Lesson video

Hi, everyone, how are you doing today? I hope you're having a really good day.

My name is Esther, some people call me Miss Esther, and I am an artist and an art teacher and I'm really excited to work with you on our lesson, Clay Landscapes: Hand Building Towers Together.

It's part of our unit, Imagined Spaces and Shared Stories.

Let's get started.

Our outcome for today is that by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to work collaboratively to build a clay coil structure.

Really exciting lesson because we'll be using clay.

We have some keywords for today.

I'll say them first, you say them after me.

We have tower, continuous line, armature.

A tower is a tall building or structure that stands high above the ground.

A continuous line is a line that never stops or lifts off the page, and an armature is a strong frame or shape inside that helps hold a sculpture up, holds a sculpture together.

We'll have a look at our lesson outline for today.

First of all, we're going to be drawing some tower structures.

Secondly, we'll construct a clay coil tower.

And thirdly, we'll think about how art changes a place.

So we're going to be artists and makers and thinkers.

Let's start by drawing a tower structure.

Sometimes artists and designers use new materials to make their artworks.

Oh, we've got lots of things appearing here.

Other artists might use repurposed materials.

I'd like you to pause the video and name the different materials you can see.

We have a box, what's it made from? And I can see other things as well.

Pause the video and have a conversation with someone nearby and talk about what you can see, maybe point to the screen.

Fantastic, great observations.

I wonder how many things you spotted.

These amazing structures are called the Watts Towers, and they're a group of very tall, hand-built sculptures in the city of Los Angeles, in California.

And we'll just take a moment to let our eyes travel from top to bottom, seeing if we can spot anything we recognize.

They were made by an incredible artist named Simon Rodia, who worked on them all by himself for over 33 years.

From 1921 to 1954.

Simon Rodia used recycled and found materials to create the towers.

This means he used things like broken glass, bits of pottery, shells, tiles, and wire that other people had thrown away.

So somebody's rubbish became his material for making.

He carefully stuck these pieces onto the towers using cement and shaping and decorating everything by hand.

I think he was quite an adventurous artist.

How do you think Simon Rodia might have built the towers without scaffolding and without machinery? We'll have a quick check for understanding.

Here are some prompts for our thinking.

I think Simon Rodia built the towers by.

He didn't use machines, so maybe he.

To reach high places, he could have.

He might have used simple tools like.

Pause the video for a moment and have a think about how these amazing towers might have been made.

We'll share looking at these ideas.

I think Simon Rodia built the towers by climbing up very carefully and using ladders.

He probably used his hands and simple tools like hammers and wires.

Maybe he made parts step-by-step and added more as he went higher.

All great ideas.

This artist is drawing the tower structures.

What do you notice? Carefully watch their hand moving.

They are using a continuous line.

Using a continuous line means the artist does not take their pen away from the paper until the drawing is finished.

It's a bit like their pen is stuck to the paper.

In this drawing, this artist is trying different kinds of pens.

They might try thick pens, thin pens, layering pens of different colors.

What kind of marks might Lucas make? Hi Lucas.

Lucas says, "I'm going to try holding two pens in one hand at the same time!" This should be interesting.

"My pens made marks like they were chasing each other." It's a bit like a roller coaster, Lucas's drawing.

Fantastic work.

Well done, Lucas.

We'll have a check for understanding.

In a continuous line drawing the artist creates an image without lifting the drawing instrument from the paper.

So the drawing instrument could be a pen.

Pause the video, have a chat with someone nearby and share your ideas.

Great sharing of ideas, everyone.

The answer is that it's true.

When you do a continuous line drawing, you do not lift the drawing instrument, the pen or the pencil, from the paper.

Fantastic, we are ready now for task A.

Look closely at what materials the Watts Towers are made from and how they're built.

And share your ideas.

Make a drawing using one continuous line to show the tower structured.

Pause the video while you do your drawing.

Fantastic concentration doing your continuous line drawings.

You may have made some images a bit like the ones that the artist made earlier and you might have thought about what the Watts Towers are made from.

The Watts Towers are made from things like steel bars, wire, cement, pieces of glass, tiles and, shells.

I think they were made using just human hands and simple tools.

Let's move on to our next activity.

We're going to be constructing a clay coil tower together.

Lucas is going to make a clay tower.

He starts by making an armature.

Hi, Lucas.

Let's find out a little bit more.

Lucas says, "An armature is like a skeleton or frame inside a sculpture." Oh, so like the bones inside of our bodies then.

That's a really good way to think about it, Lucas, thank you.

An armature helps hold the shape of the artwork and makes it strong.

We can see here there's a piece of card being rolled.

Oh, and it's made a kind of cone shape, bit like a hat.

And I can see that the artist has drawn a line along the bottom.

I wonder what's going to be next.

And they're cutting around the line they've drawn on the bottom of that cone kind of hat shape.

Lucas is filling the armature with crumpled newspaper.

I wonder why.

Lots of newspaper going in there, all crumpled up.

Lucas says, "This will keep the structure strong." Oh, I see, it's like stuffing something, like stuffing a pillow.

Lucas can tape his armature to a clay board and cover it with cling film or tinfoil.

Can see it being wrapped there in clinging film, Lucas says, "Cling film will stop the clay from sticking to the armature." Oh, I get it now.

The clay might stick to the paper.

So Lucas is covering it in foil or cling film to stop it from getting stuck together.

Now we'll do a check for understanding why might an artist use an armature? A, to help a piece of art grow taller, or B, to help hold the shape of the artwork, or C, to stop the clay from sticking.

Pause the video and think about how Lucas has made his armature and share any ideas you have about why an artist might use an armature.

The answer was B, to help hold the shape of the artwork.

Great conversation and sharing of ideas.

Artists build the armature first and then add materials like clay, paper, or wire on top to finish their sculpture.

Lucas is now going to work with Laura to make clay coils.

Hi, Lucas.

Hi, Laura.

The artist who made the Watts Towers worked alone for many years, but we can help each other to make something amazing.

Teamwork is the dream work.

Well, we have some pinches of clay here and a ball of clay.

Let's find out some more.

They take large pinches of clay and roll them into balls.

They roll the balls into coils.

Looks like a very, very fat worm to me.

Let's hear from Laura and Lucas.

Lucas says, "They will need to be quite thick to cover our armature." This artist is also rolling clay coils.

We'll just take a moment and watch them move their hands.

What do you notice about how they're moving their hands? They're rolling the clay while spreading their fingers to make the clay coil longer.

And I notice as well that they're holding their hands very stiffly.

So they've not got soft hands.

They've got very firm hands going back on forward.

Laura and Lucas will attach their coils, their clay coils by using the scratch and slip method.

This means they scratch the clay to make it rough and then they add a little slip or water so the pieces stick together like glue.

Slip is like a clay glue, which is made of water mixed together with clay.

Lucas says, "It helps the coils join strongly so they don't fall apart when the clay dries." They wind their coil around their armature.

They cut their coil where the ends meet.

I can see that they're cutting through there with a knife where the two ends meet.

And then they scratch the ends of the coils with a brush.

They put slip on the scratches and blend the clay together.

Can you see how the artist here is rubbing the clay together so it joins up smoothly.

Laura and Lucas join the calls in different directions to cover their armature.

I can see some things going around and some clay coils going down as well, covering that shape.

Laura says, "We are still using the scratch and slip technique where the coils meet, so the joins are strong." We have a check for understanding.

Let's do this one together.

Which step is missing from this process? Okay, so they've wined their coil around their armature.

That's picture one.

They cut their coil where the ends meet, and then we have a missing picture.

They put slip on the scratches and blend the clay together.

Pause the video while you decide what's missing from the process.

What should go in the empty windows? We'll find out what the answer was together.

It was the bit with the toothbrush where they scratched the ends of the coils with a brush to make them stick together and make them really strong.

Brilliant thinking, everybody.

We are starting task B, very exciting and constructing a clay coil tower using coils of clay.

When you do this and make your own clay tower, you might work together to roll coils of clay.

This is a really good idea if you can.

Use the scratch and slip technique, our joining technique.

And attach your coils in different directions.

Pause the video, have a great time making your sculptures.

Great work, what fantastic artists you are.

You might have worked together to roll coils of clay.

Use the scratch and slip technique and attach your coils in different directions.

We're going to go on now to our final learning cycle for today and think about how art changes a place.

What could Lucas and Laura now add to their tower? Laura says, "We could include some repurposed materials like cardboard, paper clips, and other found items." Lucas and Laura have a look back at the Watts Towers.

Laura says, "Adding different materials made the towers unique and full of interesting textures, colors, and patterns." Lucas and Laura press in found materials like buttons, staples, foil and pen lids to create surface patterns and mosaics in the wet clay.

Oh wow, what a brilliant pattern they've made with the paperclips and the drawing pins.

Lucas says to Laura, "Our choice of repurpose materials will be unique to us!" Completely unique, what amazing artists.

Well done, Laura and Lucas.

We'll have a little check now for understanding and think about how these repurpose materials should be used.

Repurposed materials should be pressed into A, dry clay, B, leather-hard clay, or C, wet clay.

Pause the video and share your ideas.

Fantastic thinking, the answer was C, wet clay.

Pressing the materials in gently and carefully is important.

So they attach well and do not change the shape of the clay coils.

We have a stunning picture here of an amazing place.

Gaudi's Park Guell was meant to be private, but it became a public park, filled with creative architecture.

Public art, like both the Watts Towers and Gaudi's Park Guell can symbolize pride, memory, and provide a gathering place for protest and celebration.

The Watts Rebellion was a protest against racism.

The towers then became a gathering point and a symbol of strength.

So people gathered at the towers to support each other and this place became really important for the community around it.

Both of these public art spaces show how artists and communities can reshape places with care and with creativity.

The ideas around public arts can change over time as well as the artwork itself.

We'll pause here for a check for understanding.

True or false? Once a sculpture is built, it should always stay the same.

Pause the video and talk to someone nearby about whether you think it's true or false.

The answer was false.

We'll find out why.

Some sculptures are meant to change over time.

Artists might add to them, reuse parts, or let nature affect them.

Change can tell new stories and show that art is alive.

We are ready now, very exciting for task C, adding repurposed materials to your tower.

You might think about adding tinfoil, pipe cleaners, nice and bendy, staples or paperclips, cardboard, buttons or beads, pen lids or recycled materials.

Have a wonderful time adding some adornment through repurposed materials to your tower clay sculpture.

Really interesting additions to your sculpture.

You might have added tinfoil, pipe cleaners, staples or paperclips, cardboard, buttons or beads, pen lids or recycled materials.

Brilliant work, everybody.

We'll carry on now with task C, thinking about how art changes a place.

Discuss how did the Watts Tower and Gaudi's Park Guell both change from their original purpose? We have some prompts to help us with our thinking about this.

We could start sentences with even though they.

Or I think the purpose changed because.

Or art can change as.

Pause the video and discuss one thing that might have changed.

We're going to do a little bit more thinking together.

We're going to use our imaginations and imagine that our towers are 100 times taller than they are.

Share with a partner what it would mean for your community to have your tower 100 times larger than it is.

You could say something like, people in my community would feel.

The tower could be used for.

It would help my town or city or village by.

Pause the video and think about your amazing artwork 100 times taller, Amazing, everybody.

Well done.

All those sorts and ideas that you shared.

You might have said something like, "Art can change over time, like the towers starting to become a symbol of change for the people who lived there." Or, "Even though they didn't work out the way they were meant to, they still turned into something really special and important." Or, "I think the purpose changed because each space started to mean different things to their communities." "The tower could be used to gather for important events." "People in my community would feel special and proud because such an impressive structure belonged to them." "It would help my town by making art feel important to them." An amazing making today.

You've worked really, really hard.

Well done.

We're going to do a summary now of what we've thought about, used today in our making as artists together.

Simon Rodia built the Watts Towers alone using recycled materials and no machines.

Artists might use a continuous line drawing to explore different drawing materials.

Clay can be used with an armature to construct an imagined place, and you did a brilliant job rolling and coiling and adding your clay pieces to make a tower.

And then we thought about how public art can symbolize pride, memory, and provide a gathering place for protests and for celebration.

Fantastic lesson with you today.

Thank you so much for joining me.

I hope to see you in an art lesson again very soon.