A collection of sources and imagery to explore the work of graphic artist Shaun Tan.

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.

Shaun Tan

Shaun Tan grew up in Perth and works as an artist, writer and film-maker in Melbourne. He is best known for illustrated books that deal with social and historical subjects through dream-like imagery, widely translated throughout the world and enjoyed by readers of all ages. –Shaun Tan

See more of Shaun Tan’s work on his website.

Shaun Tan’s Sketchbook Work

Watch the film below to hear how Shaun approaches his early sketchbook work, and how he then develops this into more finished artwork. 

Stop the video at various points so that you can have a discussion with the children to help them think through what Shaun might mean by his various working practices.

The Arrival

Watch the trailer for ‘The Arrival’ by Shaun Tan.

Watch the video above to see the full animation of Shaun Tan’s graphic novel. 

Questions to Ask Children

Do you like Shaun Tans work? Why?

How do his drawings make you feel?

What kind of atmosphere did you pick up in’The Arrival’? How do you think he achieved this?

Do you think that Shaun Tan was successful in capturing the story without any writing or text? Why?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Storytelling through drawing

This is featured in the ‘Storytelling Through Drawing’ pathway

Additional Pathway: Drawing and Making Inspired by Illustrators

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

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of sources and imagery to explore the work of illustrator Laura Carlin.

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 Carlin

Primarily known for her work as an illustrator, Laura Carlin’s ambitious and emotionally resonant work has led to some of the most striking contemporary books for children, including her award-winning illustrations for The Iron Man, The Promise and for her solo project A World of Your Own. – Waterstones

Explore all of the books that Laura Carlin has illustrated here.

Questions to Ask Children

Do you like the illustrations in The King of the Sky? Why?

How do they make you feel?

What colours might you feature in an illustration if the story was about being hopeful? Fearful? Lonely? Happy?

How has Laura’s use of materials and composition helped with the storyline? 

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Storytelling through drawing

This is featured in the ‘Storytelling Through Drawing’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of sources and imagery to explore the paper cut outs.

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.

Phillipp Otto Runge

Red Currant, Philipp Otto Runge (German, Wolgast 1777–1810 Hamburg) Late 18th–Early 19th century, Silhouette, sheet: 13 9/16 x 11 5/8 in. (34.5 x 29.5 cm), Janet Lee Kadesky Ruttenberg Fund, in honor of Colta Ives, and Mary Martin Fund, 2010

Questions to Ask Children

Describe what you can see.

Describe the different types of edges that you can see.

Henri Matisse Cut Outs

Questions to Ask Children

Describe what you can see.

What do the cut outs remind you off?

Pippa Dyrlaga

Questions to Ask Children

Describe what you can see.

How do you think the artist has created this?

How has the artist used negative space?

See more of Pippa’s cut outs on her website.

Thomas Witte

Questions to Ask Children

Describe what you can see.

How has the artist used negative space?

How does Thomas’ work make you feel?

What do you like/dislike about his work?

Visit Thomas’ website to find more of his work.

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Shadow Puppets

This is featured in the ‘Shadow Puppets’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of sources and imagery to explore the work of Davy and Kristin McGuire.

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.

The Paper Architect

The Paper Architect is a play combining paper-craft, animation, projection mapping and performance. It tells the story of an old model-maker who uses his paper creations as vessels for his imagination.

The show features tiny, accurately mapped animations playing across intricate paper sets. 

See more of their work on their here.

Questions to Ask Children

How do the Paper Architect make you feel?

How would you describe the atmosphere of The Paper Architect?

Do you like it? Why?

If you could cut a paper structure and make it come to life what you it be? Why?

The Icebook

The Icebook – the world’s first projection mapped pop-up book. An exquisite experience of fragile paper cutouts and video projections that sweep you right into the heart of a fantasy world. It is an intimate and immersive experience of animation, book art and performance.

This Talking Points Is Used In…

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 explore the work of Nicole Dyer.

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.

Nicole Dyer

Like the 14th-century Dutch still-life painters who depicted tabletops piled high with edible symbols of wealth, power, and mortality, Dyer, a 2013 BFA graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art, compulsively catalogs the objects that attract their attention with the allure of satiety and wholeness and packs them into dense tableaus of excess. –BMoreArt

Explore more work by Nicole Dyer here.

Ladies, Ladies, Ladies, 2018 Acrylic, ink, collage, and ceramic on canvas 16” x 12”

Questions to Ask Children

Describe what you see in the paintings.

How does it make you feel?

What do you think the artist is trying to say with this work?

Describe the colour palette. How does the colour effect the mood of the painting?

If you were to include some of your favourite books in a still life painting, what would they be? Why?

Questions to Ask Children

Describe what you see.

How does it make you feel?

What materials do you think were used to make these food sculptures?

Which sculpture is your favourite? Why?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Festival Feasts

This is featured in the ‘Festival Feasts’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of sources and imagery to explore the work of Olafur Eliasson.

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.

Olafur Eliasson

Olafur Eliasson’s interest in light came from growing up in Iceland, where for half of the year the country is in darkness. 

Olafur is known for sculpture and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer’s experience.

Explore more of Olafur’s work here.

Questions to Ask Children

Describe what you see.

How does this make you feel?

How would it feel to be in that space, interacting with the light?

How do you think the artist creates these playful light installations?

Questions to Ask Children

Describe what you see.

How do you think it would feel to interact with the light installations?

Does it make you think about space and colour in different ways?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Brave Colour

This is featured in the ‘Brave colour’ 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 sources and imagery to explore the work of Carnovsky.

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.

Carnovsky

Carnovsky is a Milan-based art and design duo comprised of Francesco Rugi and Silvia Quintanilla.

RGB is a work about the exploration of the “surface’s deepness”. 

RGB designs create surfaces that mutate and interact with different chromatic stimulus.

Carnovsky’s RGB is an ongoing project that experiments with the interaction between printed and light colours. The resulting images are unexpected and disorienting. Colors mix, lines and shapes entwine and not completely clear. Through a coloured filter (a light or a transparent material) it is possible to see clearly the layers in which the image is composed. The filter’s colours are red, green and blue, each one of them serves to reveal one of the three layers. Carnovsky

Questions to Ask Children

Describe what you see.

How does it make you feel when you see the image change before your eyes?

How would it feel to be in that space, interacting with the sculpture?

What do you think the artists are trying to do through the artwork?

Why do you think that light has an effect of specific colours?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Brave Colour

This is featured in the ‘Brave colour’ 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 sources and imagery to explore the work of Njideka Akunyili Crosby.

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.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby

Njideka is originally from Nigeria but trained as an artist is America, which is where she now lives. This duality of experience has given Njideka a fresh perspective on the places and cultures that she has experienced.

Njideka’s paintings draw on art historical, political and personal references, Njideka Akunyili Crosby creates densely layered figurative compositions that express the complexity of contemporary experience.

Many of Akunyili Crosby’s images feature figures – images of family and friends – in scenarios derived from familiar domestic experiences: eating, drinking, watching TV.

While the artist’s formative years in Nigeria are a constant source of inspiration, Akunyili Crosby’s grounding in Western art history adds further layers of reference.  – Victoria Miro Gallery

Watch the videos below to find out more. 

Apologies if you cannot watch one of the videos because your school has blocked YouTube. 

Questions to Ask Children

Pause the video at various points where you can see details of Njideka’s paintings, or find an image on Njideka’s website and discuss the following questions…

Describe what you think is happening in this painting/this detail. 

What do you think the person in the painting could be thinking about?

How does Njideka use layers in her work to help her create imagery. 

How does this painting make you feel?

How might the painting reflect Njideka’s identity?

This Talking Points Is Used In…

Pathway: Exploring Identity

This is featured in the ‘Exploring Identity’ pathway

using sketchbooks to make visual notes

Show me what you see

A collection of sources to explore Chauu masks in performances.

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. 

Chhau Masks

Chhau dance is a semi classical Indian dance with martial and folk traditions. It is found in three styles named after the location where they are performed, i.e. the Purulia Chau of West Bengal, the Seraikella Chau of Jharkhand and the Mayurbhanj Chau of Odisha.

The dance ranges from celebrating martial arts, acrobatics and athletics performed in festive themes of a folk dance, to a structured dance with religious themes. The costumes vary between the styles, with masks being used to identify the characters.

The stories enacted by Chhau dancers include those from  Indian literature.

Find out more about the “Craft of Accessorising for Chhau dancers” and “How the Craft of Mask Making Transforms the Dancers” with Google Arts and Culture.

Click on the image above to find out more about Seraikella Chhau Dance.

Questions to Ask Children

How do the masks make you feel?

How do you feel watching parts of the performance?

How would you describe the colours?

What kinds of materials are used to make the masks? 

A collection of sources to explore contemporary artists who create masks.

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. 

Romuald Hazoumè

West African artist Romuald Hazoumé creates contemporary African masks made using discarded plastic containers, in particular petrol canisters. The petrol canisters are used by lots of people in West Africa and represent the artist’s heritage. They also represent his critical vision of political systems.

“I send back to the West that which belongs to them, that is to say, the refuse of consumer society that invades us every day.”

Questions to Ask Children

How do the masks make you feel?

Do you like the masks? Why?

What do you think the artist is trying to say through the artwork?

What other recycled or waste materials could we use to make masks? 

Damselfrau

Damselfrau focuses on play and make as few conscious decisions as possible to let the materials lead. Damselfrau design the masks as she makes, responding to materials as opposed to a drawn design.

The masks are perhaps more accurately described as wearable sculptures. The ornate creations fuse the boundaries between fashion and design.

Questions to Ask Children

How do these masks make you feel?

How do these masks compare to Romuald’s masks?

If you encountered someone wearing the of the masks how would you feel?

Thalassic Masks

The Thalassic Masks project focuses on rethinking the protective mask, transforming a medical product, born in a state of emergency, into a design statement expressing contemporary identities.

The artists Filippo Nassetti and Vincezo Reale believe that beyond Covid-19, further implications of climate change and the disruption of ecological environments, such as air pollution and transformations in the atmosphere, may see protective devices become more and more an essential extension of the human body.

Questions to Ask Children

Do you like the Thalassic masks?

How does the mask make you feel?

Do you think that it’s an improvement on the surgical masks you’ve had to wear over the past 2 years?

A collection of imagery and sources designed to explore different flip books.

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.

Animate the Earth

Animate the Earth uses a book as the foundation for the flip book. Using an old book is a good way to make a flip book quickly. The background text can also add some character to the animation. You could even use the story line or theme of the book to inspire the storyline of your flip book.

Questions to Ask Children

Do you like the background of words on a page? Why?

What is your favourite part of the animation?

Do you think the artist planned what was going to happen next or was just playing with what is possible?

Colibri Flip Book

Graphite and coloured pencil on paper, stainless steel, delrin, motor electronics 10x10x12.7 CM.2011 By J. C. Fontanive

J. C. Fontanive

Fontanive invented the first flip book machine in his bedroom from old bike, car and clock parts and vinyl records. The invention explores moving image, form and structure. Multiple frames are shown in sequence to form the animation. The fluttering of the paper provides a natural soundtrack bring the still images to life.

Quiknesse, 2009 flipbook machine

Questions to Ask Children

What kind of bird do you think that this features in these flip book machines?

Which is your favourite and why?

Does the painted background of Quiknesse add anything to the flip book machine? If so, what?

What bird would you like to see in a flip book machine?

Volume 5 of Harumin Asao’s Cat series

Harumin Asao is a Japanese illustrator who uses flip books as a way to create short and playful animations.

Using small pages for flip books gives a nice control when flipping through as opposed to bigger thinner pages. 

Questions to Ask Children

What your favourite animal?

Think about how that animal might greet you when you get home.

Flip Book Within a Flip Book

The Flippist creates hand drawn flip books as a career, from engagement proposals to more commercial projects the Flippest has made a flip book for every occasion.

Questions to Ask Children

If you could make a flip book for any occasion what would it be?

Whats your favourite part of this flip book and why?

What other objects could replace the volcano and leak out of the flip book?

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

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. 

Linocut

Teachers Notes

Linocut print is a printmaking technique used for relief printing. The surface of the Linoleum is cut into with sharp V shaped tools to create a design.

Linocut originates from the technique ‘woodcut’. In this process a block of wood is used to carve from instead of linoleum. Woodcut is the oldest form of printmaking with records of its use on textiles from as long ago as the twelfth century.

Two maraboos (Twee maraboes) (c.1914) by Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita. Original from The Rijksmuseum. CC0

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

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.

Collagraph

A collagraph print is made from textured materials collaged together on a piece of card. Lots of materials can be used to make collagraphs including (but not limited to) sand, fabric, bubblewrap, string and cardboard.

The surface of the plate can also be cut away at or into to create different marks. 

Sinclair Ashman

Watch this video to find out about how printmaker Sinclair Ashman found his passion for collagraph.

Karen Wicks

RAF Tangmere by Karen Wicks Medium: Collagraph Paper Type: Fabriano Unica (250gsm) Year: 2022.

Explore this resource by Karen Wicks to find out how she makes her prints here.