A collection of imagery to explore work in charcoal by Edgar Degas.

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.

Charcoal Drawings by Edgar Degas

Seated Dancer, 1873–74
Edgar Degas. Charcoal, Graphite and Chalk on Pink Paper

Violinist, Study for “The Dance Lesson” ca. 1878–79
Edgar Degas. Charcoal and  Graphite on Green Paper

Two Dancers ca. 1879 Edgar Degas. Charcoal and Chalk on Green Paper

Questions to Ask Children

Can you describe one of the artworks above? What kinds of words would you use to describe the drawing to a person who couldn’t see it?

Degas often used coloured paper for his drawings. Why do you think he did this? What does it add to the drawings?

Degas often used two materials such as charcoal and chalk, or charcoal and graphite. Why do you think he did this? What does adding two or more drawing materials add to the drawing?

In some of Degas’ drawings you can see a faint grid. Why do you think Degas used a grid?

Look at “Two Dancers” and this time look at the areas of the page where there is “no” drawing. How are these areas of the drawing as important as the areas with marks on? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Gestural Drawing with charcoal

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

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

Introducing you to the work of artist Laura McKendry.

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 McKendry

Laura McKendry is an artist who lives and works in London. She takes her inspiration from nature – plants, animals, insects…

In the video above Laura shares why she likes drawing dogs, and why she likes using charcoal to help her make big gestural drawings. 

Website

Questions to Ask Children

Why do you think Laura likes to work in large scale when she uses charcoal?

Which words would you use to describe Laura’s charcoal dogs?

What kinds of lines does she use?

Where does she move from when she draws? Her wrist? Her elbow? Her shoulder? Her whole body?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Gestural Drawing with charcoal

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

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

You May Also Like…

Pathway: Exploring the world though mono print

This is featured in the ‘Exploring The World Through Mono print’ pathway

Talking Points: Xgaoc’o Xare

Video enabled monoprint resources

A collection of imagery and sources designed to stimulate conversation around the work of Shaheen Ahmed.

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.

Shaheen Ahmed

Primordial Sanctuary by Shaheen Ahmed

“When countries are at war, when people are suffering, that is the time to reach out. The very least we should do is empathise.”

“Craftivist” Shaheen Ahmed lives and works in the West Midlands where she manipulates maps and paper using Kirigami to connect her passion for Islamic art, and exploration of social justice.

The concept of empathy is central to Shaheen’s work. Her manipulation of maps, over-writing with pattern and marks, is Shaheen’s way of commenting upon and mending the destruction and fear caused by boundaries and borders. The meditative actions she performs become Shaheen’s blessings outwards for a better world. 

Linktree

www.shaheenahmed.com/

Q&A with Shaheen Ahmed by New Art West Midlands

Mapping Empathy by Shaheen Ahmed

Craft Council Exhibition

Instagram

Primordial Sanctuary by Shaheen Ahmed

Persia by Shaheen Ahmed

Questions to Ask Children

Look carefully at Shaheen’s artwork. How would you describe it to someone who couldn’t see it?

Do you think the processes Shaheen uses and the final outcome contribute to Shaheen’s wellbeing?

How do you feel when you look at the artwork? Are you thinking about the painstaking processes Shaheen uses, or the final outcome? Or are you thinking about the people in the places she makes art about? Or something else? 

Shaheen describes herself as a “Craftivist”. What do you think that means?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Exploring pattern

This is featured in the ‘Exploring Pattern’ 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 Andy Gilmore.

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.

Andy Gilmore

“A master of colour and geometric composition, Andy Gilmore’s work is often characterised as kaleidoscopic and hypnotic, though it could just as well be described as visually acoustic, his often complex arrangements referencing the scales and melodies in music.”

http://agilmore.com/

Instagram

Questions to Ask Children

Choose one of Andy’s pieces of art. Can you describe what you see?

How do you feel when you look at Andy’s work? 

Andy’s work appears in newspapers and magazines, record covers and in advertising. Why do you think Andy’s work is used this way? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Exploring pattern

This is featured in the ‘Exploring Pattern’ 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 Louise Despont.

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.

Louise Despont

“[In drawing] the downshift in speed is what opened the door for information and inspiration to step through”

Louise Despont is an artist whose practice focuses on drawing. Her works comprise of detailed geometric drawings which evolve organically. The making of the artwork, and the outcomes, are powerful, meditative and mindful. 

She lives in USA and Bali. 

www.louisedespont.com/

Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

Apologies if you cannot watch the videos below if YouTube is blocked in your school. The videos do not appear on other platforms, but we thought they were worth including. Pls ask your school IT to see if they can whitelist these videos. 

In the videos below, Louise describes how art and life are intrinsically linked. 

For younger children: As teacher we think you will enjoy all the videos. Pls select sections to show your own class. 

“Drawing has taught me to see, and it has taught me a quality of attention unparalleled to most other states of mind.”

In the TedTalk below, Louise Despont shares why she thinks drawing is so important both to herself and to us all as human beings. 

How and where Louise finds inspiration…

Questions to Ask Children

Do you think Louise has a clear idea of the outcome before she starts each piece? 

How long do you imagine she works on each piece? How does she know when a piece is finished? Is a piece ever finished?

How do the drawings make you feel?

How would it feel to make drawings like that?

Louise gives advice:

• Look at your work upside down for a new perspective.

• Reorganise your pages to see if there isn’t an entirely different story inside the one you had.

What do you think she means by this advice, and can you apply it to your own work?

Look around you. Could you begin to collect images or objects, using your instinct, that you are attracted to. Could you use them as a starting point to draw? What tools could you use to help you draw? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Exploring pattern

This is featured in the ‘Exploring Pattern’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

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.

These resources are free to access and are not a part of AccessArt Membership.

The Natural World

Use the film below as source material to enable the children to draw the natural world.

You can either choose to stop the video, and draw from a collection of paused images, or you can also choose to ask the children to work from the moving image. 

Find drawing exercises below to help your drawing exploration.

Drawing Exercises

1. Have the children draw in a quiet room, with the video on the whiteboard.

2. Stop the video at a chosen frame and use your voice to direct their drawing. Choose words which relate to the imagery, for example you might decide to focus their attention on vertical lines, so you might choose words like: line, growth, upward, downward, fall… or you might choose to attract their attention to the energy of a wave or the curve of an animals back. Think carefully about the words you use – they don’t have to be used in sentences – you can speak lists. 

3. Each sketchbook response might take just 3 to 5 minutes, then move on to another still. Create a sense of momentum. 

4. Direct pupils to use a chosen medium. You might like to start with soft pencil or handwriting pen. 

You May Also Like…

Pathway:Exploring the world though mono print

This is featured in the ‘Exploring The World Through Mono print’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Pathway: Making Animated Drawings

This is featured in the ‘Making Animated Drawings’ pathway

Show me what you see

Videos and activities to help you explore Typography.

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 Typography?

Typography is the art of creating and arranging letters in a way which is visually appealing and which makes the letters legible.

The videos below explore different aspects of typography. 

A Introduction to Typography…

Questions to Ask Children

Did you expect to see the artwork at the end? Was it a surprise?

How much practise do you think this took?

Do you think Pramod made lots of mistakes along the way? How much would he have learnt from his mistakes?

Questions to Ask Children

How do you feel when you watch the videos? 

What could you make letters out of?

Can you ever guess how the next letters might be made? 

What is Kinetic Typography?

Kinetic Typography is the technical name for “moving text”. 

Questions to Ask Children

What do you think the designers are trying to say through the font they use?

Questions to Ask Children

How do you feel when you watch the videos? 

Can you think of other examples you have seen of kinetic typography?

Logos

Logos can tell you a lot about what a brand is about and what it does. Next time you see a Logo, consider the message behind it.

Questions to Ask Children

What is Disney trying to convey through the Disney font/logo?

In the animation what do you think the designers are trying to convey with the typography?

Resources which Explore Typography

Cut out Typography

Typography for Children

Making an illustrated Alphabet

Making a Monogram

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

See This Resource Used In Schools…

You May Also Like…

Pathway: Typography and Maps

This is featured in the ‘Typography and Maps’ pathway

Talking Points: What is typography?

Talking Points: Louise Fili

Videos and sources to help you explore the work of African-American artist Romare Bearden.

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.

Romare Bearden

Romare Bearden’s artwork includes poetic memories from his childhood, powerful and thought-provoking statements about African American culture, and reinterpretations of biblical stories from an African American perspective.

In the work below, we see Bearden’s collages of Homers Odyssey, influenced by the quilting craft from African-American slaves and by post modern artists such as of Henri Matisse. 

Download the PDF at this link to see some high quality images of the work produced. 

The following video describes Romare’s work as a Black American artist.

You can find a Google Arts & Culture Story about Romare’s work here.

Questions to Ask Children

“You sing on the canvas. You improvise, you find the rhythm, and catch it good, and structure it as you go along, then the song is you.” Romare Bearden.

What do you think Romare meant by the quote above? 

What do you think it is about the shapes and colours Romare uses in his artwork that helps his images speak to so many people?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: working with shape and colour

This is featured in the ‘Working with Shape and Colour’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

Videos and sources to help you explore the work of Printmaker Claire Willberg.

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.

Claire Willberg

Claire Willberg graduated as a sculptor at the Royal College of Art in 1989. Subsequently she completed an MA in Printmaking at Camberwell College of Art. Since 2010 she has been based at the Slaughterhaus Print Studio in South London.

Her current practice combines traditional intaglio and relief printmaking techniques. She takes inspiration from discarded objects found on the streets of London and gives them a new existence through her work.

In the videos above Claire uses the shapes inspired by the objects she finds to make animations. 

www.instagram.com/clairewillbergartist/

Questions to Ask Children

When you watch Claire’s animations, what do you think? 

What kind of a world is Claire creating for us? 

Look around you and find items which have been discarded. Look at packaging too – open out cartons and boxes and look at the shapes. What kind of shapes would they inspire you to make out of paper, and what could they become in an animation?

Do you have particular colours you are drawn to using?

Do you think you have to know “what you are doing” or can you “play” with shapes and see what happens? Do the shapes give you ideas for stories? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: working with shape and colour

This is featured in the ‘Working with Shape and Colour’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

Video and sources to help you explore cut outs by Matisse.

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.

Painting with Scissors: Cut Outs by Matisse

Enjoy the videos below to understand what we Matisse meant by “Painting with Scissors” and to understand how revolutionary his cut outs were at the time. 

See a Visual History Of Matisse’s work at Google Arts & Culture here. 

The video below is an animation made using cut outs by Matisse, animated by Beatriz Rosa. 

Questions to Ask Children

How do you think the size of the scissors matisse used affected the artwork he created?

Do you think Matisse drew on the paper first before he cut the shapes out?

Do you think Matisse had a “plan” in his head when he picked up coloured paper and scissors?

Matisse was old and ill when he made the cut outs. Can you tell that from the energy of the work? 

How big would you like to work? 

What do you think Matisse would have thought about the animation made by Beatriz Rosa? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: working with shape and colour

This is featured in the ‘Working with Shape and Colour’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

Video and sources to help you explore the Bayeux Tapestry.

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.

The Bayeux Tapestry

Discover the entire Bayeux Tapestry scene by scene and follow online the 70 meter-long embroidered canvas which tells the story of the conquest of England in 1066 via the official Bayeux Tapestry site.

Use the above images to inspire “Show Me What You See” looking and drawing exercise. 

The Animated Bayeux Tapestry was created as a student project while at Goldsmiths College. Just as the historic original embroidery does, the animation depicts the lead up to the Norman Invasion of Britain in 1066. 

Animation by David Newton, Music and sound design by Marc Sylvan.

“Close Looking” Questions to Ask Children

Tell me about the clothes the people wear. What purposes do the outfits serve? What patterns can you see repeated? 

What shapes and forms do you see repeated? Why do you think the artists repeated similar forms? 

Tell me about the colours you see. How do they make you feel? Would we use similar colours today? 

How do the artists depict ideas about strength and power?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: working with shape and colour

This is featured in the ‘Working with Shape and Colour’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

Introducing you to the work of Enfant Précoce

Enfant Précoce / Francis Essoua Kalu

Teacher Advisory: Please watch the video before showing it to children to ensure you are happy. You may prefer to pause the video at several key points and present them as a series of stills. 

Enfant Précoce / Francis Essoua Kalu. Enfant Précoce is a painter, born in Cameroon in 1989

Instagram

Interview at Metal Magazine

Interview at Artsper

Website

Questions to Ask Children

What do you think the artist is trying to do with his “Exposez-Moi” project? (translated as “Expose Me”)

Introducing you to the work of Kenyan Photographer Thandiwe Muriu.

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.

Thandiwe Muriu

Camo 05 © Thandiwe Muriu

Thandiwe Muriu is a photographer from Kenya. Thandiwe’s work celebrates her own African heritage and tackles issues around perception of identity. 

See more at Thandiwe’s website and Instagram feed

Questions to Ask Children

When you hear Thandiwe speak and listen to her words how does it make you feel?

When you look at her photographs what do you see? What do you feel?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Exploring Identity

This is featured in the ‘Exploring Identity’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

Pathway for Years 1 & 2

Disciplines:
Drawing, Sketchbooks, Collage

Key Concepts:

• 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. 

Themes:
Natural Forms, Seasonal Changes, Patterns, Symmetry

Medium:
Graphite, Handwriting Pen, Watercolour / Brusho, Wax Resist

Artists: 

Rosie James, Alice Fox

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.

Curriculum Links

Geography: Adapt to explore habitats. 

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.

Materials

Soft pencils, handwriting pens.

Project 1: Wax Resist Autumn Leaves – A3 cartridge paper, metallic wax crayons, brusho ink.

Project 2: Autumn Floor Drawings – Water colour, graphite, charcoal, soft B pencils, inks, A2 paper.

Pathway: Explore & Draw

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  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.

  Create “Digital Collages” using this resource.

  

  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”.

  For full instructions visit the “Continuous Line Drawing” resource. 

• Exercise Two:
  

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

See the Pathway Used in Schools…

If You Use AccessArt Resources…
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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

Scroll drawings

Encourage children to experiment with size and ratio

Larger than life Scroll drawings

Explore drawing objects life sized, using a selection of media

Help children to draw larger

Explore a more gestural approach