Disciplines: Cyanotype, Anthotype, Painting with Natural Pigments, Drawing, Sketchbooks
Key Concepts:
That we can use the world around us as “ingredients” with which to make art.
That photographs are created when a light sensitive surface is exposed to light.
That we can manipulate the world around us, transforming it into art.
In this pathway children are introduced to Cyanotypes, and the work of the first female photographer Anna Atkins. They are also introduced to artist Frances Hatch, who finds and makes pigments from the landscape she is drawing.
Children then go on to make their own imagery, choosing one or more methods, to make artwork which is rooted in the materials and place in which it was made.
Medium: Natural pigments from earth and plants, paper, light.
Artists: Frances Hatch, Anna Atkins
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!
Science: Wild and garden plants, trees, structure of plants, local environment, birds, every day materials and properties, planting and growing, the four seasons.
PSHE: Responsibility to the planet.
I Can…
I have explored how artists make art from natural materials around them, such as pigments from plants, the ground, and sunlight.
I have understood how materials can be transformed through my actions.
I can reflect upon artists work, share my response and listen to the response of my classmates.
I can use my sketchbook to collect ideas.
I can make visual notes about how artists have made images.
I can use my sketchbook to try out ideas and experiment.
I can make a finished piece, which might be part of a larger class artwork.
I can share my experience and artwork, talk to my classmates about what I like and what I would like to try again.
I can use a camera or device to 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, coloured pencils, oil/chalk pastels.
Option 1: Cyanotypes – ‘Sun paper’ or cyanotype solution, found objects or natural forms.
Option 2: Primal Painting – Foraged plants or vegetables, rolling pins for mashing, paper brushes.
Option 3: Anthotypes – Plants, leaves, spices, rolling pins/masher, bowls, jars, water, fine sieve/coffee filter, watercolour paper, brushes, picture frame/clear perspex, flat object, such as pressed flowers.
Use the questions on the resource to stimulate a discussion about the way Frances employs curiosity about her environment to build her practice. Scroll down the images in the “Working WITH and In the Landscape” resource to explore with pupils.
Invite pupils to work in sketchbooks. Use the “Making Visual Notes” resource to get children to jot down and draw things of interest to them.
Week 1: Introduce Artists
Anna Atkins
Use the free to access “Talking Points: Anna Atkins” resource to introduce children to the work of the first female photographer who used cyanotypes.
Use the “Talking Points: What is Negative Space” resource to explore the idea of negative space, and how we can use it in our artwork.
Use sketchbooks to plan and build. What will pupils collect to use on the cyanotype paper? What will the focus of the exploration be?
Use sun paper as an easy way to make cyanotypes. Ask pupils to consider how they will display the results, bringing all images from the class into one artwork for display.
TIP: When you expose your prints you can also use a sunny window – taping the paper and object to the window on the inside.
Or…
Option 2
Primal Painting
Inspired by the work of Frances Hatch, paint using natural pigments.
Use the “Primal Painting” resource to enable pupils to be curious about the things around them. Forage in school grounds or your local environment. If you live in an urban environment you can bring in vegetables to supplement vegetation from local parks or pathways.
Work in sketchbooks to define the focus of the artwork. Encourage children to use their sketchbooks to experiment, making notes about which materials were used and how.
TIP: Use boxes with lids to keep the prepared paper away from the light, or use a heavy cloth over it. When you expose your prints, the above resource recommends you use glass and a frame to hold the image still – but you can also use a sunny window – taping the paper and object to the window on the inside.
Week 6: Present and Celebrate
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 hard work.
If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams.
That artists think carefully not just about what they make, but also how they present what they make.
That when we view sculpture (or other art), the context (way it is presented) affects how we react to it.
That how something will be seen can help us shape what is made.
That we can give thought to how we display the art we make, to help us understand how people will view our work.
In this pathway children begin to think about two very important aspects of making art: context and presentation.
When we make art that others will see, it’s important that we understand how we present the work will influence the way people see the work. This pathway presents an opportunity for pupils to discover and question the role of the “plinth” in sculpture.
Children explore how other artists use the idea of “plinth” to make work. There are then three choices of project. The 1st explores how we can present found objects to re-see them as sculpture, making a mini gallery.
In the 2nd project children make sculptures of themselves, putting a version of themselves on a plinth, and in the 3rd children plan an artwork or performance for a fictional plinth in their school.
Medium: Clay, Paper, Drawing Materials, Various Modelling & Construction Materials
Artists: Anthony Gormley, Yinka Shonibare,Thomas J Price
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!
English: Make ‘plinth people’ of characters from your chosen book. Explore how they can be displayed to interact with one another and tell the story. Use “plinth” to give voice/performance to narratives in English.
History: Create plinth people inspired by figures from your chosen civilisation topic e.g. the Ancient Greek gods and goddesses or Roman Emperors. Use “plinth” to give voice/performance to characters in history.
PSHE: Supports Collaboration, Peer Discussion.
I Can…
I have seen how some artists choose to display their work on “plinths” and I have understood how the way a work is displayed can affect the way the audience sees the work.
I can use my sketchbook to collect ideas about how other artists consider how their work is displayed.
I can use clay to make quick three dimensional sketches of figures sitting on “plinths”. I can use the clay to capture character/emotion of the body.
The following I Can statements are dependent upon project chosen.
Pocket Gallery:
I can find objects around me and think about how I can re-see them when I display them as art objects.
I can manipulate materials to make an environment for the art objects.
I can think about how the audience might react and capture this in my artwork.
The Fourth Plinth Challenge:
I can work as a small team and plan an art project around how we would use a plinth in our school, taking ideas of other people on board and contributing my own.
I can think creatively about art/object/performance/audience.
Plinth People
I can use my sketchbook to think about my interests/personality traits which I am proud of.
I can imagine how I could create a version of myself that I would like to see on a plinth.
I can make a sculpture/ plinth from construction materials which shows a version of myself, using things like body position, clothes, props and fine details to give the sculpture character.
All Projects:
I can share my work with others, and talk about my response to the project, what worked well and what I would like to try again. I can listen to the response to my work from my classmates and take on board their feedback.
I can appreciate the work of my classmates, understanding where there are similarities and where there are differences. I can share my response to their work.
I can take photographs of my artwork, thinking about focus, lighting and composition.
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
Clay, thick cardboard (cut up boxes), small wooden blocks (or lego).
Option 1: Pocket Gallery – Camera, printed photographs, white card, foamboard (or cardboard boxes turned on their side), a collection of small objects, torches, acetate filters or sweet wrappers, rubber bands, PVA glue, scissors.
Option 3: Plinth People – (for the pre made plinths), corrugated card, wire, fine casting plaster,
(for the figures) Wire, construction materials, fabric, glue.
This pathway aims to encourage pupils to think about how the way we present our art (the context) can change the meaning of the work we make, or change the way others see it.
Pupils explore “plinths” as a device, and use the exploration to inspire their own sculpture.
Weeks 1: Introduce
What is a Plinth?
Use the free to access “Talking Points: What is a Plinth?” resource to introduce children to the concept behind “plinth” and to explore some of the artists who have contributed to the Fourth Plinth Project in London.
Invite children to make visual notes in their sketchbooks. Use the “Making Visual Notes” resource to help this process.
Week 2: Introduce an Artist
Talking Points: Thomas J Price
Explore the work of a sculptor who challenges ideas about who should be commemorated as sculptures in the free to access “Talking Points” Thomas J Price” resource.
You might like to use the “Making Visual Notes” resource to see how to encourage pupils to use their sketchbooks whilst looking at an artist or art work.
Warm-Up
Clay Figurative Sketches
Provide children with the opportunity to explore clay as a “short term” construction and modelling material through “Clay Figurative Sketches“.
This activity will enable children to begin thinking about the distinctions between ‘audience’ and ‘art’.
Week 3, 4 & 5: Find Your Focus
Explore & Make
Choose one of the following projects to help focus and deepen children’s understanding of how context and presentation help define the meaning of artwork.
Option 1: Become a Curator
Pocket Gallery
In the “Making a Pocket Gallery” resource, children are invited to curate, photograph and build.
Inspire children to be artists and curators. Encourage conversation about “intention”, “curating” and encourage reflection skills by making a “Pocket Gallery“.
Or…
Option 2: Plan an Art Event
The Fourth Plinth Challenge
Invite children to work in small teams to respond to the Fourth Plinth Challenge found at the bottom of our free to access “Talking Points: What is a Plinth?“
Use sketchbooks to generate ideas, encouraging children to think as creatively as they can about how they might create and use a “plinth” in your school.
Or…
Option 3: Build Sculptures
Plinth People
Enable children to make dynamic figures which stand on a plinth. Invite them to build up from a single wire to form “Plinth People“, thinking carefully about the position of their figures.
Encourage children to make notes in their sketchbooks about their decision making. Include some swatches of fabrics and makes notes on why certain fabrics were/weren’t selected.
Option 4:
Billboard Challenge
Invite children to imagine they were given a billboard – what would they put on it?
Coming Soon
Week 6: Celebrate
Share, Reflect, Discuss
Time to see the work that has been made, talk about intention and outcome.
Invite children to display the work in a clear space, and walk around the work as they are in a gallery. Give the work the respect it deserves. Remind the children of their hard work.
That artists can combine art and craft using painting and sewing together to make art.
That when we use two media together such as paint and thread, we can use their unique qualities in different ways to build an image.
That the skills we learn in one medium such as mark making in drawing, can be used in another such as sewing.
That we don’t have to use materials in traditional ways – it is up to us to reinvent how we use materials and techniques to make art.
In this pathway children are introduced to artists that combine paint and sewing, art and craft, to make work.
Children explore how these artists use fabric, paint and thread to make work in response to landscapes (and sometimes the people within those landscapes).
Children are invited to start by creating an underpainting on cloth, using paint in a fluid and intuitive way. They then go on to explore sewing not as a precise technical craft, but as an alternative way to make intuitive, textural marks, over the painted backgrounds.
Sketchbooks and drawing are used as a way for pupils to discover their own personal response to the landscape used as stimulus, and as a way to explore mark making, colour and composition.
Medium: Fabric (Calico), Paint, Thread
Artists: Alice Kettle, Hannah Rae
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!
Geography: Adapt your focus to create sewn landscapes/oceans according to topic.
History: Create a sewn scene inspired by a local history event.
Science: Explore habitats, Local environment, materials.
Maths: Pattern, measuring.
I Can…
I have explored how artists combine media and use them in unusual ways to make art.
I can share my response to their work.
I can use my sketchbook to make visual notes capturing ideas that interest me.
I can use my sketchbook to test ideas and explore colour and mark making.
I can use paint to create a background on fabric, mixing colours to create different hues, tints and dilutions.
I can use thread and stitching to create textural marks over the top of my painted canvas, creating interesting marks which reflect my response to the landscape.
I can share my work with others and share my thoughts about the process and outcome. I can listen to their feedback and take it onboard.
I can appreciate the work of my classmates enjoying the similarities and differences between our processes and outcomes. I can share my feedback on their work.
I can take photographs of my work, thinking about lighting and focus.
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, coloured pencils, handwriting pens, Calico or other neutral fabric cut into A4 or smaller rectangles, acrylic or poster paint, brushes, card for palettes, sewing thread, needles.
Volcano option: Large canvas sheet, white emulsion paint, acrylic or ready mixed paint, materials to create texture
This pathway aims to introduce children to how artists use textiles and sewing to make art. The pathway explores how we can use cloth, paint and thread to explore colour and texture, creating imagery inspired by land and seascapes.
Week 1: Introduce Artists
Hannah Rae & Alice Kettle
Odyssey by Alice Kettle, Odyssey, thread on canvas (2003)
Use these artists to inspire class discussions about how artists use cloth, thread and paint to make work.
Use the “Making Visual Notes” resource to help children understand how they can use sketchbooks to collect, process and consolidate information absorbed while they look at artists work.
Week 2: Develop Mark Making
Finding Marks Made by Artists
Use the “Finding Marks Made by Artists” resource to help pupils understand how artists use a variety of marks, and to develop their own mark making vocabulary. Choose a landscape based image from the resource as inspiration. The mark making that pupils develop will then be used later in the pathway when they work in stitch.
Work in sketchbooks or on larger sheets of paper. Use sharp soft B pencils or handwriting pens. If you need a further challenge explore pens of different line weight such as sharpies and marker pens.
Decide as a class if you’d like your theme to be land or water. Adapt the resources below to suit. You can also adapt the theme to suit a curriculum theme such as volcanoes (below).
Start with the Canvas
Use the second part of the “Making Painted & Sewn Landscapes” resource and use stitch to create texture, marks and energy on the painted canvas.
Continue to use sketchbooks as a tool to experiment with mark making, looking back to the “Finding Marks Made by Artists” task earlier in the pathway.
Explore the “Volcano Painting Inspired by Frank Bowling” resource and adapt to help you create a painted background. Use stitches to add lava/rocks etc thinking about energy and flow.
Week 6: Share & Celebrate
Share, Reflect, Discuss
Tidy the room and make space to see the sketchbook work as well as the final outcomes.
Remind the pupils of the progress they made, and the artists they saw along the way. Invite them to make links between the work they made in sketchbooks, on drawing sheets and final pieces, and the work by artists.
Encourage them to feel safe to share how they feel about their own work, and nurture an environment where pupils feel able to comment on their classmates work, treating everyones work with respect.
That artists use their creativity to look at the world in new ways, and use their hands to transform materials into new things.
That making art can be playful and fun. That we can create things for other people to enjoy/use.
That we can use our imagination to help us shape the world.
In this pathway children are enabled to use their imagination and transform a familiar object (a stick) into new forms.
The pathway begins with a simple sculptural warm-up which encourages children to think creatively and laterally about how they can use materials to create a small sculpture.
Depending upon project choice, children then go on to make stick people inspired by Guatemalan Worry Dolls, make a treehouse, or make a mask.
Sketchbooks are used throughout to help children brainstorm, record and reflect.
Medium: Twigs, Construction Materials, Paper, Wool, Drawing Materials
Artists: Chris Kenny
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!
I can take a familiar object like a stick, and use my imagination to think about what it might become.
I can use my sketchbook to generate ideas and to test ideas.
I can use a variety of materials to transform my object thinking about form and colour.
I can cut materials with simple tools and fasten materials together to construct my sculpture.
I can share my sketchbook and sculpture with the class and talk about how I made it and what I liked. I can listen to my classmates feedback about my work.
I can listen to my classmates talk about their own artwork and I can share my thoughts about their work.
I can take a photograph of my sculpture, thinking about focus.
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
Roots and shoots materials such as a pebble, wire, tape, string, wool, paper, card, or other small found items and construction materials.
Project 2: Tree house – Twigs, plant pots, newspaper, a stone, cardboard – brown corrugated card, coloured card, string, fabric, glue sticks, small pieces of wood (i.e. lolly sticks, coffee stirrers, match sticks etc) and other construction materials.
The aim of this pathway is to help children understand how artists use their creativity to re-see, re-invent or reimagine the world around them.
The pathway encourages children to look again at something they are familiar with – in this case a stick or twig, and think how they can use their creativity to transform it.
Week 1: Making and Playing
Roots and Shoots
Use the “Roots and Shoots” resource to start with a making warm-up exercise to encourage pupils to think creatively about the world around them.
Let the process of playing and exploring with the materials lead children to the end result. Remember that the outcomes will be fragile and may not last due to the nature of the task, so be sure to take photographs of them at the end of the session to add to sketchbooks.
Weeks 2, 3, 4 and 5: Choose your Project/s
Find Your Focus
Choose one or two projects from the options below depending on how much time you have and how slowly the pupils work.
Watch “Design Through Making” to remind yourself that it’s okay for children to just make first!
Project One: Introduce & Create
Stick People
Follow the pathway below to make stick people out of found twigs!
Watch this video of ‘Stick Man’ as a light hearted introduction to the idea that sticks and twigs can be reimagined into different things!
In the first session take a look at the free to access “Talking Points: Chris Kenny” to inspire children to see how sticks can be reinvented as people.
Take the children outside to find the perfect sticks and use our “Worry People” resource to create a class full of stick people.
Use sketchbooks to design clothes and explore how the position of arms/legs/body affects personality of stick person.
Or…
Project Two: Introduce & Create
Tree House
Transform twigs into trees and use them to ignite imagination and build playful treehouses.
Link to an existing curriculum topic if appropriate, or consider using the free to access “Source Material: Oceans” to find videos to inspire an underwater theme.
Use the “Ruler Drawings” resource to help children capture what they are seeing in straight lines, pausing the videos and giving pupils time to work in their sketchbooks. This will help them when they are reimagining twigs.
If possible, go outside and forage for twigs with the children.
Spend the next two sessions creating your crustacean inspired twig masks.
Week 6: Present and Celebrate
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 hard work.
That artists sometimes use loose, gestural brush marks to create expressive painting.
Expressive painting can be representational or more abstract.
Artists use impasto and sgraffito to give texture to the painting.
Artists sometimes use colour intuitively and in an exploratory manner.
That we can enjoy, and respond to, the way paint and colour exist on the page.
In this pathway children are introduced to the idea that they can use paint in an intuitive and exploratory way.
The pathway starts with an introduction to artists who use paint and colour to create exciting gestural and abstract work.
Children explore primary colours and secondary colours through expressive mark making, connecting colour, mark making and texture (of paint) through abstract work.
Pupils then explore the brush work of two old masters when we focus in on details of paintings to understand how they built the work.
Pupils then go on to draw from a colourful still life, finally making expressive and gestural paintings with acrylic paint.
Sketchbooks are used throughout to record, experiment and reflect.
Medium: Acrylic Paint, Paper
Artists: Marela Zacarías, Charlie French, Vincent Van Gogh, Cezanne
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!
Geography: After looking at the expressive landscapes by Van Gogh and Cezanne, be inspired by your local landscape (United Kingdom) and use gestural brush strokes to paint a scene you know or see, or explore weather, habitat, river or sea.
I Can…
I have seen how artists, contemporary and old masters, sometimes use paint in an expressive, loose way to create paintings full of life and colour.
I can start to share my response to the work of other artists.
I can use my sketchbook to fill full of colour and brush marks, inspired by other artists.
I can recognise primary colours and mix secondary colours. I can experiment with hues by changing the amount of primary colours I add.
I can use various home made tools to apply paint in abstract patterns. I can be inventive.
I can make a loose drawing from a still life.
I can see colours and shapes in the still life.
I can use my gestural mark making with paint, and incorporate the colours and shapes in the still life to make an expressive painting.
I can share my experiments and final piece with others and share what I liked and what went well.
I can enjoy the work of my classmates and I can see how all the work is different. I can share my response to some of their work.
I can take a photograph of my final piece, thinking about focus and lighting.
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, handwriting pens, a selection of ‘found tools’ such as old shoe brushes, string, wire, rags, thick strips of card, cardboard (for pallets), acrylic or ready mixed paint, a selection of bright still life objects eg plastic blocks, cups, balls, colourful mugs etc, cartridge paper.
The aim of this pathway is to enable children to explore expressive use of paint. This includes exploring colour, colour mixing and intention behind mark making.
Week 1: Introduce
Marela Zacarías & Charlie French
Begin the exploration by introducing children to the work of Marela Zacarías and Charlie French.
Use the questions on the resources to help guide a class discussion to explore the different ways artists might use colour and mark making to make art.
Have sketchbooks open and make time during the exploration for “Making Visual Notes“
They might for example use colour to note down the colours in the artists work, or try to copy the kinds of marks the artists use in their work.
The resource explains how to explore on paper and then transfer to sketchbooks as a way of consolidating learning and reflecting.
Week 3: Explore
Brush Work of Van Gogh & Cezanne
Use the free to access “Talking Points: Brush Work of Van Gogh & Cezanne” resource to enable an exploration of the way the artists used thick paint and loose brushwork to create expressive work.
Use sketchbooks for “Making Visual Notes“. For example make time for the pupils to use similar brush marks in their sketchbooks, or invite pupils to try to capture the colours in Cezanne’s work.
Invite children to create their own mark making tools. Take inspiration from the “Experimental Mark Making Tools” resource.
Week 4 & 5: Explore & Create
Gestural Mark Making with Acrylic Paint
Use the “Gestural Mark Making with Acrylic” resource to enable an exploration of making gestural and expressive paintings. Children begin by working from a still life of colour and form, and progress to making abstract paintings.
If you are pushed for time miss out the collage step midway through.
Week 6: Present & Share
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 hard work.
If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams.
That artists explore the world, seeing things around them in new ways, and bring things back to their studios to help them make art.
That we can go into our own environments, even when they are very familiar to us, and learn to see with fresh eyes and curiosity.
That we can use the things we find to draw from, using close observational looking.
That we can explore and use art materials, be inventive with how we use them, taking creative risks and enjoying accidents as well as planned successes.
We can use the shape of the page, and the way we arrange elements on the page, to create compositions which we like.
In this pathway children are introduced to the idea that artists can be collectors: they go out into the world, look at things in new ways, and bring things back to the studio to inspire their art.
Children explore observational drawing and experimental mark making, and think about how they can use composition to create their artwork.
The exercises and projects in this pathway encourage children to begin to develop hand-eye coordination through slow and paced looking. This is balanced by encouraging children to nurture a playful exploration of media, a curiosity towards the world around them, and to begin to take creative risks/trust instinct.
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!
Maths: Use language to develop understanding of patterns, sequence, symmetry, pictorial representation, repetition.
Science: Identifying common and wild plants, trees, structures of plants, exploring local environments and habitats, seasons, planting and growing.
PSHE: Peer discussion, Collaboration.
I Can…
I have seen how some artists explore the world around them to help them find inspiration.
I can explore my local environment (school, home, etc) and collect things which catch my eye.
I can explore composition by arranging the things that I have collected.
I can talk about what I collected, and how and why I arranged the things I collected.
I can take photographs of my artwork and I can think about focus and light.
I can use careful looking to practice observational drawing, and I can focus for 5 or 10 minutes.
I can hold an object and I can make a drawing thinking about the way the object feels.
I can combine different drawing media such as wax resist and watercolour, graphite and water, wax crayon and pencil in my observational drawings.
I can work small in my sketchbook and on large sheets of paper, exploring how I can use line, shape and colour in my work.
I can cut out and collage to explore composition.
I can talk about the work I have made with my classmates, sharing the things I thought were successful and thinking about things I would like to try again.
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.
In this pathway pupils are introduced to the idea that artists are inspired by the world around them. Children are empowered to go out into the world, re-see, collect and re-present through drawing.
Week 1: Introduction
Artists Are Collectors & Explorers
Introduce children to the idea that artists are often collectors and explorers.
Visit the “Talking Points: Artists As Collectors & Explorers” resource and choose from one or more artists. Enable children to understand that by exploring our environments with “fresh eyes” and curiosity we can find inspiration for our artwork.
Use sketchbooks to make visual lists of places and things you could explore and collect in your school, home and area.
Week 2: Explore and Collect
Explore and Collect
Get active and invite children to go outside into the playground or school area to collect and create “Patterns With Nature”.
Play with the objects to create new shapes and patterns on the ground, around branches, and on logs. Be curious. Think about how even ordinary things like twigs and pebbles might be interesting when you really look at them.
Gather the objects back to the classroom and explore composition and arrangements on paper and table tops. Don’t fasten anything down. Just play with the compositions you can make. Can you sort by colour, size, material, type?
Photograph Your Work
Take photographs of the compositions. Ask the children to adapt and change how the objects are arranged or to photograph them from different angles or orientations.
Remember to reflect on the different elements of the session: active gathering and careful documentation. Discuss how the children found these approaches.
Print out the photographs and save them. They can be used later in the project.
Week 3: Sketchbook Work
Two Drawing Exercises
Working in a sketchbook and using a variety of media (handwriting pen, pencil), try the exercises below, drawing the things you collected the week before as individual items (i.e. not part of a bigger composition).
Exercise One:
Continuous Line Drawing Exercise
Continuous Line Drawings are a great way to get participants to loosen up, get them to look closely, and make new and interesting marks on the paper. With younger children (6 to 10) we sometimes call them “squiggle drawings”.
Make drawings inspired by sense of touch. This is a fun way to encourage children to be really curious about what they are drawing. How do they use the sense of touch to find the information they need to make a drawing? Can you forget what you know by sight? And how does this make your drawings look?
For full instructions visit the “Feely Drawings” resource.
Week 4 and 5: Projects
Choose a Project
Choose one of the two projects below to explore how pupils can bring all their skills together into a finished drawing.
Project One:
Wax Resist Autumn Leaves
In the “Wax Resist Autumn Leaves” resource, children are introduced to wax resist techniques, inspired by the rich colours and shapes of autumn leaves.
Begin with observational drawing techniques, using the objects you collected from your environment as subject matter, followed by an immersive exploration of colour and scale using wax crayons and Brusho Crystal Colours. If your pupils collected other objects rather than leaves, simply adapt the resource to suit.
You might also like to visit the “What is Composition?” resource to help pupils think about how they might build an awareness of composition in their artwork.
Or…
Project Two
Autumn Floor Drawings
Use the “Autumn Floor Drawing” resource which you can find as the second part of the resource. to give pupils the opportunity to continue practicing their observation and mark-making skills, this time bringing in two added elements:
1) Thinking about composition. These drawings have no top or bottom as they are inspired by the fallen leaves and twigs on the ground. You might like to talk to pupils about composition using the “What is Composition?” resource.
2) Great experimentation with different media. Explore graphite, water soluble graphite, wax resist and watercolour or ink, or a combination of all those media.
Reflect, Share, Talk
Time to see the work which has been made, talk about intention and outcome.
Give the work the respect it deserves and clear a space to see all the work made, including the sketchbook work made earlier. Remind the children of their hard work and enable them to connect all the elements of their learning.
If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams.
You might like to assemble the drawings made in Week 2 and 3 into a “class” Backwards Sketchbook.
Use the free to access “Talking Points: Anna Atkins” resource to introduce children to the work of the first female photographer who used cyanotypes. 
Use the “
