By Mandy Barrett and Jo Blaker

In this second of a series of three posts, Teacher Mandy Barrett and Artist Jo Blaker journey on a project that considers the materials and structures of nests. In this second post the class developed and built upon their earlier mark making work using ink to observe and draw a series of natural objects.

Click on the links to post one: Materials, Tools, Testing and Sketchbooks and post three: Nests with Dry and Wet Media.

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AccessArt is a UK Charity and we believe everyone has the right to be creative. AccessArt provides inspiration to help us all reach our creative potential.

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Pathway: Sculpture, Structure, Inventiveness & determination

This is featured in the ‘Sculpture, Structure, Inventiveness & Determination’ pathway

Talking Points: What can we learn from birds

Explore parallels between behaviour of birds and ourselves

Drawing source material: nests

A collection of imagery and sources which you can use to prompt drawing

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Pathway: Sculpture, Structure, Inventiveness & determination

This is featured in the ‘Sculpture, Structure, Inventiveness & Determination’ pathway

Talking Points: What can we learn from birds

Drawing source material: nests

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Pathway: Telling Stories through drawing and making

This is featured in the ‘Drawing Stories Through Drawing and Making’ pathway

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What We Like About This Resource….

“We love how this activity provides an opportunity to explore a well known Artist’s work, through focussing on their materials and techniques. The children looked at Frank Bowling’s work before creating their own individual responses that retained individual ownership – something we advocate as part of a rich and balanced visual arts education. It was also great to see how a professional artist visited the school to further enhance the children’s experience.” – Rachel, AccessArt

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Pathway: Cloth, thread, paint

This is featured in the ‘Cloth, Thread, Paint’ pathway

Talking Points: Frank Bowling

Talking Points: Hannah Rae

Talking Points: Alice Kettle

Last week we looked at how we can use sound to help develop our mark making in a very intuitive way. Today we are going to look at how we can develop our mark making skills in a slightly more analytical way – through examining the work of other artists. By doing this, and by using our new mark-making vocabulary in the drawings we make, we can begin to understand how different types of marks create personality and meaning in our drawings.

As with all the AccessArt resources, we want to help learners aim high, but through a series of small steps. And at each of the steps we ensure we are encouraging open-ended, creative experiences so that the learning is really owned by the learner.

Find the recording of the In The Studio session exploring diverse mark-making below.

Activities which help learners identify new marks…

Finding marks through artists

thoughtful mark making

drawing clouds and mark making

Typography for children

Monoprint with Oil Pastel

Flat Yet Sculptural making

Making Sculptural Wild Things

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Pathway: Typography and Maps

This is featured in the ‘Typography and Maps’ pathway

Pathway: Cloth, thread, paint

This is featured in the ‘Cloth, Thread, Paint’ pathway

Session Recording: Finding Marks Made by Artists

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Mark Making & Sound: Part One

Mark Making & Sound: Part Two

Pathway: Music and art

This is featured in the ‘Music and Art’ pathway

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Mark Making & Sound: Part One

Mark Making & Sound: Part Three

Pathway: Music and art

This is featured in the ‘Music and Art’ pathway

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Mark Making & Sound: Part Two

Mark Making & Sound: Part Three

Pathway: Music and art

This is featured in the ‘Music and Art’ pathway

Drawing to a Slow Rhythm

Inspired by Miro

Drawing to Music

Many thanks to accessArt Young Artist Rowan Briggs Smith

Be Inspired to Inspire

Teenagers take on the challenge of transforming a studio into their own bluebell forest.

See how a group of young artists create an enchanted installation.

Exploring Primary Colours and Progressing from Powder Paint to Gouache and Acrylic

Mastering colour mixing

This resource is based on methods shared during an AccessArt InSET session for primary school teachers at New Hall School, Chelmsford, to ultimately enable their pupils to develop colour skills. Teachers explored using their intuition and experience to mix primary colours, creating coloured swatches that matched the colours of spring flowers, whilst comparing painting mediums.

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Pathway: using natural materials to make images

This is featured in the ‘Using Natural Materials to Make Images’ pathway

Talking Points: Frances Hatch

Talking Points: Anna Atkins

Talking Points: What is a cyanotype

Talking Points: Cave Art

Working In and with the landscape