By Helena Lyons

This project is inspired by the work ‘House’ by British contemporary artist Rachel Whiteread, a monumental concrete cast of the inside of a Victorian terraced house made in the early 1990s.

In this activity, learners are invited to consider spaces where they feel safe, how those spaces make them feel, and the memories they associate with them. To ensure inclusion and sensitivity towards our different experiences of home, invite learners, where applicable, to consider other spaces that feel safe for them. This could be their home, a particular room in school, a house from a story, a friend’s house, a den, a treehouse, or even a museum.

Using a range of techniques such as cardboard construction and frottage (rubbings), monoprinting and collage, leaners will create a freestanding structure of an ‘autobiographical house’ that communicates personal feelings and associations.

This activity is aimed at KS1 and KS2 children, but could be adapted and enjoyed by older age groups too. To engage fully with the range of techniques, you will need between 3 and 4 one hour sessions to complete this activity.

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What We Like About This Resource…

“We really love how Nichola devised and facilitated this activity, giving learners complete freedom whilst limiting certain elements such as colour palette. This activity incorporates a journeyful approach, in which the experiments all come together to form a shared outcome, and celebrate every learners exploration, which we love!” – Tobi, AccessArt

See This Resource Used in Educational Settings…

Nicole Dubertrand Process Art at HP Home Education group

Primary 1, Glenwood Primary School, Nichola Dalton artist educator

See This Resource Used in Educational Settings…

Primary 1, Glenwood Primary School, Nichola Dalton artist educator

What We Like About This Resource…

“I really like how this playful resource helps us to make a creative response inspired by a stimulus, ensuring that the stimulus is only an entry point into an outcome that will look totally different. Exploring the themes of colour, texture and composition through the lens of different artists also helps us see how we can interpret (and re-interpret) colours and materials in a meaningful way. Viewfinders and collage are also great tools for those who experience ‘fear of the white page’ and will allow learners to make conscious creative decisions as they go.” – Tobi, AccessArt

Sportswear Design

Aim: To introduce pupils to sportswear design, what it’s used for and what it can represent. Pupils will get the opportunity to design their own sportswear whilst developing painting and collage skills.

Step 1: Introduce

Begin the session by asking pupils to make an Olympic project sketchbook using one of the “Making Sketchbooks” resources.

Introduce pupils to iconic Olympic Fashion from the past using “Talking Points: Olympic Fashion“. Invite pupils to create “Visual Notes” in their sketchbooks inspired by what they see.

Step 2: Drawing

Give pupils the opportunity to draw figures from life inspired by the “Life Drawing For Children” resource. Borrow some sports equipment from the PE department to inform their poses. Take it in turns to model in an athletic pose related to the sports prop and draw.

Drawing from Life with Children

Step 3: Introduce

Introduce pupils to the idea that sportswear can be designed to reflect a sport, person, a team, a place etc. Watch the videos on “Talking Points: Designing Sportswear” and use the questions to prompt a discussion about what designers use as inspiration for their designs.

Using paint and collage, invite pupils to create decorated papers which can be transformed into “2d and 3d Fashion Designs“. Adapt the resource slightly to encourage them to think about what motifs/symbols/patterns they might create to reflects their local area, personality, a sport, olympic value, or a focus of your choice.

marking the paper pattern

Step 4: Reflect

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

Invite children to display the work in a clear space on tables or on the wall. Recap with them about the exploration – where they started, what they discovered and what they enjoyed.

If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams.

attaching to the mannequin

ages 9-11
ages 11-14

Materials:

Sketchbooks

A3 and A4 Cartridge Paper

Drawing materials

Sports equipment to use as props

Acrylic Paint

Brushes

Scissors

PVA glue

Mannequins (Wooden or Cardboard)

Clear tape

Adaptations:

Explore Other Resources in Athletics:

Making Medals

Sporting Sculptures

Sculptural Sneakers

Explore other olympic themes

history

Values

ceremony

An Olympic Poster

Aim: To introduce pupils to the ethos of the Olympics and create a body of work in response. Pupils will get the opportunity to practise collaging skills to create a poster based on an Olympic value.

Step 1: Introduce in Sketchbooks

Consider asking pupils to make an Olympic project sketchbook using one of the “Making Sketchbooks” resources.

Begin by introducing pupils to the Olympic and Paralympic ethos and the 3 values Friendship, Respect and Excellence with “Talking Points: The Olympic Ethos“.

Follow on by introducing pupils to the idea that each Olympic and Paralympic games has an Olympic Design team who captures the essence of the host city through design. Explore “Talking Points: Olympic Design” and invite pupils to create “Visual Notes“.

Step 2:

Invite pupils to create posters adapting the “Drawing With Scissors” resource. Depending on the abilty of your pupils you can either focus on creating collages and colour mixing, or you can follow the project through to screen printing.

Take inspiration from photographs taken at the Olympics and Paralympics on Getty images or Istock. Or explore the Paris 2024 Olympic Poster by Ugo Gattoni.

If pupils need any interventions you can introduce them to some of the Olympian artists with “Talking Points: Olympian Artists“.

Drawing with Scissors