Lesson video

Hello, welcome to today's art and design lesson.

My name's Mr. Little.

I'm really excited to be here with you today.

We're gonna be learning some art and design.

And the lesson title for today is Refining Your Artistic Voice by Experimenting With Different Techniques and Skills, and that's from the unit Finding Your Artistic Voice: An Introduction to the Creative Process.

Are you ready to learn some art and design? Great, let's get cracking.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to experiment with materials and techniques to refine your artistic voice.

Here's the keywords for today's lesson and I want you to keep an eye out for them in the slides.

The first one is techniques.

I'm sure you know lots of art techniques already, and that's the methods or approaches used to create art, such as layering, texturing, or blending.

The second keyword is open-ended, and that's a way of working in art with no fixed outcome or predetermined goal.

The third keyword is mistakes.

I'm sure you know what mistakes are, but in art, that can be an opportunity for discovery and growth.

It can be a good thing because it can often lead to unexpected and innovative results.

There's two parts to today's lesson.

Let's get started with open-ended experimentation.

Here we've got Ayesha, Sam, and Alex, and they're experimenting with materials and techniques in their sketchbooks in an open-ended way.

They're not worried about getting everything perfect and they're not planning too much in advance.

Why do you think this might help an artist? By being open-ended, they're allowing themselves to explore new ideas and discover unexpected possibilities and perhaps even build their confidence with new materials.

Experimentation like this helps artists develop their own style and solve creative problems and also stay excited about the artwork they're creating.

Open-ended experimentation allows artists and you as pupils to make mistakes that could lead to unexpected ideas and new techniques, and this can be a really positive thing.

Artists and pupils can discover new possibilities and develop their own distinctive artistic voice that can be unique to them.

And that's what's fantastic here 'cause it's different.

Unique artists, unique artistic voices, are all different.

Have a look at this diagram of Alex's artistic voice and how it's shaped.

There are three things that shaped it, can you remember what they are? First one is internal influences, that might be Alex's thoughts or feelings and moods, and obviously that can change depending on what they are.

Second up, it's the external influences.

So that might be Alex's hobbies, it might be his friendships, it might be the school that he attends, it might be his family or home life that can all influence him.

And third up, it's the ongoing process of experimentation and discovery, and remember, that's a really good thing.

Alex can try new things, he can discover new things, he can experiment with different mediums or techniques, and that all shapes Alex's artistic voice.

Let's have a check for understanding now, it's a true or false question.

Open-ended experimentation allows artists to develop their artistic voice.

Is that true or false? It's true, but why is that? It's because open-ended experimentation allows artists to make mistakes that could lead to unexpected ideas and new techniques.

They can discover new possibilities, they could be reflective, and they could develop their artistic voice.

Now we know open-ended experimentation in art involves trying out new materials, techniques, or ideas without a fixed outcome in mind.

Can you think about times when you have worked or played or perhaps even practised in an open-ended way? Now, that might be something to do with school or something at home, it might be a hobby you enjoy doing.

Can you think about a time when you've just done that in an open-ended way without a fixed goal in mind? Alex and Izzy here are having a discussion and they're talking about their open-ended experimentation.

Izzy gives this example.

"I play my drums and guitar without really knowing what I'm trying to play.

I'm just experimenting with the sounds." Alex says here, "I used to play in an open-ended way when I was in primary school.

There was just no outcome in sight, just enjoyment and play." And here, if I give a personal example, I remember going outside to the garden and practising football, loads and loads, and that often was in an open-ended way.

Often I'd be dribbling, doing keepy ups, hitting the ball against the wall, just practising , and I certainly got enjoyment and play.

And that is open-ended, I wasn't trying to do something or trying to be something or trying to get somewhere, I was just practising and practising and experimenting really with different skills and tricks.

Let's check your understanding now of open-ended experimentation.

You've got three choices.

Open-ended working in art means, A, making art with someone else's idea of your outcome, B, using materials with no clear idea of your outcome, C, using materials with a clear idea of your outcome.

That's right, it's B.

Well done if you got that right.

Here's an example of an artist's sketchbook, and here this artist has kept a record of all of their open-ended experimentation, because even open-ended experimentation can be recorded and reflected upon and kept, and the sketchbook here is a really good place for this.

What other places or methods might artists use to document their ideas? Sometimes artists might use loose sheets of paper, digital platforms, or sometimes maybe even photographs to capture their experiments.

Walls or pin boards or folders can also become creative spaces for arranging, reflecting on their work.

Whether that's in a sketchbook or elsewhere, recording experiments helps you track your progress, helps you revisit ideas that you might like and develop your creativity over time.

And that can really show a journey of your artistic voice, it often might change or adapt and have you look back and reflect on your work.

You can come up with new ideas and new experiments and have even more open-ended experimentation.

Okay, time to put all that brilliant knowledge into a practise task now on open-ended experimentation.

So what I'd like you to do is sit or stand with a selection of materials, tools, and surfaces in front of you, and I want you to experiment with different combinations or materials and techniques.

And that might be layering, blending, and mixing different techniques, using traditional or non-traditional materials, using materials and techniques you already feel confident with, but also using materials and techniques you don't feel confident with.

Let's look at some examples of how open-ended experimentation has been used by these artists and pupils.

Here, this artist has used mark-making tools and layered different types of lines and shapes.

You can see horizontal lines, you can see dots, you can see curved lines.

And this art makes me think of the wind, it takes me left to right, my head seems to be going left to right as I follow all of the patterns here.

Here this artist has collected sources for inspiration.

They've obviously used the photo of the pot plant as the inspiration here and then they've used a variety of materials and techniques.

I can see they've used a rope and they've used some different colours, perhaps even some different techniques to interpret this piece of art.

And let's take a look here at these Post-it notes.

Now, although this might look like simple drawing, this artist here has used non-traditional services, they've used Post-it notes and then captured them in their sketchbook.

And remember, that's important to capture your experimentation, your open-ended experimentation in your sketchbook, 'cause you can reflect and you can look back on it.

For part two of the task, I want you to reflect on different things you've discovered through your open-ended experimentation and make notes next to your experiments.

You might want to reflect with any mistakes that happened and what you learned about the materials, techniques, and tools.

And don't worry if you make mistakes, that's part of the creative process, that's part of open-ended experimentation.

I want you to reflect on how it felt working in an open-ended way without a fixed outcome in mind.

I want you to consider if this experimentation reminded you of any artists or ideas.

And is there anything you'd like to explore further based on these experiments? What else might you want to do following this? Let's take a look at some different examples or responses to the reflection we asked you to do.

Here, this artist, remember the piece of art from the first part of the task, said, "I was uncomfortable with working with no outcome in mind so I just chose to start with just charcoal.

I liked the way the repetitive but loose lines looked when they are layered.

It felt like I discovered a new technique." Let's look how Chila Kumari Burman is reflected on this piece of art.

I'll give you a moment to take a closer look.

She said, "I worked in my sketchbook and experimented with different techniques to use the watercolours and colouring pencils.

I split and smudged paint on the paper by accident, but that mistake turned into a background that I liked." Have a look at that smudging.

Do you like that background? And here's that example of the artist or pupil that used Post-it notes.

They said, "I worked on Post-it notes in my sketchbook.

I found it challenging to know how to start and the Post-its made it feel less pressure." Let's take a look at this artist or pupil and how they've reflected on the Post-it note example.

"I worked on Post-it notes in my sketchbook.

I found it challenging to know how to start and then the Post-it notes made me feel less pressure.

I'd like to explore how I can make more art on temporary surfaces, like Post-it notes, maybe with whiteboards, chalkboards, or even using chalk on the ground." Keep up that great work.

It's time to go onto the second part of today's lesson, and we are gonna be looking at mistakes and rule-breaking as part of the process.

Have a look at this piece of art.

Really interesting here because this artist who made this piece of art is not left-handed, yet they chose to experiment with left-handed drawing.

Why do you think they'd experimented with left-handed drawing here? By drawing with their non-dominant hand, the artist here is actually challenging themselves to step out of their comfort zone.

This technique can lead to unexpected marks, looseness, and new ways of seeing their subject.

It's a really good way of breaking habits, embracing imperfections, and discovering fresh approaches to drawing.

Okay, here we've got four different art movements.

We've got impressionism, and that's from the late 19th century, we've got Dada, and that's from 1916 to 1924, we've got abstract expressionism from the 1940s and '50s, and we've got the feminist art movement, and that's from the 1970s to present.

And Izzy asks, "What links mistakes and rule-breaking with these art movements? Izzy says, "These and many movements arose from artists experimenting with materials, techniques, and concepts.

Mistakes often create new styles or techniques, becoming defining features of the movement." And for example, Pollock's drips or Duchamp's ready-mades, they're both examples of how mistakes have created new styles and techniques.

There's many artists and contemporary artists who experiment.

They rule-break by pushing boundaries of traditional art.

And when they do experiment, they might turn their mistakes into opportunities for developing their artistic voice.

Contemporary artists who experiment with materials and techniques in their work include Anselm Kiefer, who uses unconventional materials to create layered, textured works that explore history and memory.

Pacita Abad experimented with vibrant textiles and paint to create her own distinctive trapunto paintings.

Neri Oxman combines art, science, and technology to design innovative and nature-inspired work.

Time for a check for understanding about mistakes and rule-breaking.

Is it true or false? Mistakes often create new styles or techniques, becoming defining features of movements.

It's true, but why is that? It's because many movements arose from artists experimenting with materials, techniques, and concepts, for example, Pollock's drips or Duchamp's ready-mades.

Artists such as Maggie Williams use experimentation to help them explore themes linked to external and external influences.

Maggie Williams is a British-Chinese artist and her artistic voice is shaped by themes to do with home, culture, and what it feels like to grow up between two different cultures.

Maggie experiments with different materials and techniques in her work.

Sometimes she takes everyday objects and changes them in creative ways and other times she uses traditional materials like embroidery.

Halima Cassell is a British-Pakistani artist who makes detailed, geometric carvings.

Her artistic voice is shaped by internal and external inferences, such as Islamic art, architecture, and her cultural background.

Halima experiments with materials like clay, concrete, and bronze to create beautiful, patterned sculptures that reflect her heritage and love for design.

Time for a check for understanding.

What do you think contemporary artists continue to do? Is it A, experiment and rule-break? Is it B, only use traditional techniques and materials? Or is it C, experiment, but follow strict rules about making art? It's A, contemporary artists continue to experiment and rule-break.

Well done if you got that right.

I want you to do a bit of thinking now.

What do you think art would look like if no one ever experimented in art? What if no one ever broke the rules or let themself make mistakes? Look at what Izzy and Alex think about this.

Izzy suggests maybe lots of well-known art and movements and artworks wouldn't exist now, whereas Alex suggests we might have never had any new types of art techniques, materials, or ideas.

Really important here to highlight how experimentation and mistakes often lead to great things.

And it's okay to make mistakes, it's okay to try new things, it's okay to experiment, and often you won't hear this much at school, but it's actually okay to break the rules in art.

Time to make some mistakes and do some rule-breaking, but don't worry, that's all part of this practise task.

I want you to sit or stand with a selection of traditional and non-traditional materials, tools, and surfaces in front of you and I want you to experiment with them in ways that safely break the usual rules of use.

And you might wanna do that in ways such as trying materials like objects you found, string, or perhaps even cold coffee or tea.

You might use eaves, twigs, stones, shells, dried flowers, or sand as materials or tools.

What about using forks, sponges, potato mashers, whisks, or chopsticks as tools or anything else safe you can find in a kitchen? What about flipping or reversing the tools, using the back of a paintbrush or pencil for stamping or scratching patterns? You could even crumple, tear, fold, or cut your surface before starting.

Remember to do this all really safely, though.

There's loads of different possible outcomes you might have got to, but let's take a look at some examples.

This artist has used traditional materials with non-traditional techniques.

I think they've used charcoal here, but in a way that perhaps they might not have done before.

Have a look at this, I think it's a paper plate.

This might not be a traditional art material, but they've used a new technique to sculpture and create a new possibility here.

And here, I think this artist has created and combined traditional and non-traditional art materials.

They've created new techniques and possibilities.

I think they've layered here to make almost a collage.

Part two of this task is a bit of reflection, and I want you to reflect on the different things that you might have discovered through your own open-ended experimentation.

I want you to make notes next to your experiments, that reflection is really important.

And you might wanna reflect on the mistakes that happened and what you learned about the materials and techniques and tools.

Were there any you really liked using? Were there some you didn't like? Were there some that you'd definitely use again? I want you to reflect on how it felt working in an open-ended way, and that might be a new way of working for you without a fixed outcome in mind.

Did that lead to different results? Did it lead to better results? Did it lead to things that you might wanna do again? And also as part of this reflection, I want you to think, did this experimentation remind you of any artists or ideas that you might have seen or heard of before? And then finally, what would you like to do further based on these experiments? Is there anything you want to explore further or do more of? Is there anything you definitely won't do again? Are there any mistakes that you learned from? Let's look at the piece of art to do with the charcoal.

And here this artist or pupil says, "It was strange using charcoal in a different way.

It felt like I was making mistakes, but I found that I liked the effect and discovered a new technique." For this paper plate example, this artist or pupil has said, "I used a paper plate which is not my usual art material.

I played with it without thinking about the outcome and developed a technique for sculpting with paper plates." And let's look at this collage.

This artist or pupil says, "I got lost in the process of making mistakes and turning them into deliberate techniques," and that's all right.

They said, "I kept layering and adding to my experiment and discovered a new collage style that I like." We've got to the end of today's lesson, so let's have a summary of what we've learned.

Remember, experimenting with new techniques expands artistic possibilities.

Many artists experiment, and that's all right.

Often they rule-break and turn mistakes into opportunities for developing their own artistic voice.

And don't forget, an artistic voice can change over time, and that might come as a result of that rule-breaking and the mistakes that the artist makes.

Open-ended experimentation does allow artists to make mistakes, and that leads to unexpected ideas and new techniques.

I hope you've had a chance to do loads and loads of experimentation, you've made loads of mistakes, and you've done some experimentation with new techniques and skills, and that might have led to some brilliant work.

Well done.