3 & 4

Disciplines:
Printmaking (Stencil/Screen Print), Collage

Key Concepts:

• That we can be inspired by key artworks and make our own work in creative response. 

• That we can use shape and colour as a way to simplify elements of the world.

• That shapes have both a positive and negative element.

• That we can arrange shapes to create exciting compositions.

• That we can build up imagery through layering shapes.

• That we can use collage to inspire prints.

In this pathway children use close looking and the “Show Me What You See” technique to explore artwork from a particular artist, movement or era. Children then explore how they can use shape and colour to simplify elements, inspired by the Cut-outs of Henri Matisse. 

Using first collage, then simple printmaking methods, pupils play with positive and negative shapes and spaces to create meaningful compositions in response to the original artworks they looked at. 

Medium:
Paper, Printmaking Ink,  Stencils & Crayons

Artist: Henri Matisse, Claire Willberg

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Find the Zoom CPD session introducing this pathway here.

See the recording of the Zoom CPD session exploring Screen Printing in the classroom.

Curriculum Links

History: Choose a painting as inspiration which typifies a particular historical period, for example, a painting from  Ancient Egyptian. 

Maths: 2D/3D shapes, pattern. 

PSHE: Peer discussion.

I Can…

• I can explore an artwork through looking, talking and drawing.

• I can use the “Show Me What You See” technique to help me look closely, working in my sketchbook making drawings and notes using pencils and pens.

• I can cut shapes directly into paper, using scissors, inspired by the artwork.

• I can collage with my cut elements, choosing colour, shape and composition to make my own creative response to the artwork.

• I can add to my collage, using line, colour and shape made by stencils. 

• I can explore negative and positive shapes.

• I can take photographs of my work.

• I can share my work with my class. I can reflect and share what I like, and what I would like to try again. I can look at the work of my classmates and give useful feedback through class or small group discussion. 

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft B pencils, coloured pencils, oil/chalk pastels, A3 or A2 sugar or cartridge paper, collage papers, PVA glue, scissors.

Option 1: Monoprinting with Carbon Paper – Carbon paper, sharp pencil or pen, oil pastels.

Option 2: Explore Stencils – Card, oil pastels, scissors.

Option 3: Screenprinting mesh, water-based printing ink, tray, acrylic printing medium, scrap card for squeegee, embroidery hoop (optional), newsprint.

Pathway: Working with Shape & Colour

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  This pathway aims to enable pupils to respond to a painting from another culture or era, using visual literacy skills to come to their own understanding of the artwork. 

  Children then go on to make their own creative response to the original painting, using layering of shape, colour and line using printmaking and drawing. 

• Week 1: What’s Your Focus?
  

  Choose an Artwork to Focus Your Exploration

  Choose a painting or artwork which you would like to explore. 

  This might be a painting in a local museum or gallery, a painting available online, or a painting from another era or culture which ties in with a curriculum area.

  Here are some free to access ideas:

  • Focus upon the Bayeux Tapestry

  • Focus upon Egyptian Painting

  • Focus upon an art work from Google Arts & Culture

  

• Use Close Looking & Drawing to Explore
  

  Show Me What You See

  Working in sketchbooks, use the “Show Me What You See” technique to help pupil’s visually explore your chosen artwork.

  You can find a detailed explanation of the “Show Me What You See” resource here. 

  During the exercise, draw the children’s attention to the visual elements of the artwork, including talking about shape, colour and composition. As well as using line in sketchbooks to describe shapes, also use colour (pastel, crayon, pens etc).

  By the end of the session sketchbooks should be full of pupil’s interpretations of different elements (shapes, lines etc) from the paintings.

• Week 2: Look and Talk
  

  Painting With Scissors

  Visit the free to access “Talking Points: Henry Matisse Cut Outs” resource to introduce pupils to the idea of “painting with scissors”.

  Use the free to access “Talking Points: Romare Bearden” resource to introduce pupils to the work of African American artist Romare Bearden who was influenced by patchwork quilts derived from African-American slave crafts and the work of Matisse. Bearden illustrated Homer’s Odyssey using collage.

  

  Refer to the “Drawing With Scissors” resource to see how to explore a historic (or contemporary) painting through printing. (Using just the part of the resource about collaging with cut elements).

• “Paint with Scissors”
  

  Begin to Cut Shapes

  

  With the original artwork on the white board and sketchbook work from Show Me What You See, provide pupils with coloured paper (sugar or coloured paper, or even old paintings which can be cut up) and invite them to start cutting out shapes made in response to the original artwork. You may want to refer back to “Drawing With Scissors“ resource. 

  You might like to split the class into groups – each taking a section of the original artwork, or you might like to give pupils more space to choose elements they particularly like. 

  Don’t waste any paper – at the end of the session encourage pupils to keep the paper which has been cut away (you can sort it into sizes) as well as the positive “shapes”. 

  “Envelopes” can be made/stuck in sketchbooks to keep paper elements safe until next week. 

  You might like to see the “Positive and Negative Shapes” resource (to be done). 

  Continue this work into week three.

• Week 3: Continue “Painting with Scissors”
  

  Collaging with Cut Elements

  

  Continue the process described in the “Drawing with Scissors” resource. Invite pupils to begin to lay down their cut elements to make collaged compositions, working on A3 or larger paper.

  Encourage children to explore playfully before they decide where to stick shapes down on the page. Think about composition and meaning. Remember they are not trying to recreate the original artwork, instead they are making a creative response (which is personal) to the artwork.

  Remind pupils they can use the pieces of paper which have had shapes cut out of them, and so introduce negative shapes into their work.

  Continue into week four.

• Continue with Collage
  

  Finalise Collages

  

  Continue the process described in the “Drawing with Scissors” resource.

  Finalise first stage of collages ready for second part of the project. By this point all cut elements should be stuck down onto each pupil’s piece of paper.

• Week 4 & 5: Add Further Detail
  

  Stencils, Masks or Line

  

  Continue the process described in the “Drawing with Scissors” resource.

  The final stage of the project is to add further detail to the artwork by working over the collaged elements. 

  You can choose which method you want children to use from the 3 options below. Choose the option you think will best help pupils respond to the original artwork.

  The aim of this final stage is to add further definition or clarity to the collaged composition, using a different medium to make the artwork feel more dimensional (collage can be quite a “flat” medium).

• Option 1
  

  Printed Line

  

  Revisit the original artwork and get pupils to look closely at the qualities of line the artists used.

  Use the “Mono Printing with Carbon Paper” resource and use carbon paper to add line drawings over the top of the collaged sheets.

  Remember the drawings do not have to line up with the exiting imagery. Layering imagery of different types will give exciting results.

• 
  

  Or…

• Option 2
  

  Explore Stencils

  

  Use the “Explore Stencils, Composition and Expressive Mark Making with Oil Pastels” resource and invite children to create masks and stencils out of card, thinking about negative and positive shapes. Use the masks and stencils over the original collaged artwork, using oil pastel as a medium.

  Encourage the children to use a range of mark making and experiment with colour blending so that they get an understanding of the qualities of oil pastels.

• 
  

  Or…

• Option 3
  

  Simple Screen Printing Hack

  

  If you are feeling more confident, you may want to give pupils the opportunity to explore simple screen printing as an alternative way to explore masks and stencils. See our “Talking Points: Screenprint“

  Give children the opportunity to try out screen printing with this “Simple Screen Print Hack“. Watch all 3 videos before starting.

  Ask children to prepare their stencils and masks prior to printing. Remember that they will need stencils and masks of every element including clothing, face detail or any big shapes within the background. 

  As with Option 1 and 2, be inventive about the shapes which are overlaid over the collaged elements – remember the shapes do not have to line up with the collaged composition – exciting and surprising outcomes can be achieved by creating new shapes and lines over the first collage. 

• Week 6: Reflect & Discuss
  

  Share, Reflect, Discuss

  Time to see the work which has been made, talk about intention and outcome.

  

  Invite pupils to display the work in a clear space, and walk around the work as if they are in a gallery. Give the work the respect it deserves. Remind the children of their handwork.

  If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams.

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit” to finish the project. 

• Extension
  

  Extension: Animating With Used Masks, Stencils, Or Left Over Shapes

  

  Claire Willberg repurposes the paper that she uses in her printing process to create visually exciting animations. See her animations in “Talking Points: Claire Willberg“.

  Get your children to keep their stencils and masks once they’ve been used and make a stop motion.

  See the “Animation Software” resource for support. 

See the Pathway Used in Schools…

If You Use AccessArt Resources
You May Want To…

Join our Facebook Group

Join the AccessArt Network group on Facebook and ask questions of others using our resources

Share and Tag

Share photos of work made by tagging us on social media

You May Also Like…

Using Sketchbooks, Drawing and Reflective Tools in the 20th Century Gallery at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Explore 20th Century paintings and sculpture, using sketchbooks & drawing as tools for looking

Using Drawing to Get Closer to 18th Century Portraits at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Explore different drawing exercises for capturing 18th Century portraiture

See This Resource Used In Schools…

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Pathway: Expressive Painting

This is featured in the ‘Expressive Painting’ pathway

Talking Points: Brush Work of Van Gogh & Cezanne

Talking Points: Marela Zacarías

talking points: Charlie French

Session Recording: Expressive Painting

How can artists help us see and use spaces in new ways?

Molly Haslund’s work is inspired by everyday objects, places, and environments. She uses action and performance to mix the ordinary with the unexpected, change spaces, and make people think about how and why we use them.

Watch the video below and discuss why she draws these circles and the impact they might have in a space you use yourself. 

Please Note:

This page includes links and videos from external sites, verified at publication but subject to change.

Teachers should review all content for classroom suitability.

Report any issues, and check school firewall settings if videos don’t play.

The Circle Project by Molly Haslund

Teacher’s Notes

“Molly Haslund ventures out into the city wearing grey: a grey suit, grey socks and grey shoes so that she blends in with the tarmac and the pavement. She carries a huge pair of compasses much taller than herself. She stops somewhere and starts drawing a white circle on the ground. She completes the first circle and then moves the pair of compasses and starts drawing a new circle that overlaps the first one. She draws a third circle and stands in her grey shoes in the middle of the circle for a moment before snapping the pair of compasses together and moving on.” https://www.mollyhaslund.com/circles-2013-2

“… The focus is on the physical action, on the movement of the circles, and the patterns emerging and disappearing again – and of course the effect grows with the number of participants. on the other hand, if you want to draw alone, you can just withdraw a little from the rest. A bit like on the dance floor.”  Molly Haslund 

Watch the video with the pupils, and look at the images below. Find questions to prompt discussion at the end of this resource. 

Circles, Molly Haslund, 2015, New York, Peekskill Project #6, Hudson Valley MOCA, Photo by Joe Orangias

Circles (2013), Molly Haslund, Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde, Denmark, Photo by Matilde Haaning

Circles, Molly Haslund, 2014, Art Week, Superkilen, Copenhagen, Denmark, Photo by Matilde Haaning

Circles, Molly Haslund, 2014, Art Week, Superkilen, Copenhagen, Denmark, Photo by Matilde Haaning

Questions to Ask Children

How would you feel if you came across these circles in your street or playground, without knowing who had made them or why? What would you do? Would they change the way you move?

How do you think Molly, the artist, chooses where to make her circles?

How could you make similar circles in your playground, using chalk tied to sticks? 

How would the circles you make join up with the circles your friends make?

What would other pupils in your school think if they discovered your circles? What do you think they would do?

What other shapes could you make with your body in the playground? Would you need tools? 

If music played would you make different shapes? How would the shapes be different? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Spirals

This is featured in the ‘Spirals’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

See This Resource Used In Schools…

A collection of imagery and sources designed to stimulate an exploration of the brushwork of Van Gogh and Cezanne.

Please note that this page contains links to external websites and has videos from external websites embedded. At the time of creating, AccessArt checked all links to ensure content is appropriate for teachers to access. However external websites and videos are updated and that is beyond our control. 

Please let us know if you find a 404 link, or if you feel content is no longer appropriate. 

We strongly recommend as part of good teaching practice that teachers watch all videos and visit all websites before sharing with a class. On occasion there may be elements of a video you would prefer not to show to your class and it is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure content is appropriate. Many thanks. 

*If you are having issues viewing videos it may be due to your schools firewall or your cookie selection. Please check with your IT department.*

This resource is free to access and is not a part of AccessArt membership.

Exploring the Brushwork of Van Gogh and Cezanne

If we zoom in and look closely at the brushwork of both Cezanne and Van Gogh you’ll see how they applied paint using fluid loose marks with complex colours, and yet when you stand back, the brush marks and the colours find their place to help tell the story of the painting.

In this resource we have zoomed in on sections of paintings to help pupils see the kinds of marks made by the painters. 

Use the questions at the end to help guide an exploration. 

Top: Detail: Wheat Field with Cypresses (1889) by Vincent Van Gogh. Original from the MET Museum.

Top: Detail: Three Apples (Deux pommes et demie) (ca. 1878–1879) by Paul Cézanne. Original from Original from Barnes Foundation.

Top: Detail: Houses and Figure (1890) by Vincent Van Gogh. Original from the Barnes Foundation. 

Top: Detail: Houses in Provence: The Riaux Valley near LEstaque (ca. 1883) by Paul Cézanne.

Top: Detail: The Bedroom (1889) by Vincent Van Gogh.

Questions to Ask Children

“Impasto” describes paint when it is applied so thickly onto the canvas that it remains raised. Can you see areas of impasto in the paintings above?

Can you find an area of a painting where the artist has let the colour of the canvas show through?

Can you find examples of where the artist hasn’t mixed the colour on a palette – instead he has applied wet paint of one colour over wet paint of another colour and you can see where it mixes on the canvas?

Think about direction of brush strokes – can you find an area of canvas where the brush strokes go a particular direction? How do the artists’ change the direction of the brush strokes according to the subject matter of what they are painting? 

How would you describe some of the brush strokes? Restful? Busy? Rhythmical? Chaotic? 

Can you see areas of the paintings where the artist uses outlines? Doesn’t use outlines?

How many different colours can you spot in a particular area of canvas? Do you think the artist gives those colours names?

What kinds of tools or brushes do you think the artist might have used? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Expressive Painting

This is featured in the ‘Expressive Painting’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

See This Resource Used In Schools

A collection of imagery and sources designed to stimulate conversation around the work of Charlie French.

Please note that this page contains links to external websites and has videos from external websites embedded. At the time of creating, AccessArt checked all links to ensure content is appropriate for teachers to access. However external websites and videos are updated and that is beyond our control. 

Please let us know if you find a 404 link, or if you feel content is no longer appropriate. 

We strongly recommend as part of good teaching practice that teachers watch all videos and visit all websites before sharing with a class. On occasion there may be elements of a video you would prefer not to show to your class and it is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure content is appropriate. Many thanks. 

*If you are having issues viewing videos it may be due to your schools firewall or your cookie selection. Please check with your IT department.*

This resource is free to access and is not a part of AccessArt membership.

Charlie French

“I embrace a blank canvas with a sense of wonder and adventure.”

Charlie French is an abstract painter, living in London. 

Website

Instagram

In the Fathoms Below, copyright Charlie French

“What inspires you?”

“I am asked that question a lot. And I think there are obvious ones you see in my series: Disney movies, music, the ocean, the beautiful world I see, my happy memories and an imagination that cracks me up.

And lots of times I am inspired simply by my love of COLORS and SHAPES. I pick my colour palette and just paint.

The truth is that every day is different. But I am most happy when I can walk up to a canvas and let go. I am free. Freedom in life is very important. Don’t you think, Friends???”

Copyright Charlie French

Copyright Charlie French

Questions to Ask Children

How would you describe Charlie’s work?

How does it make you feel?

How would you describe the colours?

Charlie thinks it’s important to feel free and have the space to explore in your artwork. Would you agree? Have you ever felt like that? How do you think he lets himself feel like that?

When Charlie puts the paint on the canvas, what kinds of movements does he make with his body? Can you do “air painting” and move your arm as you think he did to apply the paint? Stand up! 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Expressive Painting

This is featured in the ‘Expressive Painting’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery and sources designed to stimulate conversation around the work of Marela Zacarías.

Please note that this page contains links to external websites and has videos from external websites embedded. At the time of creating, AccessArt checked all links to ensure content is appropriate for teachers to access. However external websites and videos are updated and that is beyond our control. 

Please let us know if you find a 404 link, or if you feel content is no longer appropriate. 

We strongly recommend as part of good teaching practice that teachers watch all videos and visit all websites before sharing with a class. On occasion there may be elements of a video you would prefer not to show to your class and it is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure content is appropriate. Many thanks. 

*If you are having issues viewing videos it may be due to your schools firewall or your cookie selection. Please check with your IT department.*

This resource is free to access and is not a part of AccessArt membership.

Marela Zacarías

“My pieces are sculptural paintings. I make the piece take your eye into spaces you wouldn’t think to look.”

Marela is a painter/sculptor who creates undulating painted forms which explore movement and colour. The majority of Marela’s pieces are site specific (created for a particular location). 

Marela lives between Brooklyn and Mexico City

Website

Questions to Ask Children

How would you describe Marela’s artwork to someone who couldn’t see it?

How does it make you feel? How would you react if you were in the same space?

What does it remind you of?

Does your eye stay still when you look at it?

Can you imagine how Marela works out how the pieces join together? 

Is it like anything you have seen before?

What kinds of colours does she use?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Expressive Painting

This is featured in the ‘Expressive Painting’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

How can we express our identity through our creativity?

Grayson Perry is an English artist who works across a range of mediums, including pottery, embroidery, performance, and drawing. He creates work which reflects both his own identity and that of Britain. Below, we explore one of his self-portraits in which he represents himself through a map.

Look at the resources below and use the following questions to begin a discussion about A Map of Days.

Please Note:

This page includes links and videos from external sites, verified at publication but subject to change.

Teachers should review all content for classroom suitability.

Report any issues, and check school firewall settings if videos don’t play.

A Map of Days by Grayson Perry

“Grayson Perry RA created this map of a walled city as a self-portrait for an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. He said ‘I thought the walled city was a good metaphor – the wall, I suppose, can roughly be interpreted as your skin. But like any city, it’s dependent on the landscape it sits in as well.’ “ RA

See the Map on Google Arts & Culture.

Interview about the making of the map. 

Note for teachers on adult content: Please be advised that from 0.24 to 0.39 and 1.34 until 1.57 of this video, there is inappropriate language shown on the map. You may wish to show up to this point or to skip past the shot of the language in question.

Questions to Ask Children:

How does Grayson Perry use text in the map?

Can you find text on buildings as well as street names? How do you think he decides which text to make small, and which to make larger?

How much does Grayson Perry reveal about himself through the map?

Can you spot any symbols or visual metaphors? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Typography and Maps

This is featured in the ‘Typography and Maps’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see