Pathway: Cloth, Thread, Paint
Pathway for Years 3 & 4
Disciplines:
Painting, Sewing, Drawing, Sketchbooks
Key Concepts:
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That artists can combine art and craft using painting and sewing together to make art.
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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.
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That the skills we learn in one medium such as mark making in drawing, can be used in another such as sewing.
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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!
Teaching Notes
Find the MTP for this pathway here.
Find a recording that supports the Finding Marks Made by Artists resource here.
Curriculum Links
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…
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I have explored how artists combine media and use them in unusual ways to make art.
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I can share my response to their work.
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I can use my sketchbook to make visual notes capturing ideas that interest me.
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I can use my sketchbook to test ideas and explore colour and mark making.
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I can use paint to create a background on fabric, mixing colours to create different hues, tints and dilutions.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
Pathway: Cloth, Thread, Paint
A PDF of this pathway can be found here.
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Week 1: Introduce Artists
Hannah Rae & Alice Kettle
Odyssey by Alice Kettle, Odyssey, thread on canvas (2003) Introduce children to the work of textile artists Alice Kettle and Hannah Rae through the free to access “Talking Points: Alice Kettle” and “Talking Points: Hannah Rae” resources.
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.
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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.
You can find a zoom recording of how to use the Finding Marks in Drawings Made by Artists here.
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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.
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Stitch!
Use the “Making Painted & Sewn Landscapes” resource to enable an exploration of how to make painted and sewn squares.
Use sketchbooks as a tool to develop ideas, explore colour and experiment with mark making.
You may like to use the following free to access Drawing Source Material resources in your class:
Wild Flower Meadow
Drone Footage Natural Landscape
Drone Footage Urban Landscape
Moving WaterOr better still have the pupils explore their own environment and make work in response to the habitat/environment local to them.
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Adaptation
Volcano Adaption
If you wish to adapt this resource to a volcano theme:
Begin by introducing children to the work of Frank Bowling with our free to access “Talking Points: Frank Bowling“.
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.
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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.
Use the “Crit in the Classroom” resource to help you.
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