By Tobi Meuwissen

In this activity, inspired by the pastel animations of artist Guma Ranks, year 6 from Sheffield Girls’ School created a series of observational drawings of tins to create a stop-motion animation.

Learners explored form, considering how lines can be used to represent convex shapes, and developed their observational drawings into moving image, working between both tactile and digital techniques.

This two-part activity will take 2 hours to complete, with the first session focusing on drawing, followed by a second session dedicated to animating. I recommend trialling the activity before facilitating it, to ensure you fully understand the process and can confidently support learners with each step.

This activity is suitable for learners aged 11 and upwards.

Thank you to the Year 6 class at Sheffield Girls’ School for participating in this workshop.

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How can artists help us see and use spaces in new ways?

Molly Haslund’s work is inspired by everyday objects, places, and environments. She uses action and performance to mix the ordinary with the unexpected, change spaces, and make people think about how and why we use them.

Watch the video below and discuss why she draws these circles and the impact they might have in a space you use yourself. 

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The Circle Project by Molly Haslund

Teacher’s Notes

“Molly Haslund ventures out into the city wearing grey: a grey suit, grey socks and grey shoes so that she blends in with the tarmac and the pavement. She carries a huge pair of compasses much taller than herself. She stops somewhere and starts drawing a white circle on the ground. She completes the first circle and then moves the pair of compasses and starts drawing a new circle that overlaps the first one. She draws a third circle and stands in her grey shoes in the middle of the circle for a moment before snapping the pair of compasses together and moving on.” https://www.mollyhaslund.com/circles-2013-2

“… The focus is on the physical action, on the movement of the circles, and the patterns emerging and disappearing again – and of course the effect grows with the number of participants. on the other hand, if you want to draw alone, you can just withdraw a little from the rest. A bit like on the dance floor.”  Molly Haslund 

Watch the video with the pupils, and look at the images below. Find questions to prompt discussion at the end of this resource. 

Circles, Molly Haslund, 2015, New York, Peekskill Project #6, Hudson Valley MOCA, Photo by Joe Orangias

Circles (2013), Molly Haslund, Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde, Denmark, Photo by Matilde Haaning

Circles, Molly Haslund, 2014, Art Week, Superkilen, Copenhagen, Denmark, Photo by Matilde Haaning

Circles, Molly Haslund, 2014, Art Week, Superkilen, Copenhagen, Denmark, Photo by Matilde Haaning

Questions to Ask Children

How would you feel if you came across these circles in your street or playground, without knowing who had made them or why? What would you do? Would they change the way you move?

How do you think Molly, the artist, chooses where to make her circles?

How could you make similar circles in your playground, using chalk tied to sticks? 

How would the circles you make join up with the circles your friends make?

What would other pupils in your school think if they discovered your circles? What do you think they would do?

What other shapes could you make with your body in the playground? Would you need tools? 

If music played would you make different shapes? How would the shapes be different? 

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