Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you today? I hope you're feeling well.

My name's Mrs. Alton and I'll be your art teacher for today's lesson.

Today is all about inside and outside in textiles, and that's from the Unit Foundation workshops.

So I'm really excited to teach you this lesson today.

I hope you're feeling ready, and if you are, let's get started.

So I hope that by the end of today's lesson, you can review the range of ways textile artists and designers have been inspired by inside and outside.

Let's take a look at some key words for today's lesson.

Space, barrier, threshold, and liminal.

Space is the area around between and within objects.

It can be physical, like a room or it can be visual.

Barrier are things that block, separate or divide spaces, people or ideas.

Threshold is a point of transition between two spaces.

And liminal means in between.

It describes a space, time or feeling that is on the threshold between two things.

So remember those key words for our lesson today.

Space, barrier, threshold, and liminal.

Let's take a look at our lesson outline.

So the title of our lesson today is inside and outside in textiles, and there are three learning cycles.

The first is artist spotlight, inside and outside.

The second is visual deconstruction, inside and outside.

And the third is personal connection in art, inside and outside.

So let's take a look at learning cycle one.

The theme inside and outside was the starting point for this textile piece.

How does the piece connect to the theme? Pause the video here while you discuss your answers.

Thank you for sharing.

The theme inside and outside can inspire a variety of further themes and approaches, leading to diverse styles and outcomes in textile art.

As we can see from this picture here, looking inside a sweet wrapper.

Some interpretations are literal and some are more abstract.

Some of the ways artists and designers interpret inside and outside in textiles include, natural and built spaces, in between spaces, internal feeling or anatomy, and external bodies, physical and psychological boundaries and barriers.

Take a look at this image.

How does the piece connect to the theme inside and outside? Pause here while you have a think.

The windows in this work serve as a threshold, a point of transition between two spaces.

Artists often use threshold like these to explore or highlight changes within the space such as inside or outside.

And we can see how the image changes once a window is placed over the top.

A quick check for understanding.

A threshold is A, landscape work.

B, a point of change between the two spaces.

C, a tool for measuring perspective.

Or D, a way to add more colour.

What do you think? Well done if you said that it was B, a point of exchange between two spaces.

Artists depicting inside and outside with natural built spaces include Ruth Chalk, who embroiders knitted sculptures inspired by buildings.

Her work captures the details of urban and natural landscapes with creativity and precision.

Nerissa Cargill Thompson uses concrete and waste textiles to show tensions between nature and the built environment.

Her "Coastal Dream" series reflect how nature reclaims urban spaces.

And James Fox embroiders banners that explore work, home and public life.

Patterns unfold into a social commentary on people, places, and events.

Let's take a look at this image here.

For some artists, the theme of inside and outside opens up opportunities to talk about the in-between spaces we inhabit.

What kinds of liminal spaces might this artwork represent? Pause the video here while you show your ideas.

Liminal spaces can mean physical spaces like doorways or paths between buildings.

They can also be moments of change.

So those types of feelings between moods or places where cultures and ideas meet.

What else could liminal spaces mean? Have a think and pause the video here.

A quick check for understanding.

Artists might use liminal spaces to show both physical places and emotional states.

What do you think? Well done if you identify that is a true statement.

Can you think why? Because in between spaces can represent doorways, borders, changes in mood.

Artists use 'em to explore ideas about transition, identity and belonging.

Compare these interpretations of the theme.

Which of these artwork shows a physical space more than an emotional one? Take a look.

Izzy says, the first artwork shows a fabric staircase in the middle of a room focusing on a real physical space.

The second image feels more emotional with a person in deep thought.

What kinds of liminal spaces exist in your life? Pause the video here while you share your ideas.

Aisha says, I think my bedroom is a liminal space.

It's private, but I still connect with people outside through my phone or games.

And Alex comments that when I moved to a new school, the journey there felt liminal.

I wasn't at home or at school yet, I was thinking about both places.

And Jun says, my grandparents' house feels like a liminal space.

It's part of my culture, but also feels different from where I live every day.

Artists depicting liminal spaces include Do Ho Suh, who creates translucent fabric corridors and doors exploring home, memory, and migration.

Staircase-III reflects both his parents' traditional Korean home and his New York apartment.

Cas Holmes uses found textiles and mixed media to reflect on thresholds and overlook spaces.

Her "40 Yards Woodland Walk" series captures moments from the boundaries of gardens.

Jose Leonilson embroidered diary-like works, express emotional shifts and identity.

In "Empty Man" 1991, delicate thread reveals personal vulnerability.

Inside and outside can be about ourselves and our bodies.

This could be physical appearance, internal anatomy, internal emotions, and external expressions of these.

Can you think of any other interpretations like this? Pause the video while you have a think.

Well done for your ideas.

Artists explore inside and outside, and bodies include April Bey, who uses textile collage to explore Black womanhood.

In "Your Failure is Not a Victory for Me" 2022, she layers fabric and slogans to show her inner strength and how people view each other.

Talia Ramkilawan uses rug hooking to explore trauma, care and queer identity.

Her works mix soft textures with bold figures.

Feliciano Centurion embroidered messages onto household cloths.

His work shows love, illness and inner emotional worlds.

Some artists explore this theme by considering barriers and boundaries, whether physical, social, or political.

Jacob says, I might explore how people with disabilities navigate and adapt to the challenges they encounter in everyday life.

Alex comments that social expectations often shape how people express themselves, yet many find creative ways to challenge the norms. And Sophia says that borders between countries can stop people from moving freely.

So different ways that the theme inside and outside might be interpreted.

Can you think of any different ideas? Pause the video here while you share your thoughts.

Well done for your contributions.

A quick check for understanding.

Which of the following best explains what is meant by the term barrier? Is it A, a place where people meet and share ideas.

B, a rule that everyone must follow.

C, something that blocks or stops movement or progress.

Or D, a tool use to build things.

Well done if you said C, something that blocks or stops movement or progress.

Artists exploring barriers and boundaries in their work include Igshaan Adams, who creates large wave and floor installations, tracing unplanned pathways or as he calls them desire lines walked by diverse communities in Cape Flats, South Africa, a place shaped by apartheid's forced segregation.

Lorna Hamilton-Brown uses knitting to challenge ideas about race and gender.

In "Women Blue-Elevate," she honours an unnamed Black woman whose song was widely recorded, but never by a Black artist.

And Robert Gober makes sculptures that include textiles, exploring personal and social boundaries, often connected to the body and home.

Artists and designers may also use inside and outside as a subject in textiles to explore inside your home versus the outside world.

Friendships and relationships, travel and exploration, internal workings of machinery and internal workings of the body.

Now, over to you for our first task.

Select two or three artworks by artists or designers and compare them.

Consider these questions.

In what ways are the artworks visually similar or different? And really think about the subject, colour, tone, shape, style, composition, and materials.

What themes, symbols, or ideas do the artworks explore? Are there any connections between them? So we're really looking for those similarities and differences in the work.

Pause the video here while you complete this task.

Well done for all your hard work.

Let's take a look at what your work may have looked like.

So you may have said, as Andeep has done here, that Igshaan Adams creates large woven floor pieces showing real paths walked by people in Cape Flats.

His work feels physical and rough with natural materials.

And Laura comments that Lorna Hamilton-Brown knitting looks soft and delicate.

So we're starting to see some real contrast in the surface and textures of the work.

At first, I saw it as a pretty cloth, but learning more about "Women Blue-Elevate" made it feel powerful and meaningful, exploring race and history.

You may have presented your work as a Venn diagram, and here, you can list key points about each artist and then in the middle, find something that's similar.

So Igshaan Adams creates large textile installations.

He represents real paths walked.

Uses thread, beads, wire, linoleum, cotton twine, and fabric.

Lorna Hamilton-Brown makes knitted textiles, explores race and gender issues and honours untold Black histories.

And a similarity in both artists is that both use textiles to show stories about who people are and where they are from.

Let's take a look at learning cycle two, visual deconstruction, inside and outside.

What do you notice about the use of elements of art in this outfit? And remember our elements of art are line, tone, colour, pattern, shape, form, and texture.

Pause the video here while you discuss your answers.

Artists use various techniques to communicate in their work, the elements of art, line, tone, colour, pattern, shape and form, and texture.

Composition, space and perspective.

Materials and techniques.

Imagery and subject.

We can deconstruct these techniques to understand the work more deeply.

True or false question.

Artists and designers only use pattern, shapes and composition to communicate the meaning of their work.

What do you think? Well done if you recognise that's a false statement.

Can you think why? And that's because pattern, shapes and composition are important.

But artists also use other elements like colour, texture, material, symbolism, and context to communicate the meaning.

Let's take another look at this image with the elements of art in mind.

High contrast is used between the black trousers and the outer layers of the garment.

Reds and pinks are complimentary colours to the green background setting.

So these students worked really hard about how they're going to present their work.

The shapes and forms are padded to create muscle shapes.

So it's almost like this outer skin being worn on the model as clothing.

The painted applique elements add texture.

And also, abstract patterns and texts are added onto the trousers.

Lucas and Izzy are thinking about the meaning of materials and techniques in textile art.

Izzy says materials and techniques can suggest themes like this image may be is a suggestion of decay.

And Lucas comments that the way we use materials and techniques can remind people of familiar textures or experiences.

So depending on how you see an image, it might spark another association, like in this example, visual example on the slide.

So how are materials and techniques used in this work? Let's take another look.

Lucas says, the soft puffy pink fabric used for the torso makes me think of skin.

And Izzy says the shiny material looks like satin.

It's padded to make the torso stand out and reminds her of a piece of armour.

A quick check for understanding.

Which is the most accurate statement about using materials and techniques in textiles? Is it A, they always make the artwork look realistic.

B, they are only used to decorate the surface.

C, they can help suggest meaning, emotions and themes.

Or D, they don't really affect how we understand the artwork.

What do you think? Well done if you said C, they can help suggest meaning, emotions and themes.

So over to you for our second task.

Select one artwork, design or fashion item and deconstruct it.

Describe what can you see in the artwork.

Think about those elements of art.

So line, tone, colour, pattern, shape, form and texture.

Composition, space and perspective.

Materials and techniques, things that we've been talking about with our examples.

And lastly, imagery and subjects.

How the artist has used these techniques to communicate with the audience? You might also record this as an idea shower around the image or artwork or as a paragraph or create an audio or film recording of your ideas.

Pause the video here while you complete this task.

Well done for all your hard work and analysis.

Let's take a look at what you may have said.

So here with this piece of artwork, we can see that it's a rounded 3D form held in a hand and made of colourful felt fibres stitched together.

She soft texture, flowing organic lines and layered shapes have visible stitches.

The bright colours are pinks, oranges, and grey.

So we've got a limited colour scheme.

The object is the main focus.

So all the attention is on the form.

It looks like a seed, cocoon or flower bud, and it's possibly symbolising growth, protection or something hidden inside.

Let's take a look at another example.

There is a tear through the leaves reversing the usual idea of looking out into a landscape.

Instead, the view appears into it.

Layering and transparency suggest depths and multiple viewpoints.

Techniques include textile printing and digital overlay to create tension between the softness and fragility of the work.

And the composition contrasts fill the empty space and hinting, hints at inner and outer world.

Dark warm colours have been used inside with cooler ones on the outside.

Let's take a look at our last learning cycle.

Personal connection in art, inside and outside.

How can looking at an artist's work help us develop our own work? Aisha says, art with similar themes can develop my ideas more than similar techniques or imagery.

Sam comments that I'll look at techniques and compositions and try to apply them to my own theme.

And Jun says that work that has similar imagery can inspire even if its idea is different.

See if you can fill the gap to this check for understanding.

We can look at other artists' work to gain inspiration through techniques, imagery, and.

What do you think the missing word is? It helps to develop and enrich our own creative ideas.

Well done if you notice the missing word was themes.

Let's take another look at this image.

What deeper meanings around the theme of inside and outside are being communicated in this work? Pause the video here while you share your ideas.

Do you think everyone would come up with the same interpretation? I wonder if you could even think of a few different interpretations of the work.

Sam says, I see mixed identities in this outfit.

I want to make a jacket where the inside tells a different story than the outside.

And Lucas says, the clothing looks pieced together like a collage.

I'll use recycled materials to reflect inside/outside lives and stories.

And Izzy said, I like how the text is used on the clothes.

I'm looking at faiths and want to stitch quotes onto the fabric to explore my beliefs.

So here's just a few ways that students could take ideas from this one image.

Can you think of other theme interpretations? Pause the video here while you share your idea.

A quick true or false question.

We all interpret and understand artwork differently, so how art inspires us is unique to each person.

Well done if you recognise that is a true statement.

And that's because art doesn't have one single meaning.

Our experience, emotions and backgrounds shape how we see and connect to the artwork.

What inspires one person might feel completely different to somebody else.

Our last activity for this lesson.

Select one textile artwork, design or fashion piece and use the questions below.

What themes or ideas are explored in the work? Are there symbols, materials, or techniques that help tell a story or express meaning? Which textile techniques or creative choices inspire you, and how could you apply them in your own piece? You might record this as an idea shower around the image of an artwork, write it as a paragraph or even create an audio or film recording of your ideas.

Pause the video here while you complete this task.

Well done for all your analytical thinking and really pulling through those personal connections to your own ideas.

So let's take a look at what you may have said.

This student here was looking at the theme of belonging.

And this work reminds me of a seed or flower bud that's been sewn together.

It feels like there is a barrier protecting something inside.

This makes me think about how people carry feelings of home or identity with them.

The soft fibres show care holding onto something special.

In my own work, I want to make a soft shape that looks like it's growing or being protected.

I'll use stitching to bring together colours and texture that represents parts of my story.

In our other example, this theme is out of reach.

This layered textile creates tear in the landscape, becoming a window that invites the viewer to look deeper.

The view is blurred and the barriers created by the fibre suggested something is hidden or distant.

I like how printed textures and digital overlays create tension and depth.

For my piece, I like to experiment with layering sheer fabrics or thread over prints to explore this idea of distance, spaces and hidden meanings.

So let's take a look at the summary for this lesson.

Artists explore the theme of inside and outside in different ways.

Artists use further themes such as threshold, barriers and liminal spaces to express ideas.

Artists make choices about materials, techniques, and design elements to communicate meaning.

You can reflect on your own connections and ideas through textile art.

Thank you for learning with me today, and I look forward to seeing you soon.