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The AccessArt Making Prompt Cards are a great way to inspire making in children, teenagers or adults. They provide just enough inspiration to kick start creative thinking and enable an exploration of materials and intention.

Notes for Teachers

• This activity is suitable for all ages of children and teenagers (and adults).

• You can use the activity as a standalone session (1 hr) or extend and develop work over a series of sessions.

• See other resources in the “AccessArt & Saatchi Learning” series to extend your exploration of contemporary sculpture.

• Download the AccessArt Making Prompts PDF

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AccessArt is a UK Charity and we believe everyone has the right to be creative. AccessArt provides inspiration to help us all reach our creative potential.

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Pathway: Music and art

This is featured in the ‘Music and Art’ pathway

Pathway: Playful Making

This resource is features in the ‘Playful Making’ pathway

Manipulating Paper

Cardboard Sculptures

The Chair and Me

What We Like About This Resource….

“This activity walks through a number of different processes and taps into multiple skills.This provides a rich exploratory project for children to fully immerse themselves in. Cezanne was the focus artist for this project, but other contemporary still life painters could be used as starter inspiration. We actually advocate showing the work of more than one artist as this builds knowledge of how approaches to painting, drawing etc differ. This also helps children move towards a personal response rather than creating a ‘copy’ of one particular artist’s work” – Rachel, AccessArt

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Pathway: Exploring Still Life

This is featured in the ‘Explore Still Life’ pathway

talking points: Flemish and Dutch Still Life Painters

Talking Points: Paul Cezanne

talking points: Contemporary still life

What We Like About This Resource….

“It’s great to see a different approach to thinking about remembrance day. These peg soldiers are a refreshing alternative to artwork inspired by poppies. The processes involved encourage children to focus on fine motor skills: wrapping embroidery thread around the peg and creating small detailed clothes and helmets. These dolls look particularly effective when standing as a collection and would make a poignant alternative to a standard display board” – Rachel, AccessArt

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An Exploration of Paul Nash

For Remembrance Day

World War l Mail Art

What We Like About This Resource….

Working collaboratively towards a shared aim provides an alternative experience to working on individual projects. Creating together encourages listening, peer feedback and creative problem solving – all of which are hugely valuable in all areas of education” – Rachel, AccessArt

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Animal Habitat Mural

Collaborative Public Mural

Mural and Workshop Project

What We Like About This Resource….

“The life of Madge Gill that Sophie Dutton recounts here gives us real insight into the challenges that Madge Gill experienced, and how these challenges would have been common among women at the time. When we study the work of Artists, it adds a rich context to our experience of their work to consider their personal history, and helps us ask questions like ‘why do you think the Artist painted in this way or was inspired by this subject matter?’ If you introduce your class to Madge Gill, begin with looking back over her younger life to try and better understand her motivations as an Artist” – Rachel, AccessArt

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I am AccessArt: Ann Rippin

Making Batik Textiles in the Classroom

How I Use Drawing and Sketchbooks

See This Resource Used in a Pathway…

Transforming Materials into Sculpture

This pathway shares how teachers might take inspiration from El Anatsui and encourage pupils to think how they might disassemble objects around them to transform them into sculptural pieces. Read More. 

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Transforming Cardboard with Andrea Butler

Artist Andrea Butler shows how to explore simple design and construction using cardboard and jewellery. Read More

What We Like About This Resource….

“This activity is a great example of how we can use paper as the focus of creativity. Often we use paper purely for drawing or painting on, but here, it is central to the activity itself. While these particular folded sculptures have their roots in Turkish culture, you could still deliver the activity if looking at things like Origami too, thus linking it across different cultures” – Rachel, AccessArt

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Puzzle Purses Part 1

Puzzle Purses Part 2

Paperback Figures

What We Like About This Resource….

“This project provides a real opportunity for children to engage with a range of different processes to produce truly individual final results. Jan Miller is an experienced teacher and connects her projects well with learning outcomes. In this case, children are encouraged to have a loose approach and to make their own creative decisions – which is such a valuable part of any child (or adults!) creative education”. – Rachel, AccessArt

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Painted Houses

One Line Street

Responding to Place

What We Like About This Resource….

“This project links poignant subject matter with meaningful art processes and local history. What we learn about the re purposing of materials, (in this case spent ammunition) re affirms how we can use what is around us as a starting point to making and creating. You could extend or adapt this project by looking at broken pottery, re purposing that into new sculptures that link with Roman or other local historical cultures” – Rachel, AccessArt

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Henry Moore’s Shelter Drawings

Remembrance Day Soldiers

For Remembrance Day

What We Like About This Resource….

“We really enjoyed reading about the process of creating art work according to a design brief and how the experience of this differs to when an artist begins with their own idea or concept. That’s not to say an artist can’t approach a brief with their own individual style and ideas, but what this post shows us is that there can be a balance between the two. This would be a great resource to show older KS pupils who may be beginning to consider their options beyond Primary School”. – Rachel, AccessArt

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Pathway: 2D Drawing to 3D Making

This is featured in the ‘2D Drawing to 3D Making’ pathway

Talking Points: Packaging Design

What is Typography

Which Artist: Rachel Parker

Repeating Patterns

Block Printing Repeat Patterns

What We Like About This Resource….

“It’s interesting to hear Theresa describe Printmaking as a social activity, with the shared use of materials and equipment so central to the practice. This could be a positive way of working for lots of children in school, where instead of just working on individual art work, they can collaborate and embrace the creative sharing experience!” – Tobi, AccessArt.

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Monoprint Animals

Screen printing Inspired by Matisse

An Exploration of Shepherd Fairey

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Ancient Greek Lyres

Decorative Coil Clay Pots

Visual Arts Planning: Clay

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What We Like About This Resource….

“The sentiment behind this resource idea is lovely and it provides an opportunity to really develop some fine motor skills as well as independence of approach. Taking ownership of the medal design means the sense of achievement is heightened beyond the children just being given one. You can really imagine the positive energy that would surround this activity within a classroom, with each child working on a shared project but embarking on their own creative journey.”  – Rachel, AccessArt

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Pathway: Playful Making

Featured in the ‘Playful Making’ pathway

Talking Points: Introduction to sculpture

Clay Art Medals

Talking Points: Nnena Kalu

Talking Points: Linda BEll

What We Like About This Resource….

“It’s great to see music being explored in this way, and combining it with making creates a really interesting immersive project. This activity would work well as part of an extended project looking at musical instruments around the world and some of the natural materials they are made from.” – Rachel, AccessArt

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Pathway: Music and art

This is featured in the ‘Music and Art’ pathway

talking points: wassily Kandinsky

drawing source material: orchestras

A Cheerful Orchestra

Talking Points: Linda BEll

Talking Points: Nnena Kalu

What We Like About This Resource….

“You can get a real sense of the environment in this post and how this could provide so much inspiration for creative projects. We are aware there the challenges to exploring the outdoors when many schools are in towns and cities. A way around this could be to have a regular collection of natural objects within the classroom and using them as a stimulus to respond creatively in sketchbooks or in extended projects” – Andrea, AccessArt

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Woodland Exploration

A Passion for Woodworking

Visual Arts PLanning: Tees, Forest and Landscapes

What We Like About This Resource….

“It’s always so inspiring to hear how different artists work and we particularly like the detailed references Jake makes to his process – marking out the composition using neutral tones; adding and taking away compositional elements and gradually building in more colour and detail. Delivering a still life session in a classroom could begin with this process and encourage the practice of looking at positive and negative space. Some suggested resources below also touch on this”. – Rachel, AccessArt

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Tackling Still Life for Children

Drawing Negative Space

Visual Arts Planning: Still Life

What We Like About This Resource….

“It’s really interesting to hear how Su’s career path evolved organically, and how experimenting with different disciplines such as ceramics and sculpture whilst studying Textiles at the RCA began her journey towards paper craft and books. We really like how the small book sculptures inspired the larger scale set designs for The Snow Queen. They transfer so effectively to the stage and you can imagine how engaging it would be for a young audience to recognise letters and words on lampposts and other scenic elements”. – Rachel, AccessArt

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Creating a Book World

Sketch Set Design Models

Set Design for Primary Aged Children

What We Like About This Resource

“It’s really interesting to see the combination of hand and digital work in Rachel’s work, and particularly how her hand stitched embroidery is scanned before being used to create patterned products. We love that lots of Rachel’s work begins in sketchbooks and how this really underpins her creative process. For children in school, learning to utilise a sketchbook and discover their potential though drawing and mapping ideas is invaluable. We have a whole Sketchbook Journey section on the AccessArt website (linked below) which explores this in more detail”. – Rachel, AccessArt.

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Pathway: Exploring pattern

This is featured in the ‘Exploring Pattern’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

Inspired by Rachel Parker

Sewn Treasure Box

Felt and Embroidery Sets