Hello everyone, how are you today? I hope you're doing well.

My name is Miss Afzal and I'll be your art teacher today, and I am especially hoping you're doing well, because our lesson is all about wellbeing today.

It's called "Making Sense, Art and Wellbeing".

We'll be looking at the connection between those two things.

It comes from the unit of work, "Art for Life, Expression and Belonging".

So we're gonna be taking a little bit of a dive into ourselves, how we're doing and how art can support our wellbeing and really encouraging you to take especially good care of yourselves during this lesson.

Are you ready? Let's begin.

The outcome for today's lesson is, I can support my wellbeing through creative expression.

That sounds like a very important thing to me, so I'm really, really pleased we're gonna be exploring this.

We have some keywords in our lesson.

They are wellbeing, express and reflect.

Let's find out what they mean.

Wellbeing is how you feel about yourself and your life.

Express is sharing thoughts and feelings and reflect is to think deeply about something.

So these are our keywords.

Wellbeing, express and reflect.

Our lesson is called "Making Sense, Art and Wellbeing".

It has two learning cycles, supporting wellbeing through art and reflecting on artistic practise for wellbeing.

Let's begin with supporting wellbeing through art.

Andeep and Sophia are discussing mental health and wellbeing.

Andeep poses the question, "Is there a difference between wellbeing and mental health?" Pause the video and have a go at answering this question, what do you think? What's the difference between wellbeing and mental health? Is there one and what is it? Thanks for sharing your answers.

Let's hear from Sophia.

"Yes, wellbeing is the overall state of how you're doing mentally, emotionally, physically and socially.

Mental health is specifically about your emotional state, for example, how you think, feel and cope with challenges." So wellbeing is something quite broad, taking in mental, emotional, physical and social factors.

What is wellbeing? Wellbeing can be divided into the following categories, which all have an impact on the human body.

Pause the video and share with someone nearby.

What are these four categories that wellbeing can be divided into? Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Perhaps you had these ones.

Emotional.

Our emotional state, our emotional wellbeing, which is all about expressing feelings, self care.

Physical wellbeing.

Having enough sleep, nutritious food, staying active.

Social wellbeing.

Considering friendships, communities that we are part of.

And mental wellbeing.

Managing stress, learning new things.

So wellbeing can be divided into these four categories.

Emotional, physical, social and mental, and all of them can impact the human body, so it's really important that we take care of our wellbeing.

How do you look after your wellbeing? It might look like this, here's Aisha.

"I talk to my friends or a trusted adult about my problems, which helps me." And Jun, "I try to surround myself with positive people and do things that make me happy, such as being in nature." Andeep, Sophia and Lucas are discussing their wellbeing.

Andeep, "I love to cook nutritious food, which helps with my physical and mental wellbeing as I'm learning new skills." Oh, love that.

Double whammy there.

Sophia, "Playing football helps with my physical and social wellbeing.

There's a great community spirit." Great, another double there.

And Lucas, "I enjoy making art, which helps with my mental wellbeing.

I attend art workshops in my community," which actually probably also links to social wellbeing.

Pause the video and share with someone nearby, what is something that you do that supports your wellbeing? And it could be your physical, emotional, social or mental wellbeing or a combination of.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

One of mine was similar to Andeep's.

I like cooking healthy, nutritious, delicious food, which helps my physical and mental wellbeing, but also I like doing it in community.

So I like doing this with family or with friends, so it really also supports my social wellbeing.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following does not contribute to positive physical wellbeing? A, going to bed late and getting up early, B, eating nutritious food, C, keeping active.

Pause the video and decide which of these does not contribute to positive physical wellbeing.

Well done if you selected A.

Absolutely, you're going to bed so late and getting up early is not gonna help our physical wellbeing, whereas eating nutritious food and keeping active both are gonna be really helpful.

Art can benefit a person's wellbeing as it provides an outlet for expression and can help to reduce stress.

How art might benefit wellbeing.

By helping people to express emotions and thoughts that may be difficult to put into words.

Helps with memory and cognitive function, especially in ageing populations and through community projects, exhibitions or workshops and increasing social time and a sense of belonging.

So we can see there are a whole range of reasons how art can benefit our wellbeing, physical, mental, emotional, social wellbeing.

Many artists express their emotions through their artwork and might include Alison Lapper, who expresses her emotions through her artwork and includes photography, digital imagery and painting, Takashi Murakami whose art explores complex emotions including joy and trauma.

He's known for making sculptures and paintings, as well as fashion and animation.

And Yayoi Kusama explores the human condition through immersive installations, sculptures and paintings.

Art can benefit a person's wellbeing as it provides an outlet for expression and can help to reduce stress.

Laura says, "I've been researching the artist Alison Lapper, who set up a charity, The Drug of Art, after her son died due to mental health issues." And Alex, "I hope that setting up the charity has helped her cope with the stress of losing her son." Yeah, I hope so too, Alex.

What a terribly difficult experience Alison Lapper has been through.

Sam and Izzy are discussing an art series by Takashi Murakami called, "Flower Ball".

"I think the artist is expressing happiness in his art as all the flowers have smiley faces and are brightly coloured," says Sam.

And Izzy, "I did some research and found out that the flower is linked to Otaku, Japanese pop culture." Many artists use art as a way to encourage conversations around mental health and wellbeing, particularly in marginalised groups.

Examples include the Big Anxiety Festival, which combines art and science to create community events that focus on life experiences, art making and empathy.

Great combination.

And the Aravani Art project, which aims to create a collective space for people from the transgender community by engaging them into public art.

Andeep and Sophia are discussing their own art practise.

Andeep says, "When I make art, I often think it's not good enough and that people will judge it." And Sophia, "I used to feel that way, but now I make art for myself and don't worry about what anyone else thinks." Oh, I love attitude.

Thanks for sharing, Sophia.

Historically, masks have been worn for wellbeing in a variety of cultures, not just for artistic expression or performance, but also for healing, spiritual growth and mental balance.

Examples include the West African Yoruba people who use masks in ceremonies to call upon ancestral spirits for guidance and protection and in Japanese theatre, particularly in Noh where masks are worn to express complex emotions and psychological states.

You can take a look at those masks in the screen there.

So expressive.

Here's a question for you.

Do you ever wear a mask? Sometimes people hide their emotions from others and this is known as wearing an emotional mask.

This is a metaphor to describe the way people don't show their true feelings.

It might look like this, here's Laura, "When people ask me how I am, I always say I'm fine and smile, but sometimes I'm upset or sad inside." And Jacob, "I often appear confident and my friends see me that way.

Deep down, I actually feel anxious about things, but I try to hide that from most people." Pause the video and just reflect for a moment about whether you wear a mask, an emotional mask.

How is it that you might appear on the outside and how is it that you may be feeling inside, your true feelings? And for this one, we won't share, but we'll just reflect on this individually.

Thanks for reflecting.

Artists who include masks in their artwork to express emotion might look like Ebony G.

Patterson, whose masks are not always literal, but explore the masking of identity, combining masks and glittering materials to express both celebration and mourning, Jonathan Baldock, an artist renowned for his vibrant and expressive ceramic masks that delve into themes of identity, emotion and the human condition and Heri Dono uses masks and poetry to reflect on corruption, anxiety and social trauma.

So we can see that masks can be used to express so many different emotions and themes.

Colours are often used to express different feelings and emotions.

It might look like red can express passion, love, anger, danger, power, energy.

Orange could express excitement, warmth, creativity.

Yellow can express happiness, positivity, cheerfulness.

Green could express growth, harmony, health, envy, relaxation.

Blue could express peace, trust, sadness and calmness.

And purple could express mystery, wealth, spirituality, imagination.

Pause the video and share with someone, which of these colours are you most drawn towards as a way of expressing feelings and emotions? Thanks for sharing your ideas.

As well as colour, artists use mark-making to express themselves.

It is the act of creating lines, textures and patterns onto a surface.

It might look like this, here's Andeep.

"I could use entangled colourful lines to represent excitement.

I used a range of colours." Yeah, I really get a sense of that excitement there with those colours and that movement.

Mark-making's one of the most personal and expressive tools an artist has.

It might look like this, here's Alex, "Floaty, blurred edges make me feel relaxed.

Green and blue together are calming." Yep, I'm getting that feeling too from looking at this.

Check for understanding.

Which design uses sharp, zigzag lines to express and represent anger? A, B or C? Pause the video and share with someone.

Well done if you selected C.

Yeah, those sharp zigzag lines are expressing and representing anger.

Pause the video and share with someone.

What do you think the lines and the marks used in images A and B are expressing? Thanks for sharing your ideas.

So here we have that image again which is representing anger.

And here's Jacob, "This design could represent anger as it consists of sharp, pointed, angular lines, and red is associated with anger." Yeah, great explanation.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to express your feelings and discover your calm.

Using the outside of the mask or template provided, create a mood mask using soothing colours, textures and images that you find uplifting.

There are many possible outcomes, including you could use paint, consider colours to express different emotions.

Collage, you could use photos, coloured paper, string, objects.

You could use wire, glasses, words, braces.

Stitching directly into the mask or onto paper or fabric before attaching.

You could use marker pens or Posca pens.

So you might like to include something about your interests, some emojis to express emotions, some text.

You might also like to include images, shapes and patterns.

So pause the video here while you express your feelings and discover your calm by using the outside of the mask or template provided to create a mood mask using soothing colours, textures and images that you find uplifting.

Pause the video while you do this.

It's great to be back with you.

I wonder how you got on.

Here's Jun.

"I'm quiet and shy and chose to include a green background.

Nature uplifts me and helps with my mental and physical wellbeing as I like to go walking." That's really lovely.

Thanks for sharing, Jun.

And here's Laura.

"I'm usually a happy, smiling person.

I expressed this through bright colours and flowers, similar to "Flower Ball" by the artist Takashi Murakami.

The colours yellow and orange uplift me." Oh, I feel quite uplifted looking at that mask.

I hope you enjoyed creating your mood mask.

And now for the next part of your task you're going to express your inner emotions.

I'd like you to decorate the inside of the mask to represent how you feel inside and or what helps you to deal with those feelings and creates emotional wellbeing.

You might include, what are your true feelings? What are some of your struggles? And just take care with this, sharing what feels okay for you to share.

And how about self-care activities? What do you do that supports you, that uplifts you, that connects you? Music, gaming, dancing, sport, reading, talking to friends, et cetera.

So pause the video while you now express your inner emotions and how you deal with those feelings to create emotional wellbeing.

And remember, take good care of yourself and what you're sharing here.

Okay, how did you get on with that task of expressing your inner emotions? Not always so easy to do.

Let's hear from Jun.

"I made my mask darker on the inside to express my frustration at being shy.

Sometimes it feels like my voice is trapped inside.

I used string to represent a cage." Wow, so innovative and creative, Jun.

And here's Laura, "I used chaotic lines on the inside to represent how I sometimes get overexcited.

I chose to use bright colours again as it's not a negative feeling." Well done for completing this part of the task.

And now we're onto our next learning cycle, reflecting on artistic practise for wellbeing.

Aisha and Jacob are discussing how art practise can benefit their mental wellbeing.

"It helps me to express my feelings without speaking about them," says Aisha and Jacob, "Making artwork helps me forget my worries as I'm focused on the task instead of thinking about other things." Artists often reflect upon or directly express the mental health benefits of their art, either through their work or through their own commentary.

Vincent Van Gogh, who wrote detailed letters about his thoughts, struggles and hopes for his art and Louise Bourgeois, whose journals and interviews revealed deep reflection on childhood and motherhood and identity.

Check for understanding, true or false? Art can benefit a person's wellbeing.

Pause the video and decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected true.

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

Explain why you chose this answer.

Pause the video while you do this.

Perhaps you said something like this, "Art provides a way to express emotions that might be too hard to put into words." Reflecting on how your art practise could benefit your wellbeing might allow you to recognise patterns in your emotions, thoughts and behaviours, might help to relieve emotions in a safe way, especially emotions such as anger, grief or anxiety and it could help to restore a sense of empowerment through the act of making something.

Hmm, a lot of reasons why reflecting on your art practise could benefit your wellbeing.

How has making an emotional mask been a benefit to your wellbeing? Jun says, "Making the mask allowed me to reflect on how I portray myself to others.

It made me think about telling people how I feel." Yeah, a really good idea.

Really helpful for us to begin to do that.

Not easy, but worth doing.

And Laura, "Making the mask enabled me to think deeply about how others might see me and also how I see others.

I've realised that we don't always know how someone really feels inside." Yeah, thanks for sharing that, Laura.

Such an important realisation and it can make quite a difference to our lives and to others' lives if we really tune into and know that.

Check for understanding.

What is meant by emotional masking? Is it A, showing emotions to seek attention, B, hiding your true emotions or C, pretending to feel emotions that are not really felt? Pause the video while you select your answer.

Well done if you selected B.

Emotional masking is hiding your true emotions.

And now it's time for your final task.

I would like you to write a short story, poem or make an audio recording which reflects upon how making the emotional mask has benefited your wellbeing.

You might include the emotions it hides or reveals, what you wanted others to know about the person behind the mask and again, just take good care of yourselves and of what you share as you complete this part of your task.

Pause the video here.

Okay, so how did you get on writing a short story, poem, spider diagram or making an audio recording reflecting on the emotional mask.

Let's see what Jun's come up with.

A poem.

I wear a mask that's small and green.

It hides my voice and inner scream.

The butterflies show beauty and grace, a way to hide my worried face.

They hide the thoughts I cannot say, but dream of flying out one day.

So when you see me still and shy, know quiet things still long to fly.

A really beautiful and expressive poem there from Jun.

And here's another emotional mask reflection.

This time in the form of the spider diagram.

Making the mask made me reflect on my wellbeing.

It helped me to express my feelings.

I thought about how I'm seen by others.

I wish people knew the real me.

Another really beautiful and expressive emotional mask reflection.

Thanks for taking part in this reflection and take good care of yourselves as you move on from this lesson and consider how some of these reflections might be helpful for you to support your wellbeing further.

In our lesson, "Making Sense, Art and Wellbeing", we've covered the following.

Art supports wellbeing by offering a powerful way to express emotions, reduce stress and promote self-awareness.

It encourages mindfulness, boosts mood and fosters a sense of accomplishment, even for those without artistic experience.

Reflecting on artistic practise enables the artist to look at their work from a new perspective without judgement and recognise the ways that making art can support their wellbeing.

Thanks so much, everyone for joining in with this lesson.

I think there's nothing more important than our wellbeing and it's so wonderful if we can use art to help us to support our wellbeing.

So I hope this is just the start of something.

I hope you can keep using art to express yourself, how you're feeling and keep supporting your wellbeing.

It's so precious and important.

I'll see you in another art lesson soon.

In the meantime, stay creative and focus on wellbeing.