Pathway: An Exploration of Coal Mining, Inspired By Henry Moore
Pathway for Years 4 & 5
Disciplines:
Drawing, Sketchbooks, Construction
Key Concepts:
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That when we draw, we can use expressive marks to create tonal variety.
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That we can use both images and words as a starting point to create work.
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That we can combine drawing and making to make a creative response.
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That when we photograph 3D work, we can use light and tonal value to capture a sense of space, and we can use the qualities of the material (charcoal) to capture the atmosphere.
In this pathway, children discover how they can combine drawing and making to capture a sense of enclosed space using charcoal and model making materials.
Children are freed from the constraints of creating representational drawings based on observation – instead they use the qualities of the medium to work in dynamic ways. They will also see how 2d drawing can be combined with 3d making to create a sense of space.
Theme: Coal mining, Relationship of Body to Place, Enclosed Spaces
Medium:
Charcoal, Construction Materials
Artists: Henry Moore
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!
This pathway has been made in response to the exhibition Drawing in The Dark, a curation of Henry Moore’s coal mining drawings, inspired by the release of a new book written by art historian (and AccessArt Trustee), Chris Owen.
Additional Pathway
This pathway is an additional pathway to help you extend, develop or further personalise the AccessArt Primary Art Curriculum.
We suggest this pathway is used to replace a “Working in 3 Dimensions” (Blue) or a “Drawing and Sketchbooks” (Orange) pathway for ages 7 and above.
It could replace the drawing pathway “Gestural Drawing with Charcoal” pathway or making pathway “Set Design“.
You may also like to use the activities in this pathway with a smaller group of children in an after school club or community context.
Teaching Notes
Find the MTP for this pathway here.
Session Recording: Exploring Charcoal
Curriculum Links
History: World War II
Science: Rocks, Electricity, Environmental changes
PSHE: Supports Responsibility to the planet, Collaboration, Peer Discussion.
I Can…
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I can explore how artists sometimes make art inspired by certain places/experiences
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I have experimented with the types of marks I can make with charcoal
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I can use light and dark tonal values to create atmosphere in my work
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I can construct a model using cardboard and paper, combining drawing and making to make my own creative response
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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
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I can appreciate the work of my classmates and I can share my response to their work, identifying similarities and differences in our approach and outcomes.
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I can take photographs of my work thinking about presentation, 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
Medium/large cardboard box, newsprint, charcoal (ideally both willow and compressed), erasers, black and white chalk, rags.
Construction Materials (see list here )
Pathway: An Exploration of Coal Mining
A PDF of this pathway can be found here.
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Week 1: Introduce
Explore Henry Moore Drawing in The Dark
In 1942 Henry Moore spent one week creating observational drawings down the same coal mine that his father had worked in.
1942
Henry Moore sketching two miners at Wheldale Colliery
Henry Moore Foundation archive
7 x 8” black and white printUse the “Talking Points: Henry Moore Drawing in The Dark” resource to open up discussions about Moore’s coal mining drawings. Invite children to create “Visual Notes” inspired by the work that they see and the discussions that result on loose paper.
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Option 1: Weeks 3 & 4: Inspired by Imagery
Charcoal Cave
Use and adapt the “Charcoal Cave” resource to create a coal mine.
Refer back to sketchbook drawings and notes to help capture the sense of place.
Provide pupils with stills from the films in the “Drawing Source Material” while they build their sets. Encourage children to build their own props.
Consider the structure of a mine, thinking about the layout and equipment used to ensure the workers were safe.
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Option 2: Week 3 & 4: Inspired by Quotes
Set Design
Use and adapt the “Set Design with Primary Aged Children” resource and give children the opportunity to build a set using quotes from the “Talking Points: Drawing in The Dark” as a starting point.
Combine this activity with part 1 of the “Charcoal Cave” to explore mark making with charcoal. Use the charcoal drawings to create an impactful space inspired by a quote.
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Optional:
Add Figurative Drawings
Use and adapt the “Exaggerating to Communicate” resource. Invite pupils to adopt the poses that miners had to squeeze into, to access smaller areas within the mines. Ask them to draw how it feels.
Cut out the drawings and add them to the charcoal coal mining sets.
Or use and adapt the “Drawings with Mass” resource to create a sense of weight in drawings.
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Week 5: Photography
Photograph
Invite children to take photos of their sets in a dark room, using a torch to highlight areas of their coal mines and to capture the sense of space.
Use and adapt this resource to find out how children can take high quality photographs of “3D Artwork“.
Ask children to select their favourite images to print and add to sketchbooks.
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Week 6: Present & Share
Share, Reflect & Discuss
Clear a space and present drawings, sketchbooks, models and photographs.
Walk around the space as if it were a gallery. Enable a conversation about the journey and skills learnt.
Reflect on the work that has been made by running a class “crit“.
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