Lesson video

Hello, everybody.

How are you? I hope you're feeling really good.

My name is Miss Afzal, and I'll be your art teacher for this lesson.

I'm feeling really good about that because I love teaching art.

And today, we're looking at something quite interesting.

Our lesson is called "First-hand Resourcing," and it comes from the unit to work: "First Sustained Project: Working From a Theme." So I hope you are perhaps interested in what we're gonna be exploring today, and maybe you've got some focus, energy, and enthusiasm.

If so, we'll begin.

The outcome for today's lesson is: "I can generate and develop ideas inspired by observations and environmental surroundings." We have some keywords in our lesson.

Let's go through them: "resourcing," "inspiration," "recording," and "environment." So what do these words mean? Resourcing is gathering or creating material to support and develop your own ideas.

Inspiration: something that sparks ideas, creativity, or motivation in your work.

Recording: capturing sights, sounds, or experiences to use as reference in your creative work.

And environment: the surroundings or place you are in.

These are our keywords.

Let's look out for them and listen out for them.

They'll be coming up in the lesson today.

A lesson is called "First-hand Primary Resourcing," and it has two learning cycles.

We begin with first-hand primary resourcing and then move on to how environment and senses shape your artwork.

So let's begin with first-hand primary resourcing.

Where do artists get their inspiration from? Pause here and share with someone.

What do you think? Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Here's Aisha: "Some artists get their ideas from their life experiences." Lucas: "Artists often use their imagination or memory as a resource." Izzy: "Many artists use their surroundings as inspiration." And Alex: "Some artists might take photos of things that interest them as reference." What is the difference between drawing something in front of you rather than from memory? Pause video and chat with someone.

Perhaps you said something like this: Drawing something in front of you is a form of first-hand recording.

First-hand primary sources are things you study from direct experience.

They're right in front of you, like an apple, a shoe, or a person.

Great drawing of a shoe.

First-hand recording helps you see more detail, true scale, and subtle shifts in light and form.

These qualities are often lost in memory.

Why draw from a primary source instead of from a photo? Pause here and share with someone.

Here's Laura: "Drawing from life allows you to look at things from different angles.

It helps you understand the form, depth, and structure of something more clearly." And Izzy: "I expect drawing in the moment leads to looser, more expressive lines and a greater sense of movement or atmosphere." Drawing from life is a valuable resourcing method that helps create more authentic, detailed, and personal artwork.

Capturing events through drawing in a moment allows you to observe and respond in a moment, often sparking unexpected inspiration and ideas.

Sketching regularly builds awareness of scale and composition, turning real observations into creative ideas.

Carrying a sketchbook around allows you to record ideas, observations, and inspirations as they happen, making it a valuable first-hand resourcing tool.

Recording from first-hand experience can help you capture unique moments.

Recording through drawing allows you to observe and respond in the moment, turning real experiences into inspiration for creative work.

First-hand recording is not limited to pencil or pen.

The key is that you're directly engaging with your subject to create original work.

You might use charcoal, markers, paint, digital drawing, photography, stitch, collage, or even sculpting.

I love this sculpture with wire.

You can draw with all kinds of materials.

Check for understanding: True or false? First-hand resourcing has to be drawing.

Pause here and decide: is this true or false? Well done if you selected false.

And now I'd like you to say a little more about your answer.

Perhaps you said something like this: It can also include photos, sound recordings, video, written notes, or collected objects, any method that captures direct personal observation or experience.

Taking your own photos is also a way of recording first-hand.

Your photos act as personal primary resources, capturing what you see and what interests you, unlike using images found online or created by others.

Your own photos are a powerful primary resource because they capture real moments.

They reflect your unique perspective and provide authentic material that could inspire original artwork.

Why are primary source photographs better than using found ones? Pause here and share with someone.

Primary source photos reflect your personal viewpoint, give you original material, and help you connect more deeply with your subject.

They also avoid copyright issues and give you an original primary resource.

Sound can be recorded first-hand as a resource for artists.

Recording conversations or spoken word can inform narratives.

It can also highlight rhythm, language, and voice, which are useful elements when exploring character or identity in your work.

Sound is a powerful way to capture mood and environment.

Natural sounds, including birds, rain, and city noise, can inspire mood or rhythm in artwork.

Recording sounds outdoors captures the atmosphere of a place, adding sensory depth to your creative process.

Why does sound matter? Pause here and share with someone.

What do you think? Thanks for sharing.

Sounds like birdsong, city bustle, or a conversation are fleeting and can't be replicated exactly, but recording preserves them as inspiration for your creative work.

Drawing whilst listening to music can help you record expressive lines and dynamic compositions.

Background noises, rhythms, and tones influence how you feel about space or moment, which can shape your artwork's mood or theme.

What types of sounds could be recorded for your chosen theme? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Here's Lucas: "My theme is 'inside,' so I could record things such as engines, which are inside a car bonnet, or the noises inside a busy cafe or supermarket.

Aisha: "My theme is 'messages,' so I could record notification pings, text message alerts, or ringtones.

I could even record sounds which give important messages like alarms, school bells, or sirens.

Jacob: "My theme is 'transformation,' so sounds of construction, chainsaws, or machinery representing human alteration would be appropriate.

I could record traffic noise, industrial hums, or urban sounds, contrasting with natural quiet." And Sam: "For my theme of 'identity,' I could record music and sounds from a day in my life.

You could include footsteps, walking, or cooking noises." Love that.

Video is a useful tool for first-hand recording.

Video captures movement, change, and atmosphere over time, offering rich visual and audio material that static images or sketches can't always provide.

It's useful for film, animation, storytelling, and installation art.

Video recording is also useful for documenting body language and gesture: figure drawing, performance-based art.

Video recording can be a powerful way to capture and explore environmental changes: shifting light, weather, clouds.

Video recording is also useful for documenting processes and transitions: growth, decay, construction.

Check for understanding: Where do many artists find inspiration? So A, only in art galleries.

B, by copying images online.

Or C, from their own experiences and surroundings.

Pause here while you decide.

Well done if you chose answer C.

Besides photos, drawing, and sound, other types of first-hand recording include: Written notes or journaling: documenting thoughts, observations, reflections in a moment.

This could be recorded in written or digital form.

You can also record first-hand experiences by collecting textures.

Rubbings and texture prints: using materials like graphite, oil pastels, or wax to capture surface textures.

Collecting manufactured objects like packaging, fabric scraps, or broken tools can offer interesting shapes, patterns, and textures to spark creative ideas.

Gathering natural objects provides tactile primary resources that can inspire ideas in your artwork.

Izzy and Andeep are recording first-hand from primary resources.

"I chose to make a drawing of a bird skull using oil pastels.

I then took a photo of the skull to put in my sketchpad alongside my artwork.

I now have two first-hand primary resources." Fantastic.

And Andeep: "I drew the view from the classroom window.

I used biro to quickly sketch the houses opposite." Artists who use first-hand resourcing to record lived realities include: Keith Piper draws on archival material, historical documents, news footage, and personal experience to confront themes of race, colonialism, identity, and social justice.

His work, "Relocating the Remains," is powerful, multimedia installation.

Ceija Stojka began painting in middle age using non-traditional tools like fingers, toothpicks, cardboard, and glass jars.

"Sans titre" "Untitled," 1993, depicts caravans or gatherings infused with folk art.

Dinh Q.

Le, who explored memory and cultural history through weaving and photographic installation.

His artwork, from Vietnam to Hollywood, incorporated woven newspaper and film stills.

For the next part of the lesson, you will need a sketchbook, your own choice of drawing materials, camera or phone, source material, wire.

Pause here while you gather what you need.

Now you have everything you need, we'll move on to our task.

So for your task, I would like you to create a first-hand resource linked to your theme.

Choose something to observe directly.

Use drawing, photography, sound recording, or note taking to create your own original primary resource that captures what you see, hear, or experience in the moment.

Pause here while you have a go at this task.

Great to be back with you.

I wonder how you got on with your task.

Here's Izzy: "My teacher had some preserved butterflies in the art room.

I made a wire structure inspired by one of the insects.

I could develop this further by incorporating threads." And Sam: "My theme is 'identity.

' I've sourced some objects inspired by the identity of my neighbour, who loves costume jewellery.

I could take photos or make quick sketches." And Laura: "I decided to digitally annotate the emotions I can sense in the classroom.

I've noted colours and shapes that I think suit different people's personalities." And now we're onto our next learning cycle: How environment and senses shape your artwork.

What is meant by your environment? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Environment means the physical place and surroundings you are in.

These places can shape the composition, texture, colour palette, or emotional tone of your work.

Location refers to the specific place where you are, including the environment around you, for instance: Outdoor settings: parks, streets, forests, beaches, markets, cities.

Indoor spaces: your room, cafe, supermarket, classroom, cinema.

Cultural or historical places: museums, temples, stadiums, libraries, galleries.

Oh, my, I love these places.

Natural elements are the parts of the environment that come from nature, including: Light: how sunlight or shadows fall on objects.

Weather: rain, wind, heat, fog, or cold.

Plants and trees: their shapes, textures, and colours.

Water: reflections, movement, or sound from rivers, seas, or puddles.

Sounds: birdsong, rustling leaves, or insects.

Pause video and share with someone which of these natural elements are you most drawn to? Thanks for sharing.

For me, it's got to be water, very closely followed by plants and trees, and light.

Check for understanding: Which of the following best describes how the environment can be used as a resource in art? Is it A: It's only useful for collecting natural objects like leaves or stones? B: The environment is too unpredictable to use in art? Or C: It provides inspiration through sights, sounds, textures, and atmosphere? Pause here while you decide.

Well done if you chose answer C.

The senses help you make art that's more immersive, layered, and personal.

Sight, the most often used sense in art, which allows you to observe shape, colour, texture, movement, light, and shadow directly in your environment.

Sounds from your environment, like birds, voices, traffic, and music, can influence mood and energy.

While harder to capture visually, smell can evoke memory or atmosphere, including: the smell of an old book, food, cooking, spices, scent, farms, fresh laundry.

Touch lets you physically connect with your surroundings.

Feeling the textures of surfaces, materials, or air, e.

g.

, rough bark, soft fabric, cool breeze, helps choices about media, texture, and mark-making.

Taste is the least commonly used sense in visual art.

It can, however, still play a meaningful role in inspiration and first-hand resourcing, especially when linked to culture, memory, and identity.

Check for understanding: True or false? Artists can use all five senses as sources of inspiration in their work.

Pause here and decide is this true or false? Well done if you selected true.

Now I'd like you to say a little more about your answer.

Pause here while you do this.

Perhaps you said something like this: Because each sense helps artists connect more deeply with their environment and generate richer, more personal ideas.

Many artists create artwork in response to their environment.

These include: Edward Hopper, who in his painting "Nighthawks" depicts a late-night diner with a few solitary figures inside, viewed through large glass windows.

Mika Tajima, who, in her "Negative Entropy" series, collaborates with neurosurgeons to translate auditory maps of brain activity into textile pieces.

And Kate MccGwire, who uses collected feathers to create flowing sculptural forms that echo natural movement and transformation.

In her "Plume" series, the sculptures are made from wire armatures and pigeon feathers.

For the next part of the lesson, you will need: a sketchbook, pencils, pens, markers, collage papers, oil pastels, and charcoal.

So pause here while you gather what you need.

There are many ways you could create an artwork in response to an imagined environment.

Notice what you can see, hear, touch, or feel.

Focus on texture, composition, or atmosphere.

Work quickly and expressively, responding to how the environment makes you feel.

Consider which colours would best represent the environment and feelings evoked.

In this example, expressive watercolour and oil pastel samples were made while imagining a hot desert environment.

I could really see that coming across.

In this example, samples were cut into strips and coiled and twisted to represent sand blowing.

The strips were made into a mini curved structure to symbolise the ripples in sand dunes.

I love where this has been taken.

And now it's time for your task.

I'd like you to create an artwork in response to an imagined environment.

Notice what you can see, hear, touch, or feel.

Focus on texture, composition, or atmosphere.

Work quickly and expressively, responding to how the environment makes you feel.

Consider which colours would best represent the environment or feelings evoked.

So pause here while you have a go at this task of creating an artwork in response to an imagined environment.

I'll see you when you're finished.

It's great to be back with you.

How did you get on with creating an artwork in response to an imagined environment? Oh, my! Take a look at this example from Aisha.

I love it.

Let's hear what Aisha has to say: "My imagined environment is the underground mycelium network and the messages sent between them.

I wanted to use wire to link it to human messages sent using technology.

I used fine wire to symbolise fungus gills." Oh, wow.

It's really working well, Aisha.

Here's Lucas: "My imagined environment is inside the Buddhist temple, which I've been to for meditation.

I've used purple and gold paint, often associated with rituals.

I then focused on circular-style patterns, which can symbolise spiritualism." Oh, wow.

This is also really, really expressive and does have quite a meditative feel, which I personally love.

And I hope you've enjoyed coming up with your own creations too.

In our lesson, "First-hand Primary Resourcing," we've covered the following: First-hand primary resourcing means gathering your own materials and information directly from real-life experiences, such as taking photos, drawing from observation, recording sound, or collecting objects.

By responding to the surrounding environment.

whether natural, urban, or emotional, artists notice atmosphere, texture, and detail in new ways.

The environment is an effective source of inspiration.

Well done, everyone, for joining in with this lesson.

It was great to explore this topic together and to explore different means of gathering information.

I wonder which one you are most interested in.

I love taking photographs.

That's probably my favourite.

And I hope you enjoyed exploring your environment and an imagined environment as well.

I've really enjoyed this lesson.

I hope you have too, and I'm looking forward to seeing you at another art lesson soon.

Until then, stay creative.