Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

I hope you are having a good day today.

My name is Esther, some people call me Ms. Esther, and I'm an artist and art teacher.

Today's lesson is called Clay Travelers: Figures from The Silk Road, and it's part of our unit Art That Travels: Stories, Land and Journeys.

Fantastic, we're ready to start our lesson.

Our outcome for today is that by the end of this lesson, you will be able to create a patterned clay tile of a Silk Roads traveler.

Exciting, we're going to be using clay.

We have some keywords for our lesson.

I'll say them first.

You say them after me.

We have figure, clay, Silk Roads.

Well done.

A figure is a drawing, painting or sculpture of a person.

Clay is a material from the ground that we can shape with our hands, one of my favorite materials to make art with.

Silk Roads are old trade routes that people used to travel and swap goods and ideas.

We'll look now at our lesson outline, our learning cycles for today.

First of all, we'll make a collage figure.

Secondly, we'll build a clay figure.

And thirdly, last of all, we'll pattern the clay and tell a story.

We'll start by making a collage figure.

Can you think of any other names we give a person in art? Pause the video and talk to a partner about another name we give a person in art.

Sometimes we call people figures in art.

Great thinking, everyone.

Anna Boghiguian is a contemporary artist of Egyptian-Canadian nationality with Armenian roots.

Her artwork show cut-out figures in lines or in groups.

How many figures can we see here? Should we count them together? I can see one, two, three, four figures.

She uses simple shapes to show figures moving or connected.

We have even more figures.

Let's count them again.

We have one, two, three, four, five, six figures now.

Great counting.

Lubaina Himid is a British artist who uses bright colors, patterns and poses to tell stories about people's lives and history.

Kehinde Wiley is an American artist.

He paints real people in strong poses with bright, patterned backgrounds.

His art shows that everyday people can look like kings and queens.

What do the clothes that this figure wears tell us? What could they tell us about this person? Have a look at the screen and think about the question.

Here's Jun.

Jun says, "I think the clothes they're wearing tell us they are still at school." Great answer, Jun.

Thank you.

Can you tell anything about the figure from their pose? The pose means how their body's arranged.

What do you think they might be doing? Pause the video and talk to someone nearby about what you think this figure is doing.

Sam's got an idea to share.

Sam says, "I think they must be pretty tired, or maybe watching TV, as they are lying down." What did you think? We have a check for understanding now.

True or false, sometimes the clothes of figure wears or the pose they are in can give us clues about them? Do you think this is true or false? Pause the video and have a conversation with someone nearby and restart the video when you have your answer ready.

Did you get true? Let's find out why.

That is the right answer, it is true.

Clothes and poses help tell a story about the figure.

Artists can use clothes and poses to give us clues about the person's job, feelings or time in history.

Well done for thinking like artists.

What shapes do you see in this figure? Have a close look at the head, the body, the arms, the legs, the feet.

While you looked, you might have noticed triangle shapes, ovals and rectangles.

Well done for spotting all those shapes.

What shapes do you see in your body? Things that you might have noticed are triangles, ovals.

This is for the head shape, isn't it? And rectangles.

Izzy is going to make a figure using paper.

Izzy says, "I will use scissors and cut shapes without drawing them first." This can help the shapes to feel more natural and full of movement.

Izzy cuts an oval for the head.

Good cutting, Izzy.

Rectangular shapes for the arms and legs, curved shapes for the body.

Izzy thinks about how to arrange her shapes.

Izzy says, "I want my figure to show movement, so will place my shapes at sharper angles." We can see how Izzy has made a pointy corner to show that the elbow is bent on her collage figure.

Once Izzy's placed her shapes, she can then stick her shapes to her paper.

Okay, we have three figures to look at here and a check for understanding.

Which figure shows the most movement? We've got A, a figure that's upright on their feet, B, a figure that is lying down, and C, Izzy's collage figure.

What do you think? Is it A, B or C? Pause the video and discuss as a group which figure shows the most movement.

Did you get C? Although all the images are still, this figure, figure in figure C, shows arms and legs stretched out like they are running.

Well done for thinking like artists.

Fantastic, we are ready for Task A, use scrap paper to create a collage figure, exciting.

Explore the shapes you can see in your own body and use scissors to cut your shapes out of paper.

Use scrap paper to create a collage figure.

Once your shapes are cut out, begin to arrange your shapes on paper like Izzy did.

Try to make your figure look like it's moving.

A bit like how you would try and place a jigsaw together so you can lay out the shapes and rearrange them, arrange them again until you're happy that your figure looks like it's moving.

Pause the video and restart when you've done Task A, making a collage figure.

Brilliant work, you've really brought your collage figure to life through moving the paper.

When you made your figure, you might have cut shapes without drawing them first, used shapes such as ovals, rectangles and triangle, arranged your shapes to make your figure look like it's moving.

We're ready for our second lesson cycle, we will be building a clay figure.

What is the name of this material? Pause the video and have a look at the color of the material and what it's in.

This material is clay.

I'm sure you got that answer and I'm sure you've used it before.

It can be used for making art that you can touch and feel.

What is clay? We have Izzy to help us.

Hi, Izzy.

"Clay is a natural material made when rocks break down over time.

Different minerals can make clay different colors." How does clay feel? Izzy says, "Wet clay is soft and stretchy, whereas drying clay is a little firmer and crumbly.

Completely dry clay is hard but fragile, so you must hold it carefully." That's a good tip.

What should I remember when working with clay? Let's go through that.

Izzy says, "You should always clean with a damp sponge, not a dry cloth or brush as dust made by the clay can be unsafe.

Clay keeps all the marks and shapes you make on it." It's a bit like an elephant, it has a very long memory.

"Clay can be very messy, so old clothes or aprons should be worn." An artist might gather their materials before they begin, such as a cloth board, clay tools, rolling pin.

Izzy says, "This means everything that I need will be nearby." We'll have a pause here for a check for understanding.

What should you remember when working with clay? Pause the video and share your thoughts on what you should remember when working with clay.

Good thinking, everyone.

Did you get any of these answers? "You should always clean with a damp sponge, not a dry cloth or brush as the dust made by the clay can be unsafe.

Clay keeps the marks and shapes you made on it.

Clay can be very messy, so old clothes or aprons should be worn." Izzy is now going to turn her paper figure into a clay figure.

Here's the paper figure, and here's the clay.

She places a piece of clay on the cloth and wooden board before rolling it flat.

We can see the wooden board and the cloth with the clay on top and it's being rolled flat.

It will be being rolled flat very gently.

Let's hear from Izzy.

Izzy says, "I will use a rolling pin to make the clay flat." Good thinking, Izzy.

Your hands are warm, so clay should be shaped gently and quickly.

We have a hand here with a kind of sausage of clay in and it's now been changed into a sphere, a ball shape, and last of all, it's been gently pressed flat.

Clay shouldn't be rolled too thin or picked up too much.

If this happens, it can crack.

Your hands are very hot and it dries out the clay quickly.

This artist is shaping the clay.

What do you notice? Pause the video and watch how the artist is using their hands to shape the clay.

Have a conversation with someone nearby about what you notice.

Good thinking, everybody.

You may have noticed lots of things about how they're using their hands quite gently with the clay and working fast, and also noticed that they are shaping the body parts for their figure separately.

Let's find out some about that.

To join two pieces of clay together, you can score the back of each clay shape with a clay tool or old toothbrush, so that this means you are gently scratching the clay.

Dab with clay slip, which is water mixed with clay.

Join the edges of your clay onto the flat piece of clay underneath the tile.

So when you scratch the clay, if you do it with a toothbrush and a bit of water, you're making a join.

And if you think of it like the Velcro on your shoes that you scratch and then you join them together.

Izzy's now going to add extra clay shapes like a head scarf, hat, or cloak to her figure.

Fantastic job on the figure, Izzy.

It looks like it's all firmly attached.

Izzy says, "I will add patterns later, at the moment I am getting my shapes right." We'll have a check for understanding here.

Why do we use water or scoring before sticking clay? Is it A, to cut the clay into smaller pieces? Is it B, to join clay shapes together? Is it C, to change the color of the clay? Pause the video and talk to a partner about what you feel it is, A, B or C? Brilliant thinking, everyone.

Did you get B, to join the clay shapes together? An artist does not use water or scoring, the clay pieces can come apart easily.

Great, we are now ready for Task B, building our clay figures.

Use your collage figure to help you decide on your shapes.

Roll the clay tile, shape your clay for the different parts of your figure.

When the parts of your figure are ready, use a toothbrush to score the clay, a bit like Velcro, remember? We're joining two surfaces together.

Dab on slip, and join your clay pieces together.

There's lots of pieces there in the picture that I can see ready to go on for the figure.

Add extra details to your figure.

Pause the video and have a great time using clay.

I'm sure you'll discover lots of new ways of making Lovely work, everyone, you've made your clay figures come to life on your flat tiles.

When you made your clay figures, you might have used your collaged figure to help you decide on the shapes for your figure in clay, added extra details to your figure.

I wonder if anyone added any hats.

Used scoring and added slip and then joined your clay pieces together, made your clay into different shapes.

Brilliant work.

We have the last of our lesson cycles now, pattern the clay and tell a story.

We are going to find out about the Silk Roads together.

The Silk Roads were used by people a long time ago to travel and trade.

You have a look, you can see in red where the Silk Roads began and ended.

It was not one road, but lots of paths and routes across land and sea.

The things traded on the Silk Roads included silk, spices, glass, tea, gold, ideas and stories.

Women played a key role, especially in making silk.

Even though they were called the Silk Roads, people traded many different things, not just silk.

The things traded might include: silk, spices, tea, gold and silver, stories and knowledge, cloth and thread, glass and ceramics.

We'll pause here for a check for understanding.

True or false, only men were important in history and trade? Pause the video and talk to someone nearby about whether you think this is true or false.

Did you get the answer false? It is false.

Let's find out why.

Women played key roles such as making silk, running markets and sharing stories.

Artists invite us to think about this through their work.

How can we show stories of the Silk Roads by using patterns on our clay figures? Izzy is thinking about how to decorate her clay figure to show stories of the Silk Road.

Izzy says, "We can make lines or paths in the clay figure." Great thinking, Izzy.

And adds, "We could use objects that were traded to make patterns in the clay." That's a very exciting idea.

Izzy is choosing some items inspired by stories of the Silk Roads to create her patterns.

I wonder why she's chosen these items. Izzy says, "I've chosen food packaging and string as food and cloth were traded along the Silk Roads." Fantastic, Izzy, that's really thoughtful.

Izzy uses a rolling pin to help her press her objects into the clay.

This is called making impressions.

Just like your fingers made impressions on the clay, the string that we can see and the vegetable food bag will also make patterns on the clay.

This artist is using pasta to make patterns on the clay.

It's great to see that the artist is exploring the pasta and the mark it can make.

Izzy says, "This pattern could tell a story about what they ate on the Silk Roads or the food that they traded." What could your traveler be carrying or remembering? Here's Izzy again.

Izzy says, "The star pattern could show us that the traveler saw starry skies.

The string pressed into the clay could show us that they traded cloth and fabrics." We're ready now for Task C, use everyday objects to press patterns into your clay figure.

Explore items inspired by the Silk Roads.

Choose your items that can be pressed in the clay to create patterns.

Use everyday objects to press patterns into your clay figure.

Gently press and roll items into your clay to create patterns on your figure.

Remember, clay is soft, has a memory like an elephant, so be gentle with it.

Pause the video and have a great time exploring different ways to pattern your clay figure.

Wow, amazing work, so many patterns and textures explored.

While you did Task C, you might have included on your clay figure patterns that tell stories about what your figure saw on the Silk Roads, like the starry sky, fabric or cloth gently pressed into the clay to show the items that were traded, patterns and textures made by clay tools or everyday objects.

You have worked so hard this lesson and explored so many ways of using clay.

We'll do a summary now of what we've learned and explored together.

Clay can be shaped and patterned to show movement, history and identity, just like Anna Boghiguian used figures to connect places and people.

The Silk Roads were ancient roots where people traded goods, ideas and stories.

And we really explored this through the objects we used to press into our clay.

Women were important in making and storytelling on the Silk Roads.

It's been wonderful to see how you've explored your ideas through making today.

Well done for working with such focus.

I hope to see you soon in another art lesson.