Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today all about creating a background using reclaimed materials.

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

So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to use reclaimed materials to create a collage.

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 keywords will be using today are: background, foreground, collage, recycle, and repurposed.

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

Background, foreground, collage, recycle, repurposed.

Good job.

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

A background is the part of the artwork that appears furthest from the viewer.

The foreground is the part of the artwork that appears nearest to the viewer.

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

Recycle means reusing discarded or leftover materials.

And repurposed is when a discarded item is used again, becoming useful in another way.

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

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson: planning the background for a sculpture and creating a collage with reclaimed materials.

In this first learning cycle, we're going to plan the background for a sculpture.

A background is the part of the artwork that appears furthest from the viewer.

So you can see where this arrow is pointing here.

What do you see in the background here? Pause the video and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What could you see in this background? Well.

we can see some blue sky, some clouds, and some trees right in the distance.

The focus is often on the parts of the artwork in the foreground or the part nearest the viewer.

But the background is very important too.

So this is the foreground here where we can see these leaves and the grass.

It can give your viewers more detail about the animal's habitat, maybe the time of day you are likely to see it.

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

Look at this picture of a garden at night.

What can you see? What is in the background and what is in the foreground? Pause the video here and give yourself time to have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that in the background there are trees and bushes, and in the foreground we have grass and a hedgehog, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, you may have made a clay sculpture of an animal.

Where will your animal be in your artwork? If it's a nocturnal animal, then what time of day might it be? Well, Alex says, "My fox will be in the forest, standing under the trees.

It will be nighttime with the moon shining and stars in the sky." Jacob says, "My hedgehog will be in the garden, hiding under some leaves.

It will be evening, when it's getting dark and the hedgehog comes out to look for food." Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What is a background? The part of an artwork closest to the viewer? The frame around an artwork? The part of an artwork furthest from the viewer? The floor of the room an artwork is put in? So pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about the answer to this question, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that the background is the parts of an artwork furthest from the viewer, then you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, to plan your background, you need to choose the habitat.

Where does your animal live? In the forest, garden, desert or the sea? Then lightly sketch the setting using a pencil and draw the outlines only, so no major detail, and then look at examples and try different ideas.

So here are two examples of a background.

Now remember, we only need outlines at this stage.

So this first one is the type of drawing that we need.

The second one, there is a little bit too much detail there.

Now Alex has placed a tree in his foreground.

He says, "I want to put a tree in my design, but then I can't place the fox there because they would overlap.

What advice would you give to Alex? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What advice would you give him? Well, Alex can move his tree to the right side, which will make space for his fox clay sculpture.

So can you see here? Moving that tree from the center over to the right will allow Alex to put the fox in the center.

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

If you are planning a background for a fox, should you color in the trees straight away or just draw the outlines? Why? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, if you said something like, you should just draw the outlines because you do not need to color yet, as this is only the planning stage.

We need to keep it light, which means we can change things if we need to.

So we don't want as much detail as this drawing is showing here.

This now brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to plan your background.

Lightly draw the setting for your animals' habitat.

You only need the outlines, do not color it in yet.

And think about the images of the habitats we looked at for help and try some different backgrounds and changing the layout.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at planning your background, following these steps, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? Were you able to lightly draw your animal's habitat, look at those images for help? Well, let's have a look at this example here.

So we've got a really clear light sketch of the background.

We can see that we've got a moon, we've got a tree, and we've got grass.

And we've not added too much detail or any color just yet because we need to keep it light, ready for the next step.

So well done for planning the background for your sculpture.

This now brings us to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to be creating a collage with reclaimed materials.

Why is littering bad for the environment? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you are ready to continue.

Well, what did you think? There are many different reasons why littering is bad for the environment.

When rubbish is thrown away, it sometimes ends up on the ground, and this harms the plants and animals that live there.

Sometimes, rubbish can be repurposed.

This means after something is thrown in the bin, it can be used again, becoming useful in another way.

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

Which picture shows an item being repurposed? 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 both B and C, you are absolutely right.

These items have been used and instead of going in the bin, they've been repurposed to be useful again.

El Anatsui is a Ghanaian artist and uses reclaimed materials by turning old bottle caps and metal into large, shimmering wall sculptures.

El Anatsui's "Earth's Skin" is made from bits of bottle caps strung together with copper wire.

Jane Perkins is a British artist who also uses reclaimed material in her artwork.

She makes pictures using old buttons, beads, and little toys.

She uses things that other people throw away to make beautiful art.

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

Which of these is true about El Anatsui and Jane Perkins? They only use new materials in their art.

They both make art using reclaimed or recycled materials.

They only paint with brushes.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about the answer to this question and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said they both make art using reclaimed or recycled materials, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Collage is arranging different materials and sticking them together on a surface.

In this artwork, rubbish has been repurposed to create a collage.

What everyday items have been used? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, we can see that we've got newspapers and magazines that have maybe been used, and also some cardboard as well.

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

Which of these materials would not be suitable to reclaim? A crisps packet, newspaper, a half-eaten sandwich, or a sweet wrapper? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your partner, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said a half eaten sandwich, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, to make a collage background, you can tear your paper or cut it.

So we've got some torn paper here and some cut paper.

What do you notice about the edges? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you notice? Well, that's right, the torn paper has very rough and uneven edges, whereas the cut paper, they're very straight and clean edges.

Now, both are useful in collage.

Torn paper makes it look soft and natural, while cut paper makes it look sharp and tidy.

Now, you can also layer the paper.

You can layer the paper by putting pieces on top of each other and cover the white spaces so that no gaps show, like this piece here.

Can you see how different bits of paper have been layered to create a really textured effect? Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

You can only use scissors to cut paper for collage.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that's false, you are absolutely right, because you can also tear paper by hand.

It doesn't have to just be cut with scissors.

Alex has decided that he's going to use his drawing to plan and make a background using repurposed materials and collage.

So here's his drawing here, and this is what he hopes to create using those repurposed materials and collage.

So the artists are discussing how they'll make their collage backgrounds.

Alex says, "I'm going to use the exact same color for the grass on my background image and cut the paper." And Jacob says, "I'm going to mix different pieces together because the grass isn't just one color, and layer it." So we're going to have a go now at selecting materials for a collage.

You could pick from colored scrap paper, buttons, fabric, card, and magazines.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at selecting some materials for your collage, for your background, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? Well, Alex says, "I chose darker colored paper because my animal is nocturnal, and shiny tinfoil for the moon." So, well done for collecting your materials for collaging your background.

This now brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to create a collage background with your reclaimed materials.

Use your background plan to start your collage.

Choose and use reclaimed materials like buttons, fabric, card, or magazines, and practice your skills of tearing, cutting and layering.

Now remember, use your plan to guide you and try to cover the whole background.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at collaging your background with those reclaimed materials and press play when you are ready to continue.

How did you find that? Were you able to find the materials you wanted to use and practice your skills of tearing, cutting and layering? Well, let's have a look at this example here.

This is Alex's nocturnal background.

Can you see how he's used those darker colors? And he's done some tearing of the paper and also some cut pieces, and he's layered those on to create that nighttime scene and he's got the moon in that tinfoil and the grass is different, layered pieces of greens and grays.

So, well done if you were able to select your reclaimed materials to have a go at collaging a background for your sculpture.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarize what we've learned about creating a background using reclaimed materials.

You can use reclaimed materials to make a collage background for your nocturnal animal, and it's important to know the foreground and background to help you to plan and make your picture look complete.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.