Lesson video

Hello, my name is Ms. Badru.

I hope that you are all doing well.

I'm really looking forward to teaching and learning with you today.

Our learning outcome for this lesson is: I can evaluate my work, including the use of materials and techniques, using appropriate vocabulary.

Our keywords for this lesson are: evaluation, proficiency, and characteristics.

Let's explore each word in turn to find out what they mean.

Evaluation: thinking about and giving your opinion on how well your work was made, what was learned, or what could be improved.

Proficiency: the skill or ability to do something well, gained through practice and experience.

Characteristics: the features or qualities that make something unique, like color, texture, or appearance.

So those are our keywords for this lesson: evaluation, proficiency, and characteristics.

Our lesson outline, Evaluate use of materials and techniques, comes in two learning cycles.

So let's begin with our first learning cycle, Understand how to evaluate artwork.

What makes a piece of artwork meaningful, and how do we know if it's successful? So Izzy says, "I think artwork is meaningful when it shows the artist's feelings or message.

It is successful when it clearly communicates and makes people feel or think." How do you know if your materials and techniques support and communicate your intention? Pause here for a moment and think about this question.

So Jun says, "I evaluate my work by looking at the materials and techniques to see if they communicate ideas clearly." Every material has unique features, known as characteristics.

Characteristics of materials might include color, texture, appearance, and flexibility, have distinct features which should be acknowledged when making informed choices, should be considered and reviewed to help artists choose the right tools for their ideas.

We select materials because these characteristics convey ideas and create visual effects.

What are the characteristics of these materials? Clay: flexible when wet, hardens when fired, smooth or textured surface.

Charcoal: soft and easily smudged, creates bold, dark marks, can be erased or blended.

Are there any other materials that you would add to this list at this stage? And what characteristics do they hold? Pause here for a moment and think about that.

Okay, let's have a check in here for understanding with this statement.

True or false? Understanding the characteristics of materials helps artists choose the right tools for their ideas.

Is this statement true or false? Pause here for a moment and think about your answer and why.

We'll see you when you're ready.

Let's take a look.

So the answer is true.

And why might this be? When developing artwork, we should consider the characteristics of materials to decide how best to communicate our ideas to the viewer.

What characteristics do your materials have? Sofia says, "The ink I used for my lino is bold and dark.

The grid paper has fine, lighter gray lines and a tight repeat pattern." "The tissue in the background is brightly colored, thin, and easy to rip up." Carefully consider if these characteristics fits the idea, theme, and mood of your work to evaluate the effectiveness of your response.

How do the characteristics of your materials create visual effects in your artwork? So Sofia says, "The vibrant colors of the tissue create this visual effect of focusing attention on the key areas, creating contrast.

The grid paper adds a subtle pattern, and the ink adds definition and visual weight." So pause here for a moment and observe this image.

Can you see the contrast with the foreground and the background and how the colors stand out, but also the detailed work from the lino print itself? Do the characteristics of your materials reflect your cultural or personal context? Jun says, "I selected materials for key colors inspired by Chinese New Year to develop new textile designs for interiors." Alex says, "I love skateboarding, so I try to keep the skate style running through my work.

I was inspired by what I see at the skate park." What things inspire you in terms of context and intention? When evaluating work, try to ask open questions.

What did you do to communicate your ideas? How is a good opening word as it gets you to explain.

What were the effects of.

Why did you choose to use that specific material, technique, or style, et cetera? Don't ask questions with yes or no answers.

They limit your capacity to think carefully and learn from the process.

Let's have a check in here for understanding.

True or false? When evaluating, a good question would be: do the techniques help communicate the theme or idea? Is this true or false? Pause for a moment here and think about your answer and why.

And we'll resume together again shortly.

Let's take a look.

So the correct answer is false.

Why might this be? False, this is likely answered yes or no.

A better question is: how do the techniques help communicate the theme or idea? Okay, let's continue our journey exploring how to evaluate an artwork.

Did the material or technique enhance the meaning, mood, or idea you wanted to communicate? So Andeep says, "Using film was a great way for me to explore timing and framing.

I could have taken this further and considered projecting onto swaying fabric to enhance the feeling of fleeting moments and timing." You should use your evaluation to suggest improvements.

When evaluating, think about your skills with different techniques or technical proficiency.

Identify areas where you are confident and areas needing improvement.

Practicing and developing techniques will make you a better artist, designer, or craftsperson.

What techniques did you find most challenging? So Lucas says, "I found working by hand easy, but working on the laser cutter was much harder.

I had to learn about a whole new software, and it held me back a bit as I couldn't create quite what I had in mind." How might you explore these further in future? Let's have a check in here for understanding.

Which of these is not a good question for evaluating our use of materials and techniques? Is it A, what characteristics do these materials have; B, what visual effects are created by these materials; C, does it look nice and visually appealing; D, how did my technical proficiency affect the outcome? So pause here for a moment and think about your response to this question.

We'll come together again shortly.

Let's take a look.

So the correct answer is C.

Does it look nice and visually appealing? This is a closed question.

You are likely to answer yes or no.

How do artists approach materials and techniques? Sonia Gomes uses materials like secondhand and gifted textiles, thread, rope, wire, wood, furniture, and driftwood in her sculptures and installations.

Her techniques are rooted in Afro-Brazilian craft traditions and involve sewing, knotting, wrapping, layering, and stitching.

These processes create forms that embody the personal histories of the materials and connect to themes of identity, ancestry, and resilience.

Aaron McPeake works as a sculptor and filmmaker, with sound at the center of his practice.

His sculptural works are designed to be physically interacted with, creating a multisensory engagement that adds agency and meaning.

Kojo Marfo's vibrant portraits, infused with African artistic traditions, demonstrate how material choices and distinctive techniques can powerfully convey cultural identity and heritage.

Tara Donovan primarily uses everyday mass-produced materials like plastic cups, straws, styrofoam cups, paper plates, pencils, and buttons.

She employs a labor-intensive, repetitive process of assembling these materials into large-scale, abstract forms. The accumulation of individual units creates complex structures.

These artists offer an insight into how an artist's deliberate handling of materials can radically change how their work is perceived.

Let's bring our attention and focus to task A.

Create a set of questions to help evaluate your work.

You could work with a partner, carer, or teacher to develop questions that explore materials, characteristics, techniques, technical proficiency.

So pause the video here whilst you complete this task, and resume when you are ready.

Okay, let's gather together again and focus on feedback for this task.

And you were asked to create a set of questions to help evaluate your work.

There are many ways to record your ideas, but you may have: "We worked together," says Izzy, "to write the questions here.

We reviewed the slide deck for ideas when we got stuck." Let's move on to our second learning cycle, Evaluate your artwork.

What else might you need to convey your ideas and reflections clearly? So pause here briefly.

Just jot down a few quick ideas in response to this question.

So Lucas says, "I need to use the right words to carefully analyze and describe the small details of my work clearly." Consider these two responses.

A, my artwork uses bright colors and lots of texture.

I like how it feels and looks.

Response B: I chose to use bold, contrasting colors to create a sense of energy and movement.

The textured surface adds depth to engage people.

The pattern conveys a lively mood.

Which response more effectively communicates their ideas? Pause here for a moment and think about your choice in response to this question, and we'll resume together again shortly.

So B is the correct response, which communicates more effectively, uses much more descriptive language.

Okay, let's continue with our check-in here.

True or false? Using the right vocabulary is important as it demonstrates critical understanding and an understanding of visual language.

Is this statement true or false? Again, pause here for a moment and think about your answer and why.

And we'll resume together again shortly.

Okay, let's take a look.

And the correct answer is true, but why might this be? These areas are marked holistically across your GCSE portfolio and should be evident in how you talk about and make artwork.

How can you make your responses more descriptive? Describe the visual elements in your work, for example: line: outline, stroke, curved, straight, line weight, contour, gestural; color: hue, shade, tint, saturation, palette, vibrant, muted, tertiary; tone: value, lightness, darkness, contrast, shadow, highlights, gradual; pattern: repetition, motif, design, ornament, symmetry, rhythm; texture: feel, tactile, rough, smooth, bumpy, fuzzy, grainy; shape: geometric, organic, symmetrical, asymmetrical, abstract; 3D form: volume, mass, solid, sculpture, depth, structure, and perspective.

How do your materials and techniques utilize the visual elements? Sofia said, "I had to carefully consider line and shape because when cutting lino, some shapes are really tough.

I wanted enough contrast, so I used curves, block shapes, and repeated line." Next, explore the principles of art: balance: visual weight in a composition, creating stability; emphasis: drawing the viewer's attention first; pattern: using a repeated element to create a sense of unity; rhythm: the repetition of elements to create a visual beat; proportion: the relationship between parts and the whole; unity: a sense of oneness or harmony; variety: use of different elements to create interest.

How have your classmates used these principles in their work? Pause here for a moment for reflection and think about your response to this question.

Resume shortly.

When evaluating, consider the use of the principles of art in your work.

Sofia says, "When I cut my work, I thought about creating emphasis on the face as a focal point and framing it on either side for balance." What principles of art are relevant to your work? Pause for a moment here and think about your response to this question.

Take a moment to reflect before consolidating your answers.

Let's have a check in here for understanding.

Which list contains examples that are all principles of art? Is it A, tone, balance, shape, and form; or B, line, tone, color, shape; or C, balance, unity, design, color; D, proportion, unity, variety, and rhythm? So pause for a moment here and think about this question and we'll return together shortly.

Okay, let's see.

The answer is D, proportion, unity, variety, and rhythm.

Let's bring our focus and attention to task B.

Evaluate your use of materials and techniques.

You should ask open-ended questions, use key vocabulary, see next slide for useful word banks, consider the characteristics of your materials, consider your technical proficiency, consider the visual elements and how well they communicate your intention, consider the principles of art and how well they communicate your intention.

You could record your evaluation in writing, via voice, or video recording.

Spend some time with the next two slides of useful word banks of vocabulary to support your learning around evaluating your artwork.

Once you have spent some time with these word banks, so pause the video here to complete this practical task, and resume when you are ready.

Okay, so let's come together and look at feedback for task B.

And you were tasked to evaluate your use of materials and techniques.

There are many ways to evaluate.

You may have recorded yourself and said something like: Andeep says, "The characteristics of my materials: I chose to use film, which is time-based and shot through a viewfinder.

It records movement and sound.

You can present film in a new space or time.

My technical proficiency: I've not used film before and I didn't have a great camera, so the quality was lost, especially subtle sounds.

However, the result was a grainy texture, and that effect fitted my idea I think as it wasn't perfect.

Just like the memory of a fleeting moment, it was quick and hazy, creating rhythm and pattern." Andeep goes on to say, "How the visual language conveys my ideas." And his response to that was, "I chose to shoot short scenes with flickering light in muted tones with bright backlighting and the effect of wind, creating movement in plants or across the lens.

I think that was somewhat successful.

And although I used lots of pattern and repetition, I think that I needed more focal points for emphasis and something to pull the film together." Now we have arrived at our summary for Evaluate use of materials and techniques.

Understanding the characteristics of each material helps assess how they influence the artwork.

Evaluating your proficiency with different techniques helps you identify areas for improvement.

Identifying areas that require further practice will help you develop as an artist with a strong artistic voice.

Using specialist vocabulary will help you communicate your ideas clearly in your evaluation and demonstrate understanding.

Well, I hope that you have enjoyed this lesson.

I look forward to seeing you again soon.

In the meantime, take care and bye for now.