Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you doing? Hope you're feeling good.

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

I'm feeling really pleased about that.

And today, our lesson is all about finishing an artwork.

A lesson is called personal response, finishing an artwork.

When do we know that an artwork is finished? That's what we're gonna be exploring.

I hope that sounds interesting to you.

A lesson comes from the unit of work.

First sustained project working from a theme.

So if you are ready with some energy, focus, and enthusiasm will begin our lesson.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can make an artwork to communicate my intention and evaluate the technical aspects.

So what are the key words on our lesson today? We have intention, response, and technical.

What do these words mean? Well, intention is your purpose or reason for making an artwork.

Response is how an artist reacts to a theme, idea, artist or piece of work.

Technical, that's the practical skills and methods you use to create your artwork.

These are our keywords, intention, response, and technical.

Let's look out and listen out for them.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

A lesson is called personal response: finishing an artwork.

And it has two learning cycles, reflecting on the intention of a personal response and evaluating and refining artwork.

Let's begin by reflecting on the intention of a personal response.

What is meant by artistic intention? Pause here and share with someone.

What do you think? Thanks for sharing.

Artistic intention is what you want your artwork to do or say.

I wonder if you had an idea like that.

And intention is the reason behind your creative choices, including why you chose a certain material, why you used a particular image, colour, or surface, or why I'm feeling very absorbed by this incredible image at artwork we see on the screen.

Love those shapes and colours.

Does your personal response communicate the intended message? Who's here and share with someone? What do you think? Thanks for sharing.

Pause here and share with someone.

What do you think the intended message is behind this artwork? Thanks for sharing your responses.

I feel it's something to communication with that text on the lanterns, perhaps communication with nature.

Think about why you chose a particular theme.

Why was your chosen theme important to you? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

And does it relate to your own life or experiences? Pause here and reflect on this.

Thanks for doing that.

So what was your chosen theme and main intention? Pause here while you consider this and share with someone nearby your chosen theme and main intention.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's hear some responses.

Here's Jun.

"My initial idea was a cells theme.

I'm interested in how bacteria and disease can have beautiful patterns even though some cells can be destructive." And Laura, "I've been exploring a theme of emotion.

My intention was to show how different materials, shapes, and colours can express feelings and mood." Here's Aisha.

"I chose a messages theme.

I'm interested in creating art about heritage, culture, and stories.

I've enjoyed researching this topic and creating resources." And Jacob.

"I chose the theme of transformation and had so many ideas.

My original intention was to explore metamorphosis, but this changed as I went along." Ah, it metamorphosized.

Sam.

"I chose identity as my theme and my intention was to explore the personalities and interests of my friends.

It has been enjoyable creating resources for this." And Lucas, "My main intention was to show how we often view the outside of something and are not always aware of what's going on beneath the surface.

My theme is inside." Alex, "My chosen theme is Buildings.

My intention was to capture a variety of architectural structures and our digital layers to disrupt the composition." And Izzy, "A walk in the forest inspired my theme of natural forms. I wanted to explore animal bones, fungus, and trees initially to see how my ideas developed." Love hearing about these chosen themes and intentions.

Many artists use a strong theme within their work, including: Phoebe Boswell, who themes her work around diaspora, belonging, Black womanhood and identity.

She uses drawing, animation, sound, and installation to explore identity as something fluid and evolving.

Mark Dion, who creates installations that mimic natural history exhibits, but with a twist questioning how we collect, categorise, and interpret knowledge.

And Tiffany Chung, whose themes are displacement, war, climate change, and memory.

She's known for using delicate research-based drawings and maps that track refugee journeys and conflict zones.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Why might an artist revisit the same theme in many artworks? Is it A, to explore the idea more deeply and from different angles? B, because they only know one thing.

Or C, to avoid learning new skills.

Pause here while you decide why an artist might revisit the same theme in many artworks.

Well done if you selected answer A.

It's to explore the idea more deeply and from different angles.

Take a look at this artwork.

Which theme could this be? Pause here while you decide.

Thanks for sharing.

And what emotion or message do you get from this piece? Pause here while you reflect on this.

Thanks for your reflection.

Here's Lucas.

"I think this personal response might be exploring urban landscapes or the built environment.

I'm not sure why there's writing in the background though." Interesting.

Aisha.

"This is my personal response and it explores the theme of messages.

I took inspiration from postcards found at my grandmother's house, which was sent from all around the world." In art and design, Your work is assessed on your creative journey, research, development, material exploration, and personal response.

A personal response does not always have to be obvious to the viewer.

When you make artwork based on your thoughts, on your own thoughts, experiences, or emotions, you creating a personal response.

What matters is that your sketchbook or development work clearly shows your thinking.

Pause here and share with someone.

How does this page from a sketchbook show this artist development and thinking? Thanks for sharing.

We can see lots of annotation and writing about inspiration.

Does your personal response match your intention? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

And did your ideas evolve? Pause here and reflect on this.

Did materials or techniques change your direction? Pause here and share with somebody.

Thanks for sharing.

Did your personal response turn out as planned or did it evolve into something better? Pause here and share about this.

Thanks for sharing.

Here's Sam.

My idea evolved in a way I didn't expect.

I was researching the identity and interests of my friends and ended up creating this piece.

Having the time to develop resources helped me with my ideas.

Did you achieve the emotion or message you hope to express? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Here's Laura.

"I'm interested to know what people think of my personal response themed on emotion.

I took inspiration from my own mood and feelings." Pause here and share with someone, what do you think of Laura's personal response themed on emotion that we can see on the screen? Thanks for sharing.

Let's hear from Alex.

"The swirliness of the pattern creates a sense of chaos or even being lost.

It feels like a very active piece, maybe even a bit stressful.

Though the colours suggest otherwise." And Jun.

"The overlapping shapes and bleeding edges could represent emotional confusion or rushing about, as it's a very busy design." How closely does your final work reflect your original plan? Pause here and share with somebody.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's hear from Jacob.

"My original intention was to look at metamorphosis, but as I began exploring techniques and gathering resources, I leaned towards pollution in a sea life context." Let's have a check for understanding true or false.

Once an artwork is finished, there's no reason to think about it again.

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.

Pause here while you do this.

Perhaps you said something like this.

Reflection helps you understand what worked and what could be improved in future work.

And now it's time for your first task.

I'd like you to reflect upon how well your personal response aligns with your original intention.

You could use these questions as a guide.

Does your artistic response communicate what you set out to express? Did any aspects of your personal or cultural background influence your choices? Is there a clear focal point or flow? Have you pushed the idea as far as it can go? Pause here while you have a go at this task of reflecting upon how well your personal response aligns with your original intention.

I'll see you when you're finished.

Okay, it's good to be back with you.

So how did you get on with that reflection? Here's Jun.

"It's clear that my response represents a cell theme.

I wanted some cells to integrate with the surface and others to be the focal point.

My intention was for some clay strands to be hanging off the edges, which they are." And Sofia.

"My personal response developed in a way that I didn't expect.

I looked at heart phrases such as broken-hearted and heart of gold and chose heart and flowers.

I'm happy with the range of textile techniques incorporated and harmonious colour choices I made." And now we're onto our next learning cycle, evaluating and refining artwork.

So when is an artwork complete? Pause here and share with someone.

What do you think? Thanks for sharing.

Completion doesn't mean perfection.

It means the artwork communicates your intention clearly.

An artwork feels complete when it feels resolved.

The piece reflects your intention clearly, and nothing feels outta place or unfinished.

There is visual balance.

The composition, colours, textures, and forms feel harmonious and satisfying.

I'm really getting that feeling from this artwork on the screen.

An artwork might feel complete if you feel an emotional reaction.

You might feel a sense of satisfaction or feel that pushing it further might ruin the effect.

Do the materials used suit the mood or message of your work? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Here's Jun.

"I explored a wide range of media techniques as my intention was to see which material best suited the cell structures." How have you explored different materials to see which best suit your idea or technique? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Here's Jacob.

"I explored ways to recreate plastic bottles.

I took photos, used fine liner and pencil as well as paint.

My intention was for the bottles to appear crumpled to show their discarded state." Testing techniques helps refine your approach.

Here's Jacob again.

"I tread resin as a technique for recreating the plastic bottles and settled on this method.

It meant I could have 3D bottles in the water.

I need to work on making them look transparent." An artwork might feel complete when the technical goals have been met.

You could feel as though you achieve the level of detail, technique, or style you set out to.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following is a common way artists determine that an artwork is complete? Is it A, when every inch of the surface is fully covered with detail? B, when the artist runs out of materials.

Or C, when the artwork communicates the intended idea or feeling.

Pause here while you decide which of these is a common way artists determine that an artwork is complete.

Well done if you selected answer C.

Indeed, it's when the artwork communicates the intended idea or feeling.

What is meant by the technical aspects of art? Pause here and share with someone.

What do you think? Thanks for sharing.

Technical skills refer to how well an artist uses tools, materials, and techniques to bring their ideas to life.

Why are technical aspects important? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Technical aspects help communicate your intention clearly, they show your skill development over time, and they support your creative choices and make your work feel more resolved and confident.

Which technical area are you most confident in and which could be developed further? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Here's Izzy.

"I explored different media to create horns.

I was happy with the pencil shaded sketch, but not the liner print.

I didn't manage to achieve enough detail and form.

So we'd like to practise this technique again in future." Great reflections there from Izzy.

"I explored fine liner and found it a great technical method for achieving the desired effect.

I created tone through mark-making, building it up for darker areas.

I'm really pleased with the texture on the horns," as you should be.

Many artists are known for specialising in their technical approach, including" Thomas Ruff is known for his detailed photography and thoughtful ideas.

He pushes the limits of traditional photography by using digital editing and technical printing methods.

Katsushika Hokusai, who's renowned for his exacting technical skill in woodblock printing, especially in his 36 views of Mount Fuji series.

And Daisy Hvnter, whose technical skill is diverse and multidisciplinary reflecting her work across a variety of media and techniques.

She also applies inclusive design principles to make our artworks accessible.

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

Technical detail in art always means making the artwork look realistic.

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.

Pause here while you do this.

Well done if you said something like this.

Technical detail can refer to precision in any style, including abstract or stylized work, not just realism.

There are many ways to evaluate the technical aspects of your personal response.

Written notes, typed text, audio recorded voice notes.

Andeep is evaluating the technical aspects of his personal response.

I used focused colours within the landscape.

I'm pleased with the composition and the technical detail in the green foliage.

However, the tone in this area is too similar throughout.

I'll focus on improving tonal variation to enhance depth.

And now, it's time for your next task.

I would like you to evaluate the technical aspects of your personal response.

Include the following information.

What technical choices did you make and were they effective? Where is the strongest area of technical skill? Is the technical quality consistent throughout your personal response? Are there areas that seem rushed or unresolved? Pause here while you have a go at this task of evaluating the technical aspects of your personal response.

And I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with evaluating the technical aspects of your personal response? Here's Alex.

"I created a painted surface onto a map and drew a building with biro.

I then painted into it.

I'm pleased with the level of technical precision achieved.

The architectural detail is strong throughout.

I considered the artwork to be complete." And Jacob.

"I'm pleased the detail achieved in the turtle and the seabed.

I feel that the water looks too flat and needs more attention.

This artwork is not quite finished as the technical skill is not consistent throughout." Some great reflections there.

And I hope you found it helpful to evaluate the technical aspects of your personal response as well.

In our lesson, personal response: finishing an artwork, we've covered the following.

Artists often respond to a theme by exploring personal ideas, emotions, or experiences with the intention of creating a meaningful and personal response.

Developing and experimenting with different methods allows artists to discover which techniques work best for their idea, helping to refine their approach and improve the final outcome.

Evaluating technical detail helps identify which areas show control and skill, such as accurate mark-making, tonal variation or use of texture.

Well done everyone for joining in with this lesson.

It was great to explore personal responses together and especially looking at the intentions we bring to the artworks we create.

I hope you found it interesting to focus on when is an artwork finished and that this can help you when you come to the final stages of your future artworks.

I've really enjoyed teaching you.

I hope you've enjoyed this lesson and I'm looking forward to seeing you at another art lesson soon.

Until then, stay creative.