Hello, everyone.

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

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

I'm feeling very, very pleased about it.

I'll tell you why, because today we are looking into roots, our connections, community.

These things mean so much to me, and I'm really interested in artwork that explores these themes.

Our lesson is called Roots: Your Connection and Community.

I'm interested to find out about your connections, community, your roots.

and I hope you'll find this topic interesting too.

The lesson comes from the unit of work Connections: Home, Space and family.

There's an encouragement to take good care of ourselves as we explore this topic.

Everybody has different experiences with our roots, connections, and family, so we'll go easy and we'll go gentle.

And hopefully we'll stay curious.

If you're ready, we'll begin.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can create an artwork to reflect my family roots.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

They are roots, tradition, sgraffito.

Let's find out what these words mean.

Roots are the origin of something.

Tradition.

Customs or beliefs passed on through generations.

And sgraffito, a decorative art form made by scratching through a surface to reveal a lower layer of colour.

These are our keywords, roots, tradition, sgraffito.

Let's look and listen out for them.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

Our lesson is called Roots: Your Connections and Community, and it has two learning cycles.

First of all, exploring family roots, traditions, and identity, and then create an artwork to represent your roots.

Let's begin by exploring family roots, traditions, and identity.

When we look at a tree, we often only see what's above the ground, the trunk, the branches, and the leaves.

Oh my, what trees there are in front of us here.

Stunning.

Hidden beneath the surface of a tree are the roots.

Without them, the tree wouldn't survive.

People are like that too.

We often only see what's on the outside.

Each of us has deep roots, our family, heritage, community, and life experiences that help shape who we are.

Just like roots anchor a tree and keep it steady, the people we call family, as well as our communities, help support us as we grow.

While biological family is important, family extends to those who choose to be a part of each other's lives and offer unconditional love.

We all have a history, full of people, places, and traditions that have helped shaped who we are today.

Traditions are the stories, customs, and practises that families and communities pass down, helping to keep their history and values alive, including arts and crafts, food and drink, festivals and celebrations, and rituals and ceremonies.

These are all traditions.

So why is it important to maintain family traditions? Pause here and share with someone.

What do you think? Thanks for sharing.

Let's hear from Laura.

"Traditions help me connect with my family's history, culture, and heritage.

They give me a sense of identity." And Andeep.

"My community celebrates many festivals.

It would be sad to lose those traditions that have been around for years." Pause here and share with someone.

Are there some family traditions that you and your family observe? Or if not, are there any other family traditions that you've joined in with, perhaps through a friend's family? Thanks for sharing.

Traditional arts and crafts have been passed down through families for generations.

The Navajo people, also known as the Diné, have a rich cultural and artistic heritage, with deep ties to the land, storytelling, and family traditions.

The skill of sand art is passed down through families.

And we can see someone creating some sand art there on screen.

How beautiful, intricate, and colourful.

Rangoli is a traditional Indian art form where colourful patterns are created on the ground.

Materials include coloured rice, flour, sand, and petals are used.

It's passed down through generations, especially by women in families.

Pause the video and share with someone your impression of this Rangoli Art that we can see on screen.

Thanks for sharing.

First Nation Australian artists have long used art as a vital means of passing down stories, traditions, and cultural knowledge.

Symbols and dots communicate meaning instead of written language.

There are many ways for us to communicate and pass on meaning.

Can you think of any artists within your community who work with traditional arts and crafts techniques? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false, family traditions help keep memories, values, and culture alive across generations.

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

Well done if you selected true.

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.

They remind us of where we come from and bring people together through shared experiences.

Many artists explore family roots and connections within their practise, including Elizabeth Roskam, makes art which directly engages with her ancestral homeland, particularly her cultural heritage.

Sanaa Gateja, who creates art as a ritualistic journey, connecting him to his ancestral roots and communities.

Amanda Heng, whose work explores family and cultural identity in Singapore's rapidly modernising society.

And Edmund de Waal, who explores his ancestry, heritage, and loss through ceramics and memoir.

So we can see there are many artists exploring family roots and connections within their practise.

Cooking and sharing specific dishes like a family recipe or a festival dessert that has been around for generations helps to keep the past alive.

Oh my, I'm feeling hungry looking at that image of ingredients for Brinjal curry, one of my favourites.

Lucas and Izzy are discussing traditions passed down through their families.

Here's Lucas.

"My nana taught me how to bake.

We make recipes that have been passed down through many generations." And Izzy.

"My dad showed me how to carve wood, just like his dad taught him.

Maybe one day I will pass this skill on." I love that passing down of traditions and skills.

Examples of rituals and ceremonies passed down through generations include the Japanese tea ceremony, which is a ritual emphasising respect, harmony, and tradition, often passed down within families.

In Yoruba culture, Southwestern Nigeria, a baby is not just given a name at birth, it is celebrated in a naming ceremony on the seventh day after the baby's birth for girls and the ninth day for boys.

In Papua New Guinea, especially among Sepik River communities, initiation ceremonies mark the transition from childhood to adulthood, particularly for boys.

Many traditional customs are used within celebrations and festivals, including henna painting, a form of body art which is often worn for weddings and religious events.

Applying henna is often a shared intergenerational tradition passed down through the women in the family.

This is one of my most enduring and favourite memories from childhood is having my hands painted with henna by my cousins during family weddings in Pakistan.

Such beautiful, intricate designs lovingly applied.

Festivals and carnivals are celebrated through generations.

This helps families and communities remember their history and celebrate their culture.

This festival looks like a lot of fun.

Wow.

Families are often intertwined with their communities, who often provide a larger network of support and connection.

Families rely on their community for various resources, including education and healthcare.

A sense of community can also help families feel accepted, valued, and capable of offering and receiving help when needed.

Trees have often been used to symbolise family and ancestry.

Why might this be? Pause here and share with someone.

Well, tree roots often depict family ancestors and heritage.

A tree trunk might represent strength and the core family.

The branches of a tree could symbolise the wider support network, including community.

A word tree combines imagery and text to visually convey meaning.

This word tree represents family roots and connection.

So the trunk there is the foster family.

And then we have school and different branches coming from there, siblings, gaming, and so on.

And then down below, we have the roots.

There's the home, Brighton, and then other aspects of the roots, ancestors and so on.

You might create a word tree like this.

Draw the outline of a tree.

Ensure that the branches are wide enough so you can write on them.

Fill the whole page.

Add words to communicate meaning, considering colour and font.

You might use words from your ancestry in the roots, use words to communicate your core support in the trunk, and use words connected to your wider network in the branches.

Check for understanding.

Why is community important to a family? A, is it because a community is for the older generations only, b, it helps a family to feel a sense of belonging, or c, communities are places to pass through.

Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you selected answer b.

Indeed it helps a family to feel a sense of belonging.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to create a word tree to represent your family roots and connections.

Consider use of colour and font.

Select media of your choice.

You could include words to represent family.

For example, love, support, personal identity, culture.

Values and traditions, behavioural influences and connections to your past.

And community, a sense of belonging, a place to connect with others.

So pause here while you have a go at this task and create a word tree to represent your family roots and connections.

All right, it's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with that task? Let's hear from Sam.

"I drew my own tree outline and included the jobs my grandparents had within the roots.

I wrote where they were from.

My foster family and the people in my hometown are the people I feel most connected to." So lovely.

And now onto our next learning cycle, create an artwork to represent your roots.

Artists represent family roots and connection in diverse and powerful ways, using a range of materials, images, and spaces.

Some artists might represent family roots and connection through the use of line.

Artists might represent family through using mixed media.

This artwork includes the use of maps.

Love that.

What might this choice of material represent? Pause the video and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Perhaps the maps represent heritage, family lineages, geography, perhaps a migration story.

Many artists have made artwork about family roots and connections using non-traditional methods, including Anselm Kiefer, whose work engages with history, memory, and cultural roots, often referencing ancestry and collective memory through symbolic materials like straw, lead, and ash.

Kiki Smith, who symbolises family connections in her artwork using diverse materials including bronze, paper, glass, and fabric.

Check for understanding.

True or false, artists always represent their family through realistic paintings.

Pause here and decide if this statement 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.

Artists often choose the style that best expresses their personal experiences or the story they want to tell about their family.

Aisha and Sofia are discussing ways of representing family roots through artwork.

Here's Aisha.

"I don't have to make a realistic painting to represent my family.

I could symbolise my roots through stitched lines that intertwine." And Sofia.

"That sounds great." I like your enthusiasm.

"I like the idea of having words to represent my roots, using a tree as a symbol.

This could be done with sgraffito or a resist technique." Many artists represent family through tree symbolism, including Frida Kahlo, who reimagined what a family tree might look like in her painting "My Grandparents, My Parents and I." Radcliffe Bailey made ancestral tree artwork called "Until I Die/Georgia Trees and Upper Room," drawn from a collection of photographs gifted by his grandmother.

Faith Bebbington collaborated with children to co-create a "People Tree," a sculptural branching form built from simple materials to explore belonging, teamwork, and shared identity through art.

And Norman Rockwell made a multi-generational lineage to portray a family tree.

Check for understanding.

Why do artists often use trees to represent family? A, trees are easy to draw using basic shapes and lines, b, trees can represent connections between generations through roots, trunks, and branches, c, trees grow fruits and are an important source of vitamins and nutrients.

Pause here while you select the correct answer.

Well done if you selected answer b.

Indeed trees can represent connections between generations through roots, trunks, and branches.

Sgraffito is an art technique where one surface layer is scratched or scraped away to reveal a different colour or material underneath.

The word comes from the Italian sgraffiare, meaning to scratch.

Sofia is planning to use the sgraffito technique to create an artwork that represents her family roots.

I would like to use this technique because it uses layering.

Family histories are built over generations, layer upon layer, similar to the building up of materials in sgraffito.

I love your thinking there, Sofia.

The technique of sgraffito is often used on ceramic work.

Artists apply layers of contrasting colours, usually paint, slip, or plaster.

A design is scratched into the top layer so that the layer underneath shows through.

For the next part of the lesson, you will need A6 cartridge paper, A4 or A3 cartridge paper, oil pastels, and sgraffito tools or cocktail sticks.

So pause here while you gather these items. The sgraffito technique might follow these steps.

Make a layer to cover your paper using oil pastels.

Cover this layer with black oil pastel.

Use sgraffito tools, or toothpick, or wooden skewer to scratch into the surface of the oil pastels.

And there we go.

The colours underneath show through.

Check for understanding.

Sgraffito is an art tool used for scraping away excess layers of clay when creating ceramic work, an art technique where one surface layer is scratched or scraped away to reveal a different colour beneath, or a textile technique where layers of thread cover the material surface to build up texture and line.

Pause here while you decide.

Well done if you selected answer b.

And now it's time for your next task.

I would like you to create a sgraffito sample using one of the words from the word tree created in Task A.

Make a layer to cover your paper using oil pastels.

Consider your colour palette and avoid using black.

Cover this layer of oil pastel with black oil pastel.

Use sgraffito tools, a toothpick, or wooden skewer to scratch your design into the surface of the oil pastels.

Pause here while you have a go at this task.

Okay, how did you get on with that part of your task? Let's hear from Jun.

"It was fun to try this technique.

I could scratch some texture or patterns into it so that it looks more interesting and reflects the meaning of the word." Really lovely idea, Jun.

And what a great word to choose, ancestors.

And next, I'd like you to make a sgraffito tree to represent your family roots.

Scratch the outline of your tree design into the oil pastels or use a tree template.

Fill the whole page.

Etch words into the tree to represent family roots.

You could add bark texture or patterns linked to your roots.

for example, henna designs.

And consider typography to enhance your design.

So pause here while you have a go at this next part of your task, making a sgraffito tree to represent your family roots.

All right, it's good to be back with you.

Oh my, look at this example of Andeep.

Wow.

Let's hear from him.

"I've included words linked to my ancestry within the roots, including recipes passed down through the generations.

I considered the size and placement of the words to give some words more emphasis." So I could spend a long time poring over this.

It's so, so beautiful.

Oh my, and I've spotted one of my favourite foods, chana, which is chickpeas, down in the roots.

What a great recipe to have had passed down.

In our lesson Roots: Your Connections and Community, we have covered the following.

Family roots and connections are themes in art that help us explore who we are, where we come from, and how we are linked to others.

Our roots, like our ancestry, culture, and traditions, ground us and give us a sense of identity.

Sgraffito is a technique that visually mirrors the idea of uncovering what lies beneath the surface, just like discovering personal history, hidden stories, and heritage.

Well done, everyone, for joining in with this lesson.

I loved exploring roots, connections, community, ancestry.

Wow, all of these words are so interesting.

And we all have our own unique stories with this, and there's no particular way it needs to be.

We all have our own stories, histories, identities.

And thanks for having a go at the sgraffito technique.

I hope you're pleased with what you've created.

Take good care, everyone.

And I'm looking forward to seeing you at another art lesson soon.

Until then, stay creative.