<< Back to Let Me Inspire You menu
Artist Tonka Uzu shares what inspires her illustrations.
Be inspired by some of Tonka’s work…
Let Me Inspire You: Tonka Uzu
Let Me Inspire You: Rozi Hathaway
Let Me Inspire You: Isobel Grant
Let Me Inspire You: Jo Blaker
Let Me Inspire You: Rose Feather
Introduction To Forest Of Imagination
You And Me Make Tree
Talking Points: Faith Bebbington
A collection of sources and imagery to explore the work of sculptor, Faith Bebbington.
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.
Faith Bebbington
Faith Bebbington is a nationally renowned sculptor based in Liverpool. Faith has worked with a range of big name clients, from the Football Association to campaigning for endangered species. Faith is best known for her sustainable practise; her large sculptures utilise lots of waste materials, with her biggest sculpture to date re-using over 2500 deconstructed plastic milk bottles!
itv Reindeer For itv Creates reimagined Brand Identity by Faith Bebbington (Illuminated Plastic Milk Bottles)
Polar Bear In The Studio (Created With 3000 Plastic Milk Bottles) by Faith Bebbington
Recycled Plastic Bengal Tiger for Veolia Environment by Faith Bebbington
Find out more about Faith Bebbington’s process in this “Which Artists?” post.
Questions to Ask Children
What materials can you spot in the sculptures?
Why do you think that Faith has used recycled materials to make her sculptures?
How would you describe the sculptures?
Which sculpture is your favourite? Why?
This Talking Points Is Used In…
Pathway: Using Art To Explore Global Issue
This is featured in the ‘Using Art To Explore Global Issue’ pathway
using sketchbooks to make visual notes
Show me what you see
Drawing Large
See This Resource Used in Schools…
You Might Also Like…
Pathway: Gestural Drawing with Charcoal
Featured in the ‘Gestural Drawing with Charcoal Pathway’
Session Recording: exploring Charcoal
The ancient art of konan
Molly Hausland
Drawing Source Material: Nests
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.
Nests
Use the film below to enable children to explore drawing nests. 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 nest.
Try the same exercise using different materials, ie handwriting pen, ink and nib, pastel, watercolour…
Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Davis, United States. Original public domain image from Wikimedia Commons
Bird nest hanging on a tree. Free public domain CC0 photo.
Birds nest in tree, nature photography. Free public domain CC0 image.
Birds nest in tree, nature photography. Free public domain CC0 image.
You May Also Like…
Pathway: Sculpture, Structure, Inventiveness & determination
This is featured in the ‘Sculpture, Structure, Inventiveness & Determination’ pathway
using sketchbooks to make visual notes
Find out how pupils can respond to artists work in sketchbooks
Show me what you see
Enable close looking and drawing with this exercise
Talking Points: Hormazd Narielwalla
A collection of sources and imagery to explore the work of Hormazd Narielwalla.
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.
Hormazd Narielwalla
Hormazd Narielwalla works across a number of artistic disciplines including printmaking, sculpture and artist’s books but he is best known for his intricate paper collages and assemblages, which are made on the surfaces of antique, vintage and bespoke tailoring patterns. – Hormazd Narielwalla
Explore more of Hormazd’s figure work on his website including his Diamond Dolls.
Questions to Ask Children
What do you like/dislike about Hormazd’s work?
Why do you think that Hormazd works on brown paper/used patterns?
Are there any collaged designs that stood out to you? Which ones and why?
This Talking Points Is Used In…
Pathway: Fashion Design
This is featured in the ‘Fashion Design’ pathway
using sketchbooks to make visual notes
Show me what you see
Talking Points: The Art of Nature
A collection of sources and imagery to explore artist Laura McKendry’s love of nature.
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.
Laura McKendry
Laura McKendry is an artist who lives and works in London. She takes her inspiration from wildlife and nature.
Explore more of Laura’s work on her website.
In this video Laura McKendry explains how the natural world inspires every aspect of her work – from the art itself to the materials with which she works.
Questions to Ask Children
Which season is your favourite? Why?
Is there a space in your local area where you would like to sit and draw?
How do you think sitting in nature whilst drawing differs to working in a studio?
Drawing Source Material: Drone Footage over Natural Landscapes
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.
This resource is free to access and is not a part of AccessArt membership.
Drone Footage Over Natural Landscape
Use the film below as source material to enable an exploration of drawing natural landscapes. You can also try to find drone footage of your own environment, or that of areas relating to projects you are covering in school.
Pause the footage at points which catch your eye and invite the children to make timed drawings – 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes, 2 minutes or 1 minute.
Vary the drawing materials you use and work in sketchbooks or sheets of paper of different sizes and textures. You may also like to make multiple line drawings over one page – each with a different colour or line weight, to describe different pause points in the same film to capture a moving landscape.
Dixie National Forest, Utah
Howqua Hills, Australia
Reading, UK
The Netherlands
This Source Material Features in…
Pathway: Cloth, thread, paint
This is featured in the ‘Cloth, Thread, Paint’ pathway
Pathway: Mixed Media Land and city scapes
This is featured in the ‘Mixed Media Land and City Scapes’ pathway
using sketchbooks to make visual notes
Show me what you see
Talking Points: Shaun Tan
A collection of sources and imagery to explore the work of graphic artist Shaun Tan.
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.
Shaun Tan
Shaun Tan grew up in Perth and works as an artist, writer and film-maker in Melbourne. He is best known for illustrated books that deal with social and historical subjects through dream-like imagery, widely translated throughout the world and enjoyed by readers of all ages. –Shaun Tan
See more of Shaun Tan’s work on his website.
Shaun Tan’s Sketchbook Work
Watch the film below to hear how Shaun approaches his early sketchbook work, and how he then develops this into more finished artwork.
Stop the video at various points so that you can have a discussion with the children to help them think through what Shaun might mean by his various working practices.
The Arrival
Watch the trailer for ‘The Arrival’ by Shaun Tan.
Watch the video above to see the full animation of Shaun Tan’s graphic novel.
Questions to Ask Children
Do you like Shaun Tans work? Why?
How do his drawings make you feel?
What kind of atmosphere did you pick up in’The Arrival’? How do you think he achieved this?
Do you think that Shaun Tan was successful in capturing the story without any writing or text? Why?
This Talking Points Is Used In…
Pathway: Storytelling through drawing
This is featured in the ‘Storytelling Through Drawing’ pathway
Additional Pathway: Drawing and Making Inspired by Illustrators
This is featured in the ‘Drawing and Making Inspired by Illustrators’ pathway
using sketchbooks to make visual notes
Show me what you see
Talking Points: Laura Carlin
A collection of sources and imagery to explore the work of illustrator Laura Carlin.
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.
Laura Carlin
Primarily known for her work as an illustrator, Laura Carlin’s ambitious and emotionally resonant work has led to some of the most striking contemporary books for children, including her award-winning illustrations for The Iron Man, The Promise and for her solo project A World of Your Own. – Waterstones
Explore all of the books that Laura Carlin has illustrated here.
Questions to Ask Children
Do you like the illustrations in The King of the Sky? Why?
How do they make you feel?
What colours might you feature in an illustration if the story was about being hopeful? Fearful? Lonely? Happy?
How has Laura’s use of materials and composition helped with the storyline?
This Talking Points Is Used In…
Pathway: Storytelling through drawing
This is featured in the ‘Storytelling Through Drawing’ pathway
using sketchbooks to make visual notes
Show me what you see
Talking Points: Paper Cut Outs
A collection of sources and imagery to explore the paper cut outs.
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.
Phillipp Otto Runge
Red Currant, Philipp Otto Runge (German, Wolgast 1777–1810 Hamburg) Late 18th–Early 19th century, Silhouette, sheet: 13 9/16 x 11 5/8 in. (34.5 x 29.5 cm), Janet Lee Kadesky Ruttenberg Fund, in honor of Colta Ives, and Mary Martin Fund, 2010
Questions to Ask Children
Describe what you can see.
Describe the different types of edges that you can see.
Henri Matisse Cut Outs
Questions to Ask Children
Describe what you can see.
What do the cut outs remind you off?
Pippa Dyrlaga
Questions to Ask Children
Describe what you can see.
How do you think the artist has created this?
How has the artist used negative space?
See more of Pippa’s cut outs on her website.
Thomas Witte
Questions to Ask Children
Describe what you can see.
How has the artist used negative space?
How does Thomas’ work make you feel?
What do you like/dislike about his work?
Visit Thomas’ website to find more of his work.
This Talking Points Is Used In…
Pathway: Shadow Puppets
This is featured in the ‘Shadow Puppets’ pathway
using sketchbooks to make visual notes
Show me what you see
Talking Points: Studio McGuire
A collection of sources and imagery to explore the work of Davy and Kristin McGuire.
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.
This resource is free to access and is not a part of AccessArt membership.
The Paper Architect
The Paper Architect is a play combining paper-craft, animation, projection mapping and performance. It tells the story of an old model-maker who uses his paper creations as vessels for his imagination.
The show features tiny, accurately mapped animations playing across intricate paper sets.
See more of their work on their here.
Questions to Ask Children
How do the Paper Architect make you feel?
How would you describe the atmosphere of The Paper Architect?
Do you like it? Why?
If you could cut a paper structure and make it come to life what you it be? Why?
The Icebook
The Icebook – the world’s first projection mapped pop-up book. An exquisite experience of fragile paper cutouts and video projections that sweep you right into the heart of a fantasy world. It is an intimate and immersive experience of animation, book art and performance.
This Talking Points Is Used In…
using sketchbooks to make visual notes
Find out how pupils can respond to artists work in sketchbooks
Show me what you see
Enable close looking and drawing with this exercise
Talking Points: Nicole Dyer
A collection of imagery and sources designed to explore the work of Nicole Dyer.
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.
Nicole Dyer
Like the 14th-century Dutch still-life painters who depicted tabletops piled high with edible symbols of wealth, power, and mortality, Dyer, a 2013 BFA graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art, compulsively catalogs the objects that attract their attention with the allure of satiety and wholeness and packs them into dense tableaus of excess. –BMoreArt
Explore more work by Nicole Dyer here.
Ladies, Ladies, Ladies, 2018 Acrylic, ink, collage, and ceramic on canvas 16” x 12”
Questions to Ask Children
Describe what you see in the paintings.
How does it make you feel?
What do you think the artist is trying to say with this work?
Describe the colour palette. How does the colour effect the mood of the painting?
If you were to include some of your favourite books in a still life painting, what would they be? Why?
Questions to Ask Children
Describe what you see.
How does it make you feel?
What materials do you think were used to make these food sculptures?
Which sculpture is your favourite? Why?
This Talking Points Is Used In…
Pathway: Festival Feasts
This is featured in the ‘Festival Feasts’ pathway
using sketchbooks to make visual notes
Show me what you see
Sculptural Challenge No 1: Colourful Walls
A sculptural challenge encouraging the exploration of colour.
Artwork by Krijn de Koning
Questions for Children
How would it feel to be in the spaces Krijn creates?
How do you think he chooses the colour for each wall? How do you think the shape and size of the wall affects the colour too?
Find more of Krijn’s work here.
Sculptural Challenge!
Use Krijn’s work as your inspiration, think about how you might make a series of colourful walls. You won’t be building a life-size sculptural installation (not today anyway!) but instead you can either make a model or create a piece of 2d artwork which shares your vision. Remember, because you are not creating the artwork then you can really be imaginative and dream!
Here are some clues, but you may have your own ideas too:
Use your sketchbook to “collect” colours that you like. Find them in magazines by cutting swatches out, find them by mixing paints, find them by mixing other materials. Record them, test them, label them, make notes (what colours did you mix?), name them (the names you give them might help you to describe the affect they have on you).
Next think about what the “walls” would be like. What shape? What size? Would they enclose? Would they have holes? Would there be a roof? How do they connect? How would the person get in to the space? How would you want the person to feel? Again, use your sketchbook to plot and plan.
Think too about the location or context you would like your sculptural installation to be in. Would you like it to be in the Antarctic? The jungle? The high street? Again, use your sketchbook.
Think about how you would apply your colours to the walls? Would each wall be one colour? Would you introduce pattern? Images? Again, use your sketchbook.
Finally, either make a model using card, paint, fabric etc to share your vision, or make a 2d artwork.
See This Resource Used In Schools…
You May Also Like…
Pathway: Brave Colour
This is featured in the ‘Brave colour’ pathway
Talking Points: Yinka Ilori
Talking Points: Morag Myerscough
Sculptural Challenge No 2: Colour, Light and Form
A sculptural challenge to encourage the exploration of colour, light and form.
Questions for Children:
Can you imagine what it would be like to be in a room with the installations in the videos above? How would it make you feel? What do they remind you of?
How do you think the colour affects the mood?
Sculptural Challenge!
Using the artwork in the videos above as your inspiration, think about how you might design a sculptural installation which involves light, form and colour.
You won’t be building a life-size sculptural installation (not today anyway!) but instead you can either make a model or create a piece of 2d artwork which shares your vision. Remember, because you are not creating the artwork then you can really be imaginative and dream!
Here are some clues, but you may have your own ideas too:
Use your sketchbook to “collect” colours that you like. Find them in magazines by cutting swatches out, find them by mixing paints, find them by mixing other materials. Record them, test them, label them, make notes (what colours did you mix?), name them (the names you give them might help you to describe the affect they have on you).
Think about the kinds of forms (shapes) you would like the coloured light to fall on to. Would you like the coloured light to surround a person, or would you like the person to pass near the objects? How would the person enter the space? Would the space be very small or very large? How would you want the person to feel? Again, use your sketchbook to plot and plan.
Think too about the space you would like the coloured light to be in. Would you like it to be a dark space so that the lights show up against the darkness, or would you prefer a light space, so that it feels floaty and ephemeral?
Think about how you would apply your colours to the walls? Would each wall be one colour? Would you introduce pattern? Images? Again, use your sketchbook.
Finally, either make a model using card, paint, fabric etc to share your vision, or make a 2d artwork. If you make a small space, you might like to be inspired by the Mini Art World Resource and use coloured filters and torches to replicate the space.
You May Also Like…
Pathway: Brave Colour
This is featured in the ‘Brave colour’ pathway
Which Artists: Liz West
Talking Points: Carnovsky
Talking Points: Olafur Eliasson
