Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today all about hidden worlds, exploring collage and mixed media.

We're going to do lots of thinking, talking, and exploring together in this lesson.

So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to print on a collaged surface.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The key words we'll be using today are collage, abstract, microorganism, print.

I'm going to say those words again, and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Collage, abstract, microorganism, print.

Good job.

Now let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean by taking a look at their definitions.

To collage means arranging different materials and sticking them together on a surface.

Abstract is art that does not try to represent something realistically.

A microorganism is a very small living thing, like bacteria or viruses, that you cannot see without a microscope.

And print is a way of making a copy of something.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson, creating an abstract collaged surface and printing onto a collaged surface.

In this first learning cycle, we're going to have a go at creating an abstract collaged surface.

How does the surface of each collage appear, flat or three-dimensional? What clues help you decide? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? How does the surface of each collage appear? Is it flat or three-dimensional? Well, you might have noticed that this surface of this collage is flat, and parts of the surface in this collage are three-dimensional.

Collages are artworks made by glueing materials like paper, fabric, or photos onto a surface.

They can be flat, where the pieces are arranged on a surface like paper or cardboard, or they can be three-dimensional, where the materials stand out from the surface, adding depth and texture.

Now both types of collages allow artists to creatively combine different materials to make unique, interesting pieces of art.

Aisha is making an abstract collage that she plans to print upon.

So she's going to make a flat collage ready for a print.

Why do you think Aisha might have chosen to print on a flat collaged surface? Hmm.

Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Do you think it'll be easier to print on a flat collaged surface? Well, printing onto a flat surface makes printing easier, and it gives clearer, more even results than a three-dimensional surface.

So it was easier.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

"Collages are always three-dimensional," is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that's false, you're absolutely right, but why is that statement false? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner about why this statement is false and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you discuss? If you said something like, "Collages can be three-dimensional, but can also be made on a surface," then you're right.

Well done.

Aisha and Alex are discussing what they know about abstract art.

Aisha says, "Abstract art is art that does not try to represent something realistically." And Alex says, "I remember learning about abstract art and looking at some examples.

The paintings had lots of shapes and colours in them." In abstract art, colours and shapes are used in expressive ways to convey emotions, ideas, and compositions without representing real-world objects.

By using colours and shapes in these ways, abstract artists create pieces that invite viewers to interpret and feel rather than recognise specific objects.

You can see this piece of abstract art here.

Can you see how some colours have been used and how those shapes have been drawn? Nothing there looks like something from the real world.

To create an abstract artwork, you might take colours and shapes from an image such as a microorganism and rearrange them in your own way.

Take a look at that image there of a microorganism.

What shapes and colours might you pick out? Maybe the orange or maybe that circular microorganism there.

The shapes and structures of microorganisms already look abstract, so they offer a great starting point for experimenting with.

We can see all different types of shapes there, can't we? Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

"Abstract art copies exactly what something looks like," is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that's false, you're right.

Well done.

But why is that statement false? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner about why that statement is false and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you discuss? If you said something similar to, "Abstract art is art that does not try to represent something realistically," then you're absolutely right.

Well done.

It doesn't copy exactly what something looks like.

The simple shapes and colours from the microorganism image can be rearranged to create an abstract collage.

So can you see some shapes that have been picked out there and then some of the colours, orange, blue, and green? So the artist here is rearranging the shapes and colours from the microorganism image into an abstract picture.

Can you see how they're choosing different ideas and rearranging them? What do you notice? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you notice the artist doing? Could you see their use of colours and those shapes? Well, the artist here is experimenting with different arrangements of their shapes and colours.

Can you see how they move those blue sections and then maybe layer some of the orange on top? Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

When making an abstract collage, you should: copy the image and place shapes and colours in the same position, decide where you arrange the shapes as you are the artist, use only one material.

So pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about how to finish this sentence and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that when making an abstract collage, you should decide where you arrange the shapes as you are the artist, you're absolutely right.

As the artist, you can make choices about where colours and shapes should go in your abstract artwork.

This brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to create an abstract collage surface inspired by a microorganism.

You might think about using the colours you see in your microorganism and using the shapes that you see in your microorganism too.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to create your abstract collage and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Were you able to pick out those colours and shapes in your microorganism to create your abstract collage? Well, your collage might include shapes and colours from your microorganism image.

So can you see here that green circle that's been picked out from that microorganism image? And you can see some blue smaller circles too.

And we can see some of the shapes here like this long curvy orange.

So well done for having a go at creating your abstract collage surface.

This brings us to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to print onto a collaged surface.

The word monoprint has two stems. It has mono, which means one, and print, a way of making a copy of something.

When artists make a monoprint, they are creating a single unique print.

This as an example of a monoprint.

Monoprints are single, unique prints created on a surface.

Can you see that in the image there? Some artists choose to combine different media in one artwork such as collage and print.

Unlike other printmaking techniques that produce multiple copies of the same image, a monoprint results in only one distinct print, making it a unique work of art.

There are many different processes an artist can use to create monoprints.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Monoprinting means to make a print in one colour, a single unique print, multiple prints in different colours.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about how you would finish this sentence and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that monoprinting means to make a single unique print, you're absolutely right.

And there are many different ways an artist can create a monoprint.

One style of monoprint is made using oil pastels and the image you would like to print.

You can start by coating the back of your image with oil pastel.

So, like this.

Can you see how I've coated the back of this image completely in oil pastel? Then place the image over your collaged surface.

You can use masking tape to hold the image in place.

You see that bit of tape there stuck on the top.

Then use a ballpoint pen to draw over the parts of the image you wish to print.

So can you see here we take that section, and with a ballpoint pen draw over the top on the parts of the image you wish to print.

So Aisha says, "I'm going to select some of the shapes and lines from the image here." You might think about moving your image around to print on different parts of your collage.

But can you see here how the image has been moved from one section to another using that masking tape to hold it down? Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Which step of the monoprinting process should come first, A, B, or C? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said it's B, you're absolutely right.

You start the monoprinting process by coating the back of your image in oil pastel.

This brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to use the process of monoprinting to print onto your abstract collaged surface.

First of all, coat the back of your image with oil pastel, then using masking tape to hold your image of your collaged surface.

Then draw over the parts of the image you wish to print using a ballpoint pen.

And finally, move your image to different parts of your collage and repeat that process, drawing over the top using a ballpoint pen.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to use the process of monoprinting to print onto your abstract collage surface and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? Were you able to follow the process of monoprinting to print onto your collage? Well, your monoprint might include lines and shapes achieved by moving your images to different parts of the surface.

You maybe selected lines and shape from your microorganism image to draw over the top with your ballpoint pen.

Well done for having a go at the monoprint process of printing onto your collaged surface.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learnt about printing onto a collaged surface.

Collages allow artists to creatively combine different materials to make unique, interesting pieces of art.

Abstract art uses colours and shapes to express feelings and ideas, and it invites the viewers to interpret, not to identify objects.

Unlike other printmaking methods that make many copies, a monoprint creates just one unique print.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.