By Clare Boreham Kerr

In this resource, specialist art teacher Clare Boreham Kerr shares a project inspired by the colours and patterns used by the artist Yayoi Kusama. This multimedia activity uses a range of materials, including sketchbooks, to make colourful giant jewellery. Clare works in special educational needs education, but this project could be translated across a variety of settings.

This three-part project can be split across three or four sessions. Beginning with sketchbooks and drawing, pupils will move onto collage and 3D work, finishing off with a session dedicated to construction and reflection.

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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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What We Like About This Resource…

“It’s really nice to see that although Rachel Parker works quite digitally, her process from the beginning is very tactile. Rachels books act as a really great source of inspiration, helping to break down the creative blocks that we all get from time to time. Having a sketchbook dedicated to colour means that as well as working with colours that you already love, you can test new colour palettes and see colours from a new perspective. I especially love how Rachel picks up on the different tones in colours by looking at the way light hits it in order build her colour palette around those supporting tones as well as big statement colours.” – Tobi, AccessArt

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What We Like About This Resource…

“It’s great to see how a simple exercise such as colour collecting, which can be done in a classroom setting, is also used in a professional capacity. This gives the activity a clear context and purpose. It’s nice to see Rachel’s  decisions being made in real time, it demonstrates how artists are constantly reflecting on and self evaluating their own decisions. Rachel also shows us that she sometimes gets colour palettes from photos that she’s taken herself, this is really exciting because it demonstrates how the artists experience is central to their work. Students will be able to bring their own experience and personality to this activity by having complete control over what their colour moodboard becomes.” – Tobi, AccessArt

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What We Like About This Resource…

“Rachel’s work is so vibrant and full of joy, it’s really exciting to see how she starts to form creative ideas around colour. Rachel highlights the importance of colour trends but also gives herself the opportunity to create her own trends which adds a level of playfulness and personality to her colour exploration. Seeing her colour books translate into fabric demonstrates a real clarity in her decision making process.” – Tobi, AccessArt.

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A collection of resources by Rachel Parker to help you build your own colour moodboard

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What We Like About This Resource….

“The research phase of a creative project can be presented in many different ways, and can even be an art form in itself. Here, Tatyana demonstrates how her sketchbooks became a medium through which she expressed her thoughts, refined her ideas and explored materials. We believe sketchbooks to be a powerful tool for children to take ownership of their ideas and travel on their own creative journey, without necessarily knowing the destination. Take a look at our sketchbook journey for more sketchbook inspiration” – Rachel, AccessArt.

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“This is a great activity for really tuning into colour and shape. The process is ultimately quite a refined one (ie making a pattern balanced and repeated ‘correctly’) – but there’s plenty of scope for exploring pattern in a more experiential way prior to the refinement page. Try one of the recommended resources below to introduce pattern and begin with some open ended activities to build skill and confidence.” – Andrea, AccessArt

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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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