Introducing you to artist and activist Kate DeCiccio.

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.

Kate DeCiccio

Kate DeCiccio is an artist who reflects community stories through posters. Kate believes that portraits can help to shift narratives and are a great way to collaborate and share stories.

During the protest scene from 4.00 onwards there are expletives shown on screen on some of the posters . You may want to stop the video before this point.

Questions to Ask Children

What change would you like to see in the world and who could you create a portrait of to embody this message?

Why is collaboration important?

Spend 5 minutes working in pairs to note down (in sketchbooks) imagery and words that could be on a poster about your local community.

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Print & Activism

This is featured in the ‘Print & Activism’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery and sources designed to introduce children to the work of Danish artist Molly Haslund.

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.

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? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Spirals

This is featured in the ‘Spirals’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

See This Resource Used In Schools…

A collection of imagery and sources designed to introduce children to the process of screenprint.

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.

Screenprint

Teachers Notes

Screen print is a printing process in which a mesh (silk screen) is used to transfer ink to a surface such as paper or fabric. An image is exposed into the mesh with UV light. Once exposed some areas of the mesh will be blocked and some will allow ink to pass through.

Watch the video below to show children the process in action before trying our Screen Print Classroom Hack.

Theresa Easton, Screenprints and Silk Screen

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: working with shape and colour

This is featured in the ‘Working with Shape and Colour’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery and sources designed to introduce children to the process of monotype.

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.

Monotype 

A monotype is a simple printmaking process that is used to create one off prints. Sometimes artists will create a ‘ghost’ print from whatever is left on the printing plate after an initial print has been taken. 

There are many ways that a monotype can be made. A metal or plastic plate is painted onto with any material that will transfer marks to paper under pressure. 

A monotype is a stand alone print whereas a monoprint is a print that is part of a series.

Find our collection of monotype resources here.

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Making Monotypes

This is featured in the ‘Making Monotypes’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

Introducing you to the work of Faith Ringgold.

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.

Faith Ringgold

Faith Ringgold is an artist and activist who grew up during the Harlem Renaissance. Ringgold communicates personal narratives, history and politics through her painted quilts.

In this video Faith Ringgold discusses how she fought to get women and African-American artists into museums.

Watch this video to see how Ringgold combines cloth, paint and thread to make her quilts.

Faith Ringgold on Google Arts & Culture

See more at Ringgold’s website 

Questions to Ask Children

Faith emphasises the importance of focussing upon personal experience through art; How does she do this and why do you think this is important?

Are there things you care about that you’d like to make art about to help you share your thoughts/views? What’s important to you?

“When they’re looking at my work, they’re looking at a painting and they’re able to accept it better because it is also a quilt.” – Faith Ringgold

Why do you think people are more accepting of a quilt than a painting? What do you associate with quilts?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Print & Activism

This is featured in the ‘Print & Activism’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

Introducing you to the work of artist and activist Shepard Fairey.

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.

Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey is a contemporary street artist and activist. In his work he tackles topics such as political power and propaganda. Fairey uses stencils and screen print to make his work.

The Black Hills Are Not For Sale, Screen Print, 18 x 24 inches, July 2012

See more at Faireys website and Instagram feed

Questions to Ask Children

How many processes can you identify in the first video? Why do you think Shepard uses so many different processes/mediums?

When you look at Fairey’s ‘The Black Hills Are Not For Sale’ what do you see?

If you don’t know about the Black Hills can you still figure out what this artwork might be trying to communicate?

Why is it important for artists to create work that questions what is going on in the world?

Do you think that Faireys work is successful in communicating important messages? Why do you think this?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Print & Activism

This is featured in the ‘Print & Activism’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery and sources designed to introduce pupils to “A Map of Days” by Grayson Perry.

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.

A Map of Days by Grayson Perry

“Grayson Perry RA created this map of a walled city as a self-portrait for an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. He said ‘I thought the walled city was a good metaphor – the wall, I suppose, can roughly be interpreted as your skin. But like any city, it’s dependent on the landscape it sits in as well.’ “ RA

See the Map on Google Arts & Culture.

Interview about the making of the map. 

Note for teachers on adult content: Please be advised that from 0.24 to 0.39 and 1.34 until 1.57 of this video, there is inappropriate language shown on the map. You may wish to show up to this point or to skip past the shot of the language in question.

Questions to Ask Children:

How does Grayson Perry use text in the map?

Can you find text on buildings as well as street names? How do you think he decides which text to make small, and which to make larger?

How much does Grayson Perry reveal about himself through the map?

Can you spot any symbols or visual metaphors? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Typography and Maps

This is featured in the ‘Typography and Maps’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery and sources to explore the Hogwarts Maps.

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.

Hogwarts Maps

There are many maps inspired by Hogwarts, the most famous of course is the Marauders map.

Use the sources below to focus a conversation with children about the typography and design of the highly visual maps. 

Questions to Ask Children:

Why do you think the designers chose the typography they did for the diary and map?

What kind of feeling are they trying to create?

How do you feel when you look at the map?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Typography and Maps

This is featured in the ‘Typography and Maps’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery and sources designed to introduce pupils to the work of graphic designer Paula Scher.

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.

Paula Scher

Paula Scher is an American graphic designer, painter and art educator in design. 

Paula creates branding, but she also created a series of “maps” which contain “errors and mistakes”. Explore in the video and link below. 

“Paula Scher painted two 9-by-12-foot maps that resembled patchwork quilts from afar, but contain much textual detail. She created lines that represented the separation of political allies or borders dividing enemies. Scher created the maps into layers that reference what we think when we think of Japan, Kenya, or the Upper East Side.

For instance, The United States (1999) was painted in blocky white print and full with a list of facts that we comprehend when we think about cities. Africa (2003) is represented in a stark black and white palette, hinting at a tortured colonial past. The land of the red rising sun is represented when we think of Japan (2004).

Scher decided to produce silk-screened prints of The World that contained large-scale images of cities, states, and continents blanketed with place names and other information. It is full of mistakes, misspellings, and visual allusions to stereotypes of places such as South America, painted with hot colours and has two ovaries on the sides. It was not created to be a reliable map but convey a sense of the places that are mediated and mangled.” Wiki

www.pentagram.com/news/paula-scher-maps

Abstract: Art of the Design/ Paula Scher 

Please Note: At timecode 8.00 Paula Scher talks about her maps. 

Questions to Ask Children:

How would you describe one of Paula’s maps to someone who couldn’t see them?

In what ways do Paula’s maps differ from regular maps?

How would these maps change if you held them in your hand?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Typography and Maps

This is featured in the ‘Typography and Maps’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery and sources designed to introduce pupils to the work of Typographer Louise Fili.

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.

Louise Fili

Founded in 1989, Louise Fili Ltd is an award-winning New York-based graphic and digital design firm specialising in strategic brand development and packaging for speciality food products.

Enjoy the video below where Louise shares how she made a poster for the New York Subway. 

Louise Fili Website

Subway Series: Louise Fili

Watch this video in Vimeo here.

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Typography and Maps

This is featured in the ‘Typography and Maps’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery and sources designed to explore bridge design.

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.

Bridge Design

Architects often use bridge design as a way to showcase their innovation. Many bridge designs entered for competitions never get built – but the ideas behind them move forward ideas about contemporary architecture. 

Explore the videos below to focus a discussion about what is possible. 

The Garden Bridge by Heatherwick Studios

The worlds first 3D printed bridge with robots by Joris Laarman

The Bouncing Bridge by AZC

Zaha Hadid Architects, Conceptual Bridge Project

Questions to Ask Children

What do bridges do?

How can bridges represent the communities they connect?

Are bridges just about destinations? Or are they about journeys?

Is there a limit to what a bridge can be?

Is there a limit to the materials you can use?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Be an architect

This is featured in the ‘Be an Architect’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery and sources designed to explore the work of architect Hundertwasser.

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.

Hundertwasser the Architect

Use the following images and videos to introduce children to the work of Austrian artist Friedrich Stowasser, better known by his pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (1928 – 2000).

Hundertwasser was a visual artist and architect and he also worked in the field of environmental protection.

“Hundertwasser stood out as an opponent of “a straight line” and any standardization, expressing this concept in the field of building design. ” Wiki

Explore The Inventive Architecture of Friedensreich Hundertwasser – Google Arts & Culture

www.kunsthauswien.com/en/

https://hundertwasser.com/en

Hundertwasser House
by Studio Sarah Lou

Hundertwasser’s Beer Tower by AlexDROP

Hundertwasser Tower in Abensberg

Hundertwasser by twicepix

Usine d’incinération décorée par F. Hundertwasser (Vienne) by dalbera

Hundertwasser in Altenrhein. This video is not in English – you may wish to watch it silently and use the opportunity to talk as teacher. 

Questions to Ask Children

What words would you use to describe Hundertwasser’s architecture to those who can’t see it?

How does it make you feel?

What would it be like to be inside the buildings?

What kinds of materials does he use? 

How does he use colour in his buildings?

How important is the relationship of detail to big structures?

Can you see any straight lines?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Be an architect

This is featured in the ‘Be an Architect’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery and sources designed to introduce the idea of architecture to primary aged children.

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.

Thinking About Architecture

Use the following videos to introduce the idea of architecture to young children. 

Architecture According to Pigeons, Illustrated by Natsko Seki. 

Imagine A World Without Architecture

Questions to Ask Children

What would birds see as they flew over the place you live in? 

Which buildings would stand out? 

Would they see patterns and shapes?

Can you imagine architecture from other perspectives? How would a dog see your local environment? How do YOU see your local environment?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Be an architect

This is featured in the ‘Be an Architect’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of sources to explore “Dancing in Charcoal” by SketchBetter.

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.

Dancing in Charcoal

Inspired by the work of performance artist Heather Hansen, the videos below share how SketchBetter worked with children in a school to enable their own charcoal dance performance. 

Questions to Ask Children

How would making a drawing like this alone, in a pair, in a small group, or in a large class change the experience and outcome?

How would music change the nature of the marks made by the artists?

Can we tell a story through the movements of our body, which is reflected in the final drawing?

How might our individual bodies and the movements available to them change the experience and the outcome?

How far would a photograph of the finished drawing capture the “experience”. 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Gestural Drawing with charcoal

This is featured in the ‘Gestural Drawing with Charcoal’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of sources and imagery to explore the work of Heather Hansen.

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.

Heather Hansen

Heather Hansen is a performance artist based in USA. 

Website

Questions to Ask Children

Discuss how the following words/ideas relate to Heather’s work:

• Time

• Audience

• Drawing Material (i.e. graphite, charcoal)

How do you feel watching Heather’s performance?

Heather makes her marks on very large sheets of paper, and on the beach. Where else could you make similar marks? 

See the Talking Points Used in Schools…

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Gestural Drawing with charcoal

This is featured in the ‘Gestural Drawing with Charcoal’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery to explore work in charcoal by Edgar Degas.

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.

Charcoal Drawings by Edgar Degas

Seated Dancer, 1873–74
Edgar Degas. Charcoal, Graphite and Chalk on Pink Paper

Violinist, Study for “The Dance Lesson” ca. 1878–79
Edgar Degas. Charcoal and  Graphite on Green Paper

Two Dancers ca. 1879 Edgar Degas. Charcoal and Chalk on Green Paper

Questions to Ask Children

Can you describe one of the artworks above? What kinds of words would you use to describe the drawing to a person who couldn’t see it?

Degas often used coloured paper for his drawings. Why do you think he did this? What does it add to the drawings?

Degas often used two materials such as charcoal and chalk, or charcoal and graphite. Why do you think he did this? What does adding two or more drawing materials add to the drawing?

In some of Degas’ drawings you can see a faint grid. Why do you think Degas used a grid?

Look at “Two Dancers” and this time look at the areas of the page where there is “no” drawing. How are these areas of the drawing as important as the areas with marks on? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Gestural Drawing with charcoal

This is featured in the ‘Gestural Drawing with Charcoal’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

Introducing you to the work of artist Laura McKendry.

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.

Laura McKendry

Laura McKendry is an artist who lives and works in London. She takes her inspiration from nature – plants, animals, insects…

In the video above Laura shares why she likes drawing dogs, and why she likes using charcoal to help her make big gestural drawings. 

Website

Questions to Ask Children

Why do you think Laura likes to work in large scale when she uses charcoal?

Which words would you use to describe Laura’s charcoal dogs?

What kinds of lines does she use?

Where does she move from when she draws? Her wrist? Her elbow? Her shoulder? Her whole body?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Gestural Drawing with charcoal

This is featured in the ‘Gestural Drawing with Charcoal’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery and sources designed to stimulate conversation around the work of Shaheen Ahmed.

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.

Shaheen Ahmed

Primordial Sanctuary by Shaheen Ahmed

“When countries are at war, when people are suffering, that is the time to reach out. The very least we should do is empathise.”

“Craftivist” Shaheen Ahmed lives and works in the West Midlands where she manipulates maps and paper using Kirigami to connect her passion for Islamic art, and exploration of social justice.

The concept of empathy is central to Shaheen’s work. Her manipulation of maps, over-writing with pattern and marks, is Shaheen’s way of commenting upon and mending the destruction and fear caused by boundaries and borders. The meditative actions she performs become Shaheen’s blessings outwards for a better world. 

Linktree

www.shaheenahmed.com/

Q&A with Shaheen Ahmed by New Art West Midlands

Mapping Empathy by Shaheen Ahmed

Craft Council Exhibition

Instagram

Primordial Sanctuary by Shaheen Ahmed

Persia by Shaheen Ahmed

Questions to Ask Children

Look carefully at Shaheen’s artwork. How would you describe it to someone who couldn’t see it?

Do you think the processes Shaheen uses and the final outcome contribute to Shaheen’s wellbeing?

How do you feel when you look at the artwork? Are you thinking about the painstaking processes Shaheen uses, or the final outcome? Or are you thinking about the people in the places she makes art about? Or something else? 

Shaheen describes herself as a “Craftivist”. What do you think that means?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Exploring pattern

This is featured in the ‘Exploring Pattern’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery and sources designed to stimulate conversation around the work of Andy Gilmore.

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.

Andy Gilmore

“A master of colour and geometric composition, Andy Gilmore’s work is often characterised as kaleidoscopic and hypnotic, though it could just as well be described as visually acoustic, his often complex arrangements referencing the scales and melodies in music.”

http://agilmore.com/

Instagram

Questions to Ask Children

Choose one of Andy’s pieces of art. Can you describe what you see?

How do you feel when you look at Andy’s work? 

Andy’s work appears in newspapers and magazines, record covers and in advertising. Why do you think Andy’s work is used this way? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Exploring pattern

This is featured in the ‘Exploring Pattern’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of imagery and sources designed to stimulate conversation around the work of Louise Despont.

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.

Louise Despont

“[In drawing] the downshift in speed is what opened the door for information and inspiration to step through”

Louise Despont is an artist whose practice focuses on drawing. Her works comprise of detailed geometric drawings which evolve organically. The making of the artwork, and the outcomes, are powerful, meditative and mindful. 

She lives in USA and Bali. 

www.louisedespont.com/

Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

Apologies if you cannot watch the videos below if YouTube is blocked in your school. The videos do not appear on other platforms, but we thought they were worth including. Pls ask your school IT to see if they can whitelist these videos. 

In the videos below, Louise describes how art and life are intrinsically linked. 

For younger children: As teacher we think you will enjoy all the videos. Pls select sections to show your own class. 

“Drawing has taught me to see, and it has taught me a quality of attention unparalleled to most other states of mind.”

In the TedTalk below, Louise Despont shares why she thinks drawing is so important both to herself and to us all as human beings. 

How and where Louise finds inspiration…

Questions to Ask Children

Do you think Louise has a clear idea of the outcome before she starts each piece? 

How long do you imagine she works on each piece? How does she know when a piece is finished? Is a piece ever finished?

How do the drawings make you feel?

How would it feel to make drawings like that?

Louise gives advice:

• Look at your work upside down for a new perspective.

• Reorganise your pages to see if there isn’t an entirely different story inside the one you had.

What do you think she means by this advice, and can you apply it to your own work?

Look around you. Could you begin to collect images or objects, using your instinct, that you are attracted to. Could you use them as a starting point to draw? What tools could you use to help you draw? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Exploring pattern

This is featured in the ‘Exploring Pattern’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see