Videos and sources to help you explore the work of Printmaker Gail Brodholt.

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.

Gail Brodholt

“I suppose what I’m really interested in is those unconsidered and unnoticed places that people pass through. They are on their way to somewhere else, presumably more important – on the escalators, on the tube, train station platforms, motorways….

“I like the sense we all have that between here and there anything can happen. Although of course it almost always doesn’t. When you are travelling you are free from normal life with all the anticipation of an adventure ahead of you.”

Gail is both a painter and a printmaker and finds that working in one medium informs and enhances the other. – Gail’s Website

Questions to Ask Students

What do you notice about Gail’s process?

What can you spot any themes running through her prints?

How would you describe Gail’s poster for the London Transport System? Consider line and colour.

What do you like about Gail’s work?

Do you prefer the black and white work or the coloured work? Why?

You May Also Like…

Pathway: HOW CAN I USE PRINTMAKING TO EXPLORE THE STRUCTURE OF A BUILDING?

Explore printmaking in urban settings with this pathway

Show me what you see

Enable close looking and drawing with this exercise

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Find out how pupils can respond to artists work in sketchbooks

A collection of imagery and sources designed to explore the work of artist Edgar Heap of Birds.

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.

Edgar Heap of Birds

‘Based in Oklahoma City and on tribal land, where he has lived since 1981, Heap of Birds consistently creates works that confront repressed or unacknowledged histories of state and settler violence against Native communities in the United States. His work often draws parallels between historical violence and ongoing injustices today. By employing the contemporary term “active shooter” to characterize massacres committed by U.S. troops against Native Americans over a century ago, Heap of Birds reanimates the past in the language of the present. In so doing, he points to the violence of history itself: the power of a dominant culture to erase, forget, or otherwise obscure its own acts of oppression.’ –MoMA

Find more work on Edgar Heap of Birds Website

At 00.55 there is an artwork in the background with language you may not want to show young students.

Questions To Ask Students

How does Edgar Heap of Birds incorporate his identity into his artwork?

How would you describe the monoprints?

What do you like about the physical appearance prints?

How does the work make you feel?

Are these prints important? Why? Consider both the artist and the audience in your answer.

Videos and sources to help you explore the work of Printmaker Sinclair Ashman.

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.

Sinclair Ashman

Sinclair Ashman’s practice as a printmaker is in deliberate, stark contrast to his controlled, client-focused work as a graphic designer. His highly textured, largely abstract prints are elemental expressions of mood and immediate, unplanned responses to everyday materials. In essence, he sees the print as a three-dimensional medium, often employing deep impressions in thick, high quality papers.

His creative process starts not with thinking about the print, but with the printing plate. This is a direct response to the chosen materials, which are stuck down onto a board base. Sketches are rarely used. Instead, plates are created in response to ‘what the materials want to do’. – Derby Print Open

Questions to Ask Students

How do you think that Sinclair’s collagraph process differs from his graphic design job?

Can you spot some of the different materials Sinclair sticks to his collograph plates to make marks?

How would you describe the kinds of marks you can see in his prints? What techniques do you think he’s used?

What do you like about the work?

Do you prefer the flat prints or the sculptural prints? Why?

How does the work make you feel?

You May Also Like…

Pathway: how can i create experimental marks using printmaking?

This is featured in a pathway exploring experimental printmaking, aimed at 11-14 year olds

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Find out how pupils can respond to artists work in sketchbooks

Show me what you see

Enable close looking and drawing with this exercise

A collection of sources and imagery to explore the work of Paul Nash.

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.

Paul Nash

‘Paul Nash (11 May 1889 – 11 July 1946) was a British surrealist painter and war artist, as well as a photographer, writer and designer of applied art. Nash was among the most important landscape artists of the first half of the twentieth century. He played a key role in the development of Modernism in English art.

The artworks he produced during World War I are among the most iconic images of the conflict. Later in life, during World War II, he produced two series of anthropomorphic depictions of aircraft, before producing a number of landscapes rich in symbolism with an intense mystical quality.’ – Wikipedia

Show the whole video or select parts to watch in class, to discover Paul Nash’s love for landscape, his work as a war artist and his fascination with WWII planes later in life.

Landscape Paintings

Avebury (1937) by Paul Nash. Original from The Museum of New Zealand. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

Landscape by Paul Nash. Original from The Yale University Art Gallery. 

Oxfordshire Landscape (1944) painting in high resolution by Paul Nash. Original from The Birmingham Museum. 

Questions to Ask Children

Describe what you can see.

How would you describe the marks in this painting?

How does light, shadow and colour impact the space and atmosphere?

Compare two paintings. What similarities and differences can you see?

How does this painting make you feel?

Which painting do you prefer? Why?

WWII Planes

Bomber Lair (1940) painting in high resolution by Paul Nash. Original from The Birmingham Museum. 

Bomber Lair–Egg and Fin (1940) painting in high resolution by Paul Nash. Original from The Birmingham Museum. 

Whitley Bombers Sunning (1940) painting in high resolution by Paul Nash. Original from The Birmingham Museum. 

Questions to Ask Children

Describe what you can see.

What materials do you think Nash used?

How has Nash used light and shadow to create a sense of space? Consider foreground and background.

What do you like / dislike about this painting? Why?

How has Nash created a sense of form in this drawings?

You May Also Like…

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Find out how pupils can respond to artists work in sketchbooks

Show me what you see

Enable close looking and drawing with this exercise

Videos and sources to help you explore the work of African-Caribbean textile artist Althea McNish.

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. 

Althea McNish

Althea McNish (1924-2020) was one of the first African-Caribbean textile designers to gain international recognition for her work. Althea came to England with her family as part of the Windrush Generation. Her designs capture the British landscape through a “tropical eye”, bringing bright colours and abstract patterns depicting flora and fauna, injecting much needed colour and excitement in a post-war textiles industry.

Althea McNish used a variety of printing process to create her designs, from monoprint to screenprint.

McNish’s work proved popular with the chairman of Liberty London’s department store and soon she was creating exclusive designs for furnishings, wallpapers and fashion designers across Britain. Find more information at the V&A website and explore some of McNish’s works.

Watch on Youtube from minute 4.10- 7.30 of Whoever Heard of a Black Artist to find out more about Althea McNish and her work.

Questions to Ask Children

“Everything I did, I saw it through a tropical eye.” – Althea McNish 2015

Can you spot the influence of both tropical flora and fauna and British landscapes in McNish’s designs? Describe what you can see.

Why do you think Britain was ready an injection of bright colours and patterns post-war?

What do you like about Althea McNish’s designs?

Which design is your favourite? Why?

How does McNish’s work make you feel?

A collection of sources and imagery to explore the coal mining drawings made by Henry Moore.

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. 

Henry Moore

Henry Moore is best known for his sculptures and Shelter drawings, but in 1942 Moore also created a series of sketches from Wheldale Colliery, where his father had worked. Moore spent one week drawing from observation down the dark coal mine, and then created drawings, combining memory with observation.

Moore reflected upon his experience, stating “I now like black for its blackness – for its strength, its drama, its seriousness (and unsweetness).” – C. Owen, Drawing in The Dark: Henry Moore’s Coalmining Commission, 2022, p.136 

Pit Notebook

In his Pit Notebook, Moore would create preparatory sketches. He would also make notes, jotting down what he could see or words that came to mind as he drew. On the pages of his Pit Notebook he would quickly carve out the space, creating a sense of what it was like down the coal mine in Castleford. 

Some of the sketches focus on figures and others on the environment.

These preliminary drawings were pivotal in the development of final drawings. Moore would piece together the different sketches, considering the notes he had jotted down and how he had felt within the space to create a complete drawing.

Explore a selection of Moore’s Pit Notebook sketches below.

Miners at the Coalface, 1941-42 Page 29 from Coalmining Notebook A HMF 1886 pencil 127 x 200 mm The Henry Moore Foundation: gift of the artist 1977 Photo: Nigel Moore.
Reproduced by permission of The Henry Moore Foundation
Miner Working, 1941 Page 33 from Coalmining Notebook A HMF 1890 pencil 127 x 200 mm The Henry Moore Foundation: gift of the artist 1977 Photo: Nigel Moore. Reproduced by permission of The Henry Moore Foundation
View Down Tunnel, 1941 Page 38 from Coalmining Notebook A HMF 1895 pencil, crayon 127 x 200 mm The Henry Moore Foundation: gift of the artist 1977 Photo: Nigel Moore. Reproduced by permission of The Henry Moore Foundation
Study for ‘Miners at Work on the Coalface’ 1942 HMF 1961 Photo: Henry Moore Archive

Quotes From Henry Moore  

Here you will find some quotes by Henry Moore referencing his developmental drawings. You may use these quotes as prompts for some activities from the “An Exploration of Coal Mining Through Henry Moore” pathway, or just use them for discussion.

“There was the problem of getting form out of darkness – of making the light from the miners’ helmet-lamps produce figures out of thick blackness – of drawing in the dark.” C. Owen, Drawing in The Dark: Henry Moore’s Coalmining Commission, 2022, p.136 

“The blackest chalk or ink is grey compared to the pitch blackness of complete darkness.” C. Owen, Drawing in The Dark: Henry Moore’s Coalmining Commission, 2022, p.67 

“To record in drawing what I felt and saw was a very difficult struggle. There was first the difficulty of seeing forms emerging out of deep darkness, then the problem of conveying the claustrophobic effect of countless wooden pitprops, 2 or 3 feet apart, receding into blackness.” – C. Owen, Drawing in The Dark: Henry Moore’s coal mining Commission, 2022, p.67 

“As each drawing develops, it is like going outside from a lighted room on a dark night – at first seeing nothing, then slowly distinguishing objects and distances – sensing space with unknown depths.”- C. Owen, Drawing in The Dark: Henry Moore’s Coalmining Commission, 2022, p.8 

“The white of the paper showing through the black chalk gives off light (almost real light) like the night sky reflected in water.”  – K. Clark, Henry Moore Drawings 1974, p.292

1942 Henry Moore sketching two miners at Wheldale Colliery Henry Moore Foundation archive 7 x 8” black and white print. Photo: Reuben Saidman
Henry Moore At the Coal Face 1942 Image (C) the Whitworth The University of Manchester (003)
Four Studies of Miners at the Coalface, 1942, drawing. (HMF 2000a). Photo Michael Phipps. Reproduced by permission of The Henry Moore Foundation copy
Pit Boys at Pit Head 1942 Wakefield Permanent Art Collection Image Courtesy of The Hepworth Wakefield LR copy. © The Henry Moore Foundation. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2022 / www.henry-moore.org. Photo credit: Wakefield Permanent Art Collection

Questions to Ask Students

What kind of marks can you see?

How would you describe the atmosphere?

What do you think Moore was trying to capture in the image?

How do you think Moore might have felt drawing in the coal mine?

How do the preparatory sketches feed into his final sketches? Can you see any similarities or differences?

Questions by Laura McKendry

What impact do you think sketching in a contained, hot, dark space such as an underground mine would have had on Moore’s drawings?

Henry Moore is known for his sculptures of the reclining female form. How would drawing miners at work have differed from his usual subject?

What atmosphere is Moore trying to evoke in these drawings? How do his marks contribute to the overall feel of the images?

Explore Laura McKendry’s resource “Expressive Charcoal Collage: Coal Mines“.

Many thanks to AccessArt trustee, Chris Owen, for the inspiration behind this Talking Points.

‘Chris Owen’s comprehensive account of the coalmining drawings explores every aspect of the commission – from Moore’s return to his childhood home and the challenges associated with ‘drawing in the dark’ to the significant influence of the project on Moore’s later work, including the Warrior and Helmet Head sculptures, and his little-known illustrations to W.H. Auden’s poetry’ – Find Chris’s book here.

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: An Exploration of coal mining Inspired by henry moore

Featured in the ‘An Exploration of Coal Mining’ pathway

Pathway: How Can I Use Light & Dark To Create A Sense Of Space, Inspired By The Coal Mining Drawings Of Henry Moore?

For ages 11-14, explore this pathway inspired by Henry Moore’s coal mining drawings

Show me what you see

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

A collection of imagery and sources designed to encourage students to engage with paper animations made by Andersen M Studio.

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.

Andersen M Studio

‘London based Andersen M Studio is a creative partnership between siblings, Martin Andersen and Line Andersen. The studio started in 2001. Andersen M Studio work in the areas of art direction, graphic design, photography, animation, film and music. Their work has been exhibited and published worldwide’ – Vimeo

Watch a behind the scenes video about how Andersen M Studio worked with a team to bring these paper sculptures to life in their ‘Clipper: Naturally Colourful’ campaign.

Questions To Ask Students

Do you think that you’d enjoy working as part of an animating team? Why?

Andersen M Studio were commissioned to create an animation for Star Alliance (an airline alliance) to highlight five specific destinations offered. Find out how they used plane tickets to create this advert.

Questions To Ask Students

Do you think that an animation advert or a live action advert it more effective? Why?

Questions To Ask Students

What is happening in this animation?

Describe the atmosphere created, how have they achieved this?

What do you like/dislike about this animation? Why?

Questions To Ask Students

What is happening in this animation?

How does this differ from the other animations?

Do you prefer the conceptual feeling of this animation, or the more literal stop motions? Why?

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Exploring Books As a sculptural material

Featured in the ‘Exploring Books as a Sculptural Material’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Find out how pupils can respond to artists work in sketchbooks

Show me what you see

Enable close looking and drawing with this exercise

A collection of imagery and sources designed to encourage students to engage with work by artist Su Blackwell.

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.

Su Blackwell

Su Blackwell is an artist who creates beautiful cut out paper illustrations. As well as exhibiting her book sculptures worldwide, she has also designed sets for theatre such as Hans Christian Anderson’s ‘The Snow Queen’ and been involved in many high profile campaigns.

Set Design

Questions To Ask Students

What can you see within the set?

How does the set make you feel?

What do you like about it?

How has Sue ensured that actors can interact with the set?

How do you think the set design might have been transformed into something life size?

Storytelling

Questions To Ask Students

Do you recognise this story?

What do you like/dislike about this animation? Why?

Do you think it is effective in conveying a narrative?

Which is your favourite part? Why?

How does Su create different transitions between scenes? Can you think of any other ways to divide the scenes using a book format?

Advertising

Questions To Ask Students

What is your favourite part of the animation? Why?

What methods do you think might have been used in to create this?

Do you prefer this to live action adverts? Why?

Do you think this method is effective in communicating a narrative?

You May Also Like…

Exploring Books As a sculptural material

Featured in the ‘Exploring Books as a Sculptural Material’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Find out how pupils can respond to artists work in sketchbooks

Show me what you see

Enable close looking and drawing with this exercise

A collection of imagery and sources designed to introduce students to book artist, Julie Chen.

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.

Julie Chen is an artist specialising in books. Her work doubles up as both a traditional book and also a sculpture. Her books can be found in libraries all over the world. Julie Chen’s “approach to artists’ books combines personal narratives with book forms that present the reader with both intimate reading experience as well as beautiful objects that can be displayed as sculpture.” – National Museum of Women in the Arts

Watch the videos below to see Chen’s books come to life. Explore more of Julie’s work on her website.

Ode To A Grand Staircase By Julie Chen

Questions to Ask Students

What kind of structures and shapes can you see within Julie Chen’s books?

What do you like / dislike about the work?

How does Julie use structures to communicate her narrative?

Do you think this is an effective way to communicate a narrative, why?

If you were building a book about the impact of climate change what kind of structures or shapes might you include?

You May Also Like…

Exploring Paper Egineering

This is featured in the ‘Exploring Paper Engineering’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Find out how pupils can respond to artists work in sketchbooks

Show me what you see

Enable close looking and drawing with this exercise

A collection of imagery and sources designed to introduce students to event based architecture firm, Populous.

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.

Populous is a global company which designs stadiums. In their words “working with communities of all sizes and using a range of disciplines, we create experiences that amplify the joy felt in shared human moments.”

Browse the images on their site to get a real sense of what it means to design stadium which bring people together and create an exciting environment for an event. See the Populous site. 

Watch the videos below with the pupils. Find questions to prompt discussion at the end of this resource. 

Questions to Ask Students

What kind of structures and shapes can you see within the stadiums?

How do the stadiums work with or against the landscape around them?

How does ‘community’ factor into their designs?

When designing a stadium what different spaces need to be considered?

If you were going to design a space what kind of events would it hold? Would you make it multifunctional?

You May Also Like…

PATHWAY: HOW CAN I CREATE COMMUNITY THROUGH STADIUM DESIGN?

Explore architecture and stadium design with this pathway

Show me what you see

Enable close looking and drawing with this exercise

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Find out how pupils can respond to artists work in sketchbooks

A collection of imagery and sources designed to introduce children to the work of artist Lewis Rossignol.

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. 

This resource is free to access and is not a part of AccessArt membership.

Lewis Rossignol is a fine artist who specialises in surrealist and experimental contemporary drawing and painting. 

“I draw inspiration from all areas of life, including but not limited to, interesting people, architecture, music, and nature. Like many others from my generation (X), I also draw inspiration from pop culture, movies, and television, especially from the 80s and 90s, which should be apparent from my work.” – Lewis Rossignol

Rossignol has Tourette syndrome and finds that his tics disappear as he’s drawing, providing him with short bursts of relief everyday. Find out how sketching helps Rossignol to manoeuvre around Tourette syndrome here.

Explore more of Rossignol’s work on his TikTok, Instagram, and Youtube.

Grocer 14″ X 11″ by Lewis Rossignol

Pirates 14″ X 11″ by Lewis Rossignol

Pizzaria 14″ X 11″ by Lewis Rossignol

@lewisrossignol

♬ Don’t Sweat The Technique – Eric B. & Rakim

@lewisrossignol Replying to @michaels.boy thank you. Probably because I have done some album covers. #artprocess #albumart #tylerthecreator ♬ Rusty Cage – Johnny Cash

Questions to Ask Children

How would you describe the way the artist makes his marks?

Which materials and techniques does the artist use?

What do you like or dislike about the artwork and why?

How might you describe the pace of the artwork?

How does the artwork make you feel?

A collection of sources and imagery to explore the work of Maurice Sendak.

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. 

This resource is free to access and is not a part of AccessArt membership.

Maurice Sendak and Where The Wild Things Are

“Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish immigrant parents from Poland. A largely self-taught artist, Sendak illustrated over one hundred-fifty books during his sixty-year career.”  – The Maurice Sendak Foundation

As well as being an author and illustrator Sendak began a career as a costume and stage designer later in life.

Watch Sendak’s illustrations come to life in this animation.

Find clear images of the illustrations in this video. Stop the video on some of the illustrations and discuss what the children can see. This might also be a good opportunity to create some visual notes.

Questions to Ask Children

What kind of mark making can you see in Sendak’s drawings?

How do you think he made the marks? Can you make the action in the air? Would it be slow and careful, or quick and sketchy? 

How would you describe the atmosphere in Sendak’s illustrations?

Can you relate to the characters in the book? If so, how?

Can you name some of the different animal that you recognise in Sendak’s Wild Things?

What is your favourite part of the story? Why do you like it?

How does the story make you feel?

Imagine your own Wild Thing…

• What might it look like and why?

• Is it friendly or frightening? Why?

• How might you interact with your Wild Thing?

• Where does it live and how do you find it?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Drawing and Making Inspired by Maurice Sendak

This is featured in the ‘Drawing and Making Inspired by Maurice Sendak’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see