Hello, everyone.

How are you? I hope you're feeling great.

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

I'm feeling very happy about that because I love teaching art and also because today we're looking at something so interesting.

We're thinking about spaces, thinking about your spaces, the spaces you create, the spaces you inhabit.

Our lesson is called A sense of place: your spaces, and it comes from the unit of work Connections: home, space and family.

So, I hope you're feeling interested in what we're gonna be exploring today.

I know I really am.

And if you're ready with some energy, enthusiasm, and openness, let's begin our lesson.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can design an imaginary fantasy bedroom.

We have some keywords in our lesson.

Let's go through them.

Interior, sanctuary, and symbolic.

So what do these words mean? Interior is the inside of something.

Sanctuary is a safe place.

And symbolic, using images, colours, or objects to represent ideas or concepts beyond their literal meaning.

These are our keywords, interior, sanctuary, and symbolic.

Let's look out and listen out for them.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

Today's lesson is called A sense of place: your spaces, and it has two learning cycles.

First of all, Exploring personal connections to places, and next, Designing a fantasy bedroom.

Love the sound of that.

Let's begin with exploring personal connections to places.

Places and spaces shape who we are.

Whether it's a bedroom, an art gallery, or a coffee shop, places can make us feel safe, calm, or connected.

Interior spaces are the places inside buildings where we live, rest, create, and connect.

These include bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms, cafes, schools, and places of worship.

Feeling safe in a space helps you relax, think clearly, be creative, and recharge emotionally.

Your personal room or corner can feel like a little sanctuary.

Many artists are inspired by their interior surroundings, including AMWA Designs.

Chrissa Amuah, who explores themes of identity, dual heritage, and cultural expression through textiles, light installations, and interior design.

Michael McMillan, known for his immersive installation "The Front Room," initially titled "The West Indian Front Room," about respectability, pride, and identity in a new country.

And Betye Saar, who uses found objects, photos, and spiritual symbols to explore heritage and home.

A sense of place isn't just about interiors.

It can also come from being outdoors.

Some people feel most like themselves in nature, parks, gardens, city streets, beaches, or even school playgrounds.

A sense of place helps us feel grounded, supported, and inspired.

When people walk in natural environments like forests, parks, beaches, or fields, they often feel a sense of peace.

I can really relate to that.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Does a sense of place have to be an interior space? What do you think? A, yes, because only indoor spaces offer comfort and privacy, B, no, a sense of place can be felt outdoors, like in a park, forest, or street, or C, yes, and only in buildings that are decorated and furnished.

Pause here while you decide whether a sense of place has to be an interior space.

Well done if you selected answer B, no, it doesn't.

A sense of place can be felt outdoors, like in a park, forest, or street.

Artists who reflect the sanctuary of outdoor spaces in their artwork include Andy Goldsworthy, whose work celebrates nature and how it changes over time, highlighting the beauty of wild, raw places, Zarina Bhimji, who explores landscapes tied to memory, displacement, and identity, often photographing abandoned or quiet outdoor spaces that hold emotional history, and Wolfgang Tillmans, who captures urban and social landscapes, street corners, nightclubs, and rooftops within his photography, and Per Kirkeby, whose paintings and sculptural environments echo Nordic landscapes, acting as personal sanctuaries.

So we can see a number of artists reflecting sanctuary of outdoor spaces in their artwork.

And now I'd like you to think of a space that makes you feel safe, happy, calm, or even powerful.

What does it look, smell, and sound like? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's hear from Izzy.

"I love the colourful artwork all over the ramps at the skatepark.

It smells of worn rubber, and when it's busy, all you can hear are skateboard and scooter wheels.

I feel confident when I'm there." One of the places I feel really at home is an art centre near me where there's always things going on.

There's lots of free things, you could just turn up and there might be some music, some dancing, a great outdoor food market, and art installations.

It's a really wonderful place to gather, to be with friends or to be by oneself.

Here's Andy.

"The wellbeing room at school helps me feel calm.

It's my sanctuary and smells like lavender.

The mural on the wall uplifts me." Oh, I can see why.

That's really wonderful.

All those images from nature.

Here's Jacob.

"I love being in my neighbor's kitchen where she teaches me to cook traditional recipes such as spicy peanut soup." Ooh, that sounds good.

"It smells amazing, and there's always the sound of rattling pots and pans." Artists can reflect their personal connections to places in many ways.

One way to demonstrate this connection is through creating a collection of symbolic, found, natural, and made objects.

You might choose to contain a personal collection of objects within a box and assemble it like this.

Select colour to symbolise the mood connected to your chosen place, for example, calmness.

Use simple shapes to reflect the mood, smell, or sound of your chosen place.

Combine natural, found, and made samples to symbolise your place.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false? A sense of place is only about how a place looks.

Pause here and decide if this is 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.

"It's also about memories, emotions, culture, and personal connections." And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to create a symbolic collection of found objects to represent your connection to a chosen place.

So first of all, choose a place that makes you feel safe, happy, calm, excited, or powerful.

Explore how this place makes you feel.

Consider how these feelings connect to formal elements, such as line, shape, colour, and tone.

Gather small found objects or small natural forms to represent your place.

Consider how the objects or items can represent a mood, emotion, or memory.

Plan a colour palette.

So pause here while you have a go at this task of creating a symbolic collection of found objects to represent your connection to a chosen place.

It's good to be back with you.

So how did you get on with that, with choosing this place that makes you feel safe, happy, calm, excited, or powerful? Let's hear from Alex.

"I'm going to select the beach near my aunt's house as we stay with her every summer.

I feel calm and at home there.

I will use a combination of found and natural objects in my collection and add some written text too." Love that.

Next, I would like you to arrange and create your symbolic collection of found objects.

There are many possibilities, including containing the items in a small box or envelope, lining or painting the box envelope with a specific symbolic colour, for example, blue for calm, yellow for joy, red for energy, arranging fabric scraps, cotton wool, dried leaves, sandpaper, bubble wrap, et cetera, to mimic the textures of the space, and creating small artworks, patterns, or samples to represent your place.

So pause here while you have a go at this part of your task, arranging and creating your symbolic collection of found objects.

I'll see you when you're finished.

It's great to be back with you.

How did you get on with that part of your task? There are many possible outcomes, including, oh, look at this beautiful box, such a gorgeous colour, filled with some really lovely, intriguing objects.

So we can see some words to represent the sound.

There's the breeze.

A feather to symbolise seagulls.

Box painted turquoise to represent the calmness felt being by the sea.

A pebble to represent the textures of the seaside.

Simple painted shapes to symbolise the sea, and painted green shapes to symbolise seaweed.

What a beautiful symbolic collection.

And here's Alex.

"I love how my boxes stand out.

It will remind me of my favourite place by the sea every time I open it." I can almost imagine that you could feel the sea breeze and smell that sea air as you open the box.

Here's Jacob.

"I have represented my Ghanaian neighbor's kitchen with traditional patterns, a painted chilli pepper, a recipe for spicy peanut chicken soup, a painted orange and red sample for spiciness," oh, love the spice, "and some soft material, as it is a place of comfort." What a beautiful combination of items. And now we're onto our next learning cycle, Designing a fancy bedroom.

Interior design is all about how we shape the spaces we live, work, and relax in.

It's more than just choosing furniture or matching colours.

It's about creating spaces that feel good to be in.

When interior designers are planning a space, they will consider who this space is for, the intended mood or atmosphere to be created, for example, calm, energetic, cosy, fresh, which colours will support the desired mood of the room, how objects and decorations can reflect someone's identity or culture.

Interior designers often start with mood boards, sketches, or floor plans.

Mood boards help the client have an insight into how the space will look and feel.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false? Interior design is only about making a room look stylish and trendy.

Pause here while you decide if that statement is true or false.

Well done if you said false.

And now I'll let you say a little bit about your answer.

Pause here while you do this.

Perhaps you said something like this, "Designers think about how people use the space, what mood it creates, and how it reflects identity and culture." Many interior designers have their own personal style, but learn to adapt to suit their client's needs, including Philippe Starck, who's known for futuristic, playful, and imaginative architectural and interior designs, Lotta Agaton, a leading figure in Scandinavian interior styling and design known for her clean, minimalist spaces with subtle colour palettes and warmth, Shabnam Gupta, known for vibrant, eclectic interiors that reflect personal stories and cultural motifs.

A bedroom is more than just a place to sleep.

It can be a sanctuary, a place to feel safe and be yourself.

Not everyone has their own bedroom.

Some people share rooms with siblings, sleep in living rooms, or move between different homes.

If you share a bedroom, sleep in a living room, or move between homes, you can still create a small area such as a corner or a shelf that makes it your space.

If you had a small corner just for you, what would be in it? Think about colours, smells, sounds, or items that bring you comfort or joy.

Pause here and share with someone.

I would definitely need to have a book, maybe an ornament or some object from nature, and lots of space.

Many artists have themed their work around bedrooms, including James Mollison, who made a photographic series called "Where children sleep," which captures the diverse lives and sleeping arrangements of children, Abi Ola, whose work, "Patterns in my bedroom," reflects her family textile history, Sophie Calle, who in projects like "The Hotel" documented personal spaces and the objects people leave behind, and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, whose work, "Untitled," of a rumpled bed made a powerful statement about love, loss, and the AIDS epidemic.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following can help make a shared or small space feel like your home? A, expensive furniture and lots of space, B, keeping it completely empty and plain, or C, adding objects, colours, or decorations that reflect your personality.

Pause here while you decide.

Well done if you selected answer C.

Indeed, adding objects, colours, or decorations that reflect your personality will help to make a shared or small space feel like your own.

Interior designers are usually given a design brief at the start of a project, and usually includes budget and timeline, how much can be spent on the project, and the deadline, the client's goals, who and what the space is for, style preferences, cultural or personal influences, inspirations and mood, how the space should feel.

So, all of these things together make up the design brief.

If you were given a brief to design a futuristic bedroom, what could it look like? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Let's hear from Aisha.

"I imagine a foldaway bed with electric blue and violet decor.

There could be an interactive wall which is used instead of computers." Love that.

"My room is underwater with sea creatures visible through the window." And Andeep, "I imagine a pod bed with color-changing LEDs around the room and big circular windows to see floating planets in space.

One wall could be decorated with circuit board patterns." When creating a design for an interior space, interior designers will often use one-point perspective to create a sense of depth and space.

One-point perspective is a drawing method where things get smaller as they get further away.

Drawing a room in one-point perspective could look like, draw a parallel line, horizon line, just above the halfway mark, with the dot, vanishing point, in the middle.

Draw a rectangle with four lines going to the corners through the vanishing point.

Draw furniture, lighting, and gadgets, ensuring lines on the edges of the furniture go through the vanishing point.

Ensure all edges are either parallel, or if angled, in line with the vanishing point.

It's all about the vanishing point.

Add furniture, gadgets, and lighting to reflect the theme.

Consider adding details such as patterns to communicate the theme.

You could also draw freehand to create an interior room.

This might look like, start with the back wall.

Add furniture, windows, and lighting, considering space and scale.

Consider appropriate-looking decor and gadgets to suit the theme.

Be creative with your designs.

If there are windows, ensure the view also reflects the theme.

And now it's time for your task.

Yes, it is time to design your fantasy bedroom with a chosen theme using one-point perspective or freehand drawing.

Consider how to create a sense of depth and space, the mood of the space and how you will create this, the use of colour, shape, line, and pattern to create your chosen mood.

What theme will your room have? How will you reflect the theme in your design and furniture choices? So pause here while you have a go at designing your fancy bedroom with a chosen theme and use either one-point perspective or freehand drawing.

I'll see you when you're finished.

So, how did you get on with this task of drawing a fancy bedroom with the chosen theme using either one-point perspective or freehand drawing? Perhaps you created something really quite wonderful such as this.

Let's hear from Aisha.

Well, we have that foldaway bed that Aisha mentioned, a scented mood lamp, view to under the sea, wow.

Imagine watching all of this beautiful wildlife swimming past.

Giant interactive screen with a great message, "Wake up," and light-up flooring.

And wow.

Here is the design in colour.

Aisha, "I chose a futuristic theme, so decided to paint my room with colours I imagine will be popular in the future.

I think rooms will have less personal items on display and be more streamlined." And here is Andeep.

"I chose a futuristic, space theme and hope to one day have a room like this.

It would be amazing to be floating in outer space in my own room." Oh, wow, I love all these details and I love that pod bed.

Looks so cosy.

I hope you all enjoyed designing your fantasy bedrooms and wonder what views you have outside of your window, maybe planets and stars and moons, as Andeep has.

In our lesson A sense of place: your spaces, we've covered the following.

Not everyone has a room of their own, but personal space can still be created in simple, meaningful ways.

A corner of a shared room, an area near a window, or even a single shelf can become a special area or sanctuary.

Interior designers plan spaces to make them both useful and appealing.

Designing a futuristic room means thinking about what homes might look like in the future.

You can include cool lights, smart gadgets, and furniture that looks modern and works in new ways.

Well done everyone for joining in with this lesson.

I loved exploring what does a sanctuary and a safe space mean to you and then designing your own futuristic bedrooms and bringing in all of the elements that you think will be there and be needed and wanted in the future.

I hope you enjoyed this lesson.

I really did, and I'm really interested in looking around at all the spaces that I inhabit and making sure they are as sanctuary-like as they can be.

I look forward to seeing you at another art lesson soon.

Until then, stay creative.