Lesson video

Hello, and welcome to our lesson today.

My name is Miss Holland and I'm super excited to get started.

Our lesson today is called, "Devise a mark-making toolkit", and this is part of our unit, "Abstract Art, Drawing, Printing and Textiles.

By the end of today's lesson, you will have created your very own mark-making tools using a range of different objects and they may not be the objects that immediately come to mind.

Our keywords today, which we will explore in greater detail during the lesson are mark-making.

Mark-making is the lines, dots and scratches created by tools and a tool, in this case, is any object or material used to help create marks, shapes or effects in a work of art.

And then lastly, we have traditional and traditional means something that is passed down through generations and can often be connected to the customs, beliefs or practises of a particular culture or group.

The two sections in our lesson today are, first of all, creating our mark-making tools and then the second part is using them.

So let's get started.

Creating mark-making tools.

I would like you to have a really close look at these images.

Do they immediately spring to mind as being mark-making tools? What do you notice about them? I can see a peg with a leaf and a piece of string.

I can see bundles of leaves and plants tied to the end of a stick.

And then in the bottom picture, I can see different textiles being used.

Do they strike you as an old form of mark-making tools we might think of like pens and pencils? Well, no, but artists can use a whole range of tools to make marks, and that's what makes it so exciting.

We can use everyday materials, everyday objects, things we can find in our environment.

And that's what we'll be doing today.

And different cultures have developed different tools for creating art over time.

The renowned South African Ndebele artist, Esther Mahlangu, uses chicken feathers and baboon hair to create some of her traditional paintings.

First Nation Australian artists use dotting sticks to craft symbolic and richly textured traditional paintings.

So across many different cultures, different tools have been developed over time for creating art.

Different cultures sometimes have different traditional methods for creating artwork.

Here we have an image of a First Nation Australian artist using dotting stick.

And if you look really carefully, you can see what that tool is like.

But what is traditional for one culture, such as using a paintbrush, might not be traditional for another culture.

So we need to think really, really strongly about this word, traditional.

What we may view as traditional in one culture may not be seen as traditional in another culture.

The tools, techniques and styles artists use can vary widely depending on their cultural background.

And these unique methods are often passed down through generations and they reflect the values and the beliefs and the stories of the community or the culture.

True or false? Traditionally, all cultures use paintbrushes.

True or false? Well done, that's false, but why? And think back to some of those artists we just talked about.

Well done, don't worry if you haven't got the exact same answer as I, but as long as the sentiment's similar.

Although paintbrushes are a popular artistic tool, they are not traditional for every community or culture.

And we need to remember that.

Sometimes artists will make their own tools for a specific purpose or artwork.

So they might use natural found objects to help them create tools for mark-making.

Using these tools can result in distinct textures, patterns and shapes that reflect the artist's surroundings and traditions, making each piece of art unique to the artist.

Looking at this tool that we saw earlier, the washing peg with string, what kind of marks do you think that could make? How do you think the marks would differ from using the string to create the marks to the end of the wooden pegs? You could perhaps turn the peg on the side and use the metal joint to create a mark too.

So one tool could create a variety of different marks.

Jacob has gathered some natural materials for mark-making and he found these materials in the hedge on my school field.

And we can see that there are lots of different types of plants and leaves.

And the marks that they will make will be unique to him and his surroundings.

So as he went out and found these leaves and these plants, they'll be unique to him and the artwork he creates.

Laura has had a different approach to Jacob.

Have a look at these images.

Why is that different to Jacob? What's the difference? She says, "I've gathered these materials from my home, so they are found objects." And you can see this, they're manmade objects compared to Jacob's natural materials and they reflect some of the things I eat and use, which are unique to me.

I think they'll make some interesting marks.

Do you agree? Why don't you take a moment to look around your home or your classroom or where you are at the moment? What objects both found, manmade or natural do you think would be interesting to create marks with? Artists might choose to create mark-making tools from their surroundings.

Using materials that are personal to you as the artist helps to tell a story and to make your artwork unique.

Laura and Jacob say, "Our tools will be unique to us as they are made from the things we see and use every day." Laura and Jacob are gonna make their own tools from these for mark-making.

Jacob says, "We could cut this cloth to create a super-sized brush.

It could make giant marks." He says, "The natural materials could be attached to sticks using elastic bands, and this would make them easier to use as a tool." If you did that, how would you use this as a tool? Would you use them as brushes? They might think about materials they may need to create a tool.

Laura says, "We could use pegs to hold the smaller materials such as string.

A peg could work really well as it will grip tightly." So they're thinking about the handle of the tool as well, what they're gonna use.

Some tools could be used without needing to change anything.

So this is a milk bottle top.

And Jacob says, "This could be used like a stamp.

I don't think we need to add anything to this tool." Do you? A check for understanding.

How could Jacob and Laura use this material to create a mark-making tool? Now, have a think.

There's infinite ways they could.

So I'd like you just to come up with one or two ways please.

Right, so these are some options.

So we could attach it to a stick, bind it with elastic bands or hold it with a peg.

What other ways did you think of? Let's move on to our first task and we're gonna create our mark-making tools.

So firstly, I'd like you to gather materials and objects from your surroundings, like Laura and Jacob did.

And you might think about gathering natural materials, such as sticks and leaves or gathering found objects from your immediate environment, like Laura's milk bottle top or pieces of fabric, or finding materials which are unique to you and your surroundings.

Is there something that's really precious to you that you would want to include? Pause the video.

Well done, I wonder what you decided.

Well, let's see what our pupils here at Oak decided.

So they've gathered natural materials like Jacob and then found objects like Laura and materials which are unique to them.

Now, we're gonna create, we're gonna make your mark-making tools.

So you might think about using elastic bands to make your tools, using pegs or sticks to hold your materials or using materials or tools which do not need to be changed.

And you can make more than one tool and use these things differently for each one.

Pause the video.

I'm sure you all came up with ingenious ideas of creating your tools.

Again, our pupils have used pegs, sticks and elastic bands and also had tools which do not require changing.

Well, you've now created your tools.

So let's place them aside as we move on to learning cycle two and using mark-making tools, using our tools.

Before an artist creates a composition, they might want to test their tools and this allows them to see what types of mark their tool makes, explore how the tool can be used in different ways, like we said about the peg and the string, and make adjustments to their tool if needed.

This type of exploration is something called a tester or sample.

So artists might add annotations by their testers.

So here we have Jacob's testers and he's created annotations.

He's written stamping with cloth tool, sweeping with cloth tool.

And he says, "Doing this will help me remember how I made the tool or any changes I made to it." And also how to use it for different effects.

And artists might create samples or tester pages in their sketchbook to experiment with.

Colours, shapes and combining materials.

So combining the different tools to create different things.

Which of the following is not a reason to test your tools before making a composition? So not a reason.

Is it A, to see what types of mark their tool makes, B, to achieve perfect mark-making or C, to make adjustments to their tool if needed? Hmm.

Well done.

Yes, it's to achieve perfect mark-making.

Testing a tool is also useful so an artist can explore how the tool can be used in different ways.

Jacob and Laura are testing their different tools before they make a composition in their sketchbooks.

And Jacob says, "We can use large paper to create our samples if our tools are quite big or use our sketchbooks." And Laura starts by selecting her first tool.

"I would like to start with the tool made from a cloth," she says, "And I'm gonna try using it like a stamp." And think the movement of a stamp.

And here we go.

Do you think that's effective? I think it's rather beautiful.

Jacob says, "I like how that looks.

I wonder what happens if we sweep across the page quickly with the same tool?" And here we go.

Contrasting shapes, all from the same tool.

So contrasting marks from the same tool.

It's just being used in different ways.

And then Jacob and Laura add annotations.

So phrases explaining them by their mark-making and they say, "Our marks look really different.

Let's make a note of what we did next to our marks," so that they can remember and refer back to it.

Adding annotations to a sample page can be useful as it reminds an artist how they achieved a particular mark.

Also, in a couple of months or further away, you might want to refer back to your sketchbook to remember how you created that mark.

The marks that you like best might have been made by another artist.

"Which marks did you like best?" Jacob asks.

"I really like the marks that swept across the page, because they looked full of movement," says Laura, "I might use this type of mark in my composition." So you can be inspired and we should be inspired by other artists.

By reflecting on the marks you and others have made, you can identify tools and techniques you may wish to use again, and that's how we evolve as an artist.

Moving on to our second task.

I'd like you to use mark-making tools to create a range of samples and testers, and use what Laura and Jacob did to help you.

So decide which surface you'll create your testers or samples upon.

Is it a sketchbook or is it a large piece of paper? Then experiment using the tools in different ways to create mark-making.

What are all the different ways you could use? Can you remember? I said with the peg and the string, you could use all the different surfaces.

You could use the peg as a stamp.

And then annotate your marks, so make notes by your marks describing the tool and what part of the tool you used and what process you used.

What types of marks, did you sweep, did you stamp, did you stipple? And then I'd like you to reflect on the marks you like best.

So you may think about which process you most enjoyed for creating marks.

Do you like a controlled stamping process or do like a gestural, sweeping process? Which marks you thought are most effective? And it's okay if some of the marks you make are not that effective.

It's all part of the artistic process and ideas that you might borrow from other artists.

So think back to some of the artists we've looked at.

Think back to what Laura and Jacob did.

Pause the video and off you go.

It would be so wonderful for me to be able to see all your wonderful testers and samples.

I really wish I could.

But let's look again at some of our pupils'.

So here our pupil has decided to work on a large scale piece of paper and we can see all these wonderful different marks.

So we can see the stamping with the piece of cloth, the sweeping with the piece of cloth.

We can see the green plant being used to brush across the page and the peg and the string being used to create these lovely gestural marks.

And then at the top right-hand corner, again, another plant's being used to create a different texture.

And then we can see some of the found objects and the turquoise round object in the middle on the right has been used as a stamp in a repeated pattern, a repeated mark.

And then of course, the cloth in the bottom right.

And you can see that the pupil has annotated, made notes against each one so they can remember it.

Then reflecting on our mark-making, looking at this example, I like the regularity of the marks made using the bottle lids as a stamp.

Another pupil said the flicks made quickly really appeal to me as they make the artwork look exciting and energetic.

And another one has said, "I saw another artist try spreading their paint using their tool.

I'm going to try that next." What were your reflections? Well, thank you so much for joining me today for this lesson, and can you believe you've created your own mark-making toolkit? We've learned that actually mark-making toolkits can be made from a different range of materials, found objects and natural, and that they create unique textures, patterns and shapes for each artist.

And we've learned really importantly, that different cultures might use different traditional tools and methods for creating artwork.

And then finally, we've learned samples or testers can be useful to explore mark-making before the artist starts a composition.

And that we can use annotation to make notes next to the marks so we can refer back to them later on.

Thank you again, and I hope to see you soon.