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ART NEWS:
This will be our last week of online art activities.
We have done some amazing art this term all from home. Next week we all start again back at school and I will be so excited to see your faces again!
Please do feel you can always show me your art when I'm at school and if you want advice on art techniques, you can email me also.
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Our recent Lockdown art show is there for you to see:
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Click on the link HERE to watch it on YouTube.
It's 12 minutes long so find a quiet space and see if you can find your art and check out other children's art too! There will be more art shows coming too.
When we go back to school, this is something I will do more of.
Please don't forget...if you would like to enter the Royal Academy Young Artists Summer Show
I haven't rceived many entries yet and I have registered our school so if there is a special piece of art you would like to make for it, do send it to my email art@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk and let me know your full name, the size of work and the materials you used. You must be 5 years old and over. Deadline for entries is 26th April.
Find out more about it HERE where you can see last year's entries, including the amazing self portrait painted by Finch Dally which was accepted.
Your adults can follow me on Twitter @artmember209
Ist March 2021
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Artist of the week:
Ekua Holmes
Some facts:
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Ekua Holmes grew up and lives in the city of Boston in the USA
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She is an artist that uses lots of collage, photographs and also paint to make her pictures. She always says that she doesn't want to throw out memories, so uses old scraps and things she collects in her art.
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Her pictures tell a story about ordinary people and ordinary life and celebrates them with vibrant colours. Many are about he own memories of childhood and growing up.
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Through her art she wants to portray Black people in a postive way and to represent them as strong, poetic, joyful and wise.
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Her art has been used in children's books. She often paints children.
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She started an organisation called THE GREAT BLACK ART COLLECTION, which introduces and promotes the work of new Black artists.
This is a picture of Ekua Holmes
in her studio.
Ekua's paintings are so full of colour. Lets look at some of them...
These paintings are from a series of her paintings called FROM THE CITY TO THE SEA
I've chosen these paintings because I want you to look at how they use the sky or the background to get you to look at things not only happening nearby by, but far away too.
Sometimes you can see the sun or the moon in that big colourful sky.
That sky represents the clear distance that becomes yours, nothing standing in your way, freedom to swim, to play, to run.
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The line that separates the sky from the sea or ground is called the HORIZON LINE.
Let's look at more of these HORIZONS...
You can see how Ekua has used cut outs, collage, paint and printing in her art!
There is so much light and colour and she uses shadows to show how much light there is in her scenes. They are uplifting and celebrate happiness.
Activity 1: Two weeks ago you used cut outs from magazines to make some funny photomontages. Well this week I want you to make a painting with collage using cut outs from magazines, old photos, oil pastels, paints, felt pens, anything you like, to make some HORIZON pictures. These can be done onto old card, bigger than A4, as the card is stiff so good for sticking things down with glue, adding things on top.
You will need:
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A piece of recycled card, any rectangle shape, long or like a square.
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Pencils
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Different colours of pieces of recycled paper sorted into the colours you want to use - these can be torn carefully or cut.
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Glue - any glue is ok
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Paints (you will need a sponge and can use cotton buds for details when adding the paint), oil pastels, marker pens. If you don't have these don't worry, you can use coloured pencils instead.
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A mixture of cold black coffee or tea to paint over the whole thing when you have finished. Use a sponge or a house brush for this bit.
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I did a video you can see to help you. I used a mixture of paints, cut outs, oil pastels and foil.
You can see how I used paint, coffee and oil pastels over the stuck down paper, also I cut out some foil for raindrops.
You can use people from magazines or your own printed photos. Make the picture as colourful as you can, filling all the space.
Don't forget the horizon line!
Here is a short video made for us by a famous London phorographer called Anthony Jones.
Look at his photos on: https://ajphotoinfo.wordpress.com
He has exhibited his work in famous galleries and museums and we are very lucky to have this message for the children at Beecroft Garden.
For your next activity please watch this...
Activity 2:
You will need:
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A camera or a mobile phone
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To walk around your neighbourhood to look for interesting views or set up some objects at your table.
Anthony Jones specialises in black and white photography using a really old style camera called a Hasselblad that looks like this:
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A Hasselblad camera
has a reputation for being one of the best cameras in the world, and certainly one of the most expensive!
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I would like you to take some photos of things that you find on a walk, or things in your home that you particularly fine interesting.
You can do close ups or scenery.
When you have taken some, choose your favourite ones and edit it on the phone to make them 'greyscale', 'black and white' or 'sepia', so without lots of different colours.
To make sure your image is clear you must be very still when you take your photo.
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Here is a photo I took at my work table. I see this lamp every day.
I just used my phone.
You can see it in colour and then I used my phone filter to turn it into a 'greyscale' or black and white image.
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Colours can be beautiful but when you take a photo, sometimes the black and while image looks more dramatic and sharp. Like a special effect! Check out Anthony Jones's photography and let me know what you think.
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Please try to do both activities this week like you did last week and I will show Anthony your photos as well as your other art too!
He said how when a teacher hung one of his photos on the wall at school it changed his life for the better. Let's all continue to celebrate out art, at home and at school.
It's been lovely this Lockdown seeing all your amazing art you've sent me.
I look forward to seeing you all back very soon!
Meanwhile, as usual, send your art to me on DB Primary and email them to me too:
art@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk
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Have fun with your art this week. I expect more fabulous things from you!
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Some facts:
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Robert is a famous artist and sign writer from Yorkshire. He began sign writing in 1991 at the age of 14.
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Robert specialises in the Art of Typography, which is making signs by hand and making them look really decorative.
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Robert uses a technique known as Verre Églomisé, a process of applying both a design and REAL GOLD underneath clear glass
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Robert loved both typography and painting at the same time so he went to study art and design at college.
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Robert is also a teacher, teaching people how to make signs and he loves sharing all his knowledge.
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This is the logo for his business.
Robert has heard all about the amazing art you do at Beecroft Garden. He wanted to make you a video to show some of his art. It's a bit different from some of the art you may usually do, but he also loves to draw and paint too!
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Robert has a son called Reuben who is 7 and he loves drawing and painting.
In this video he also shows you Reuben's drawings.
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This video is 12 minutes long and you will love it!
So sit back, relax and see what Robert has to show you and say...
Don't the signs he has made look amazing?
Reuben is a busy artist also and he loves to draw really big!
Now let's take a closer look at some of Robert Walker's work...
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Robert Walker makes all his signs by hand.
He uses all kinds of different paints.
Can you spot the signs where he used real gold?
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Activity 1: Take the first letter of you name. Turn it into an insect, an animal, a bird or a fantasy creature.
You will need:
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Your sketchbook
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Pencils
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Rubber
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Black pen
Look at the video I made using the first letter of my name. I used a capital D
and turned it into an eagle (I really like birds)
I used my pencil to make lots of textures and shading for the feathers.
Try to use your pencil as a special tool in a really interesting way.
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Try to make your creature bigger than your letter. when you finish, go over the letter with black pen to make it really stand out.
Choose any creature you like and you can add plants and shapes, really make it as busy as you can.
Look at Robert Walker's designs also for inspiration.
Activity 2:
Take all the letters of you name. Turn them into a piece of abstract sculpture.
You will need:
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Separate white paper
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Pencils
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Felt pens or paints and a brush or oil pastels
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Black pen
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Recycled card
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Glue stick
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Scissors
Look at these crazy little sculptures made with letters.
Can you see how they may have been made?
Each letter of a child's name was drawn out onto paper, coloured in with crazy colours, then stuck onto card.
They were cut out and put together in any order to make a sculpture.
You can't really see the name any more, but what you do see are different colours, patterns and shapes.
Sometimes these can be glued together and hung from the ceiling with a string.
A sculpture is a 3D piece of art that can be seen from all sides.
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My son made a simple one with the 4 letters in his first name:
L U K E
Have a look at the pictures to see how he got on:
1. First he used some scrap paper to draw out his letters in capitals.
He did this with pencil first, then went over it with black felt pen when he was happy with his shapes.
Then he cut them out.
2. Next, he stuck down his letters onto some recycled card using a glue stick. He cut around his letters leaving a bit of a border to show the colour of the card.
Please do get an adult to help with cutting our the card. It's tricky and the card is very stiff.
3. He had fun playing around with making the letters stand up against each other, balancing them carefully.
If you had strong glue or a glue gun, you could do some really interesting arrangements.
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Luke decorated only one side of the letters and did patterns rather than use lots of different colours like the ones you see at the beginning of Activitiy 2, but you could choose to do both sides and use lots of colours, or maybe just black and white?
Take pictures of your sculptures. You could add explosions or cloud shapes or arrows and make it pop with colour!
Please do both activities this week and I will show Robert your lovely art.
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As usual, send your art to me on DB Primary and email them to me too:
art@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk
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Have fun this week!
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8th February 2021
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Artist of the week:
Hannah Hoch
(1889 - 1978)
Some facts:
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Hannah Hoch was from Berlin in Germany.
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She was one of the first artists to start making art called PHOTO MONTAGE. Today, this kind of art is very popular to make.
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Hannah Hoch lived through a time in Germany where her art was considered illegal to make because it was ugly and asked too many questions about the roles of men and women in the world.
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She was a feminist at a time when women did not have equal rights.
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Her photomontage art is in the style called DADA art.
Hannah Hoch used photographs and magazine cuttings, as well as paint, to show how ridiculous the world could be. Sometimes her work is funny, and sometimes is looks a bit like a nightmare.
She often would take pictures from adverts in magazines to cut up and mix with other pictures to make some really crazy art.
Let's take a look at some of her PHOTO MONTAGES:
See how these pictures take photos from different places and change how they look?She has taken very serious looking people and made them look ridiculous by adding strange features.
Sometimes she tore the paper, sometimes she would use scissors or a very sharp knife.
Often she would stick things onto card or canvas.
Hannah Hoch makes art to poke fun at the silliness of the modern world.
It was about going against normal social actions.
This is called the Dada movement (Dadaism) in art.
Let me explain...
DADA is a the French word for a toy called a hobby horse. Here are pictures of this toy:
DADA art is all about going against being serious and snobbish in art to make art less serious and more playful.
DADA artists also used art to insult and sometimes shock people.
It's about being a rebel, to go against the rules.
BUT... you can be a serious artist and still be able to poke fun at serious things.
Hannah Hoch is a very important and serious artist! Confused? :)
Activity 1: Make your own silly PHOTO MONTAGE art in your sketchbook.
You will need:
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Your sketchbook or recycled card A4 size or bigger.
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Paint brush, paints, felt pens
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Glue stick
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Scissors
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Old magazines or junk mail
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Collect scraps of junk mail, magazines, take away menus, or print out some images if you have a printer at home.
First, find a clean page in your sketch book and paint it different colours.
Watch me do this with watercolours:
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You could do this with any kind of paint, thick paint will look great, or use felt pens to fill the page with colours and get rid of the plain background of the page.
When it's dry start gathering pictures you like without thinking about it too much. Cut around them or cut them up and create your silly picture!
It's important to join up your cuttings for this to work well.
I had lots of nature magazines at home so I made my art from cutting these up.
Watch me do mine:
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You can make this using any pictures, although I have chosen nature mags to do mine. Fashion magazines work really well. So do faces - choose eyes, lips and noses and mix them up!
You could draw over your stuck down pieces too if you like. Have fun with it.
Here is my finished piece, although I feel I want to add more to it...
That's the thing with art, sometimes you just need to keep going.
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Activity 2: Go outside and take photos of the Spring
The season is changing.
We are still having horrible weather, but that doesnt stop things from starting to grow in gardens, parks, on the side of pavements, in your plant pots.
This week you have a photo challenge to be the size of a mouse or an ant.
With a camera or a phone I want you to make the tiny little changes you find appear gigantic!
Here are some photos my son took with my phone:
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The photos you will easily be able to do as you go out for your daily exercise.
Make sure you are being a mouse or an ant.
How would they see the world? Take lots of photos and choose 3 of your best ones.
It's all about finding buds and blossoms.
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You know... if you like you could use your photos to add to your PHOTO MONTAGE. Imagine a plant with eyes or legs growing instead of buds!
As usual, do both activities this week. Send them to your DB Primary and you can email them to me as well on art@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk
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Artist of the week:
Bordallo II (Bordallo the 2nd)
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Some facts:
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Artur Bordalo, also known as Bordalo II, was born in 1987 in Lisbon, Portugal.
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He was influenced by his grandfather, an artist, also called Artur Bordalo, which is why he calls himself Bordallo II
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He is famous for using trash to create animals sculptures so as to warn people about pollution and all types of endangered species.
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Since 2012 Artur Bordalo has created about two hundred animals sculptures using more than 60 tons of rubbish. They can be found all around the world so that he can spread his message.
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Bordalo II supports many good causes and campaigns for better living conditions and healthcare for refugees. He has sold art to raise money for this.
1st February 2021
You will now have your own sketchbook, remember, so you can use this to do some drawings and paintings with any of the ideas on here. Please make sure you have picked up your sketchbook from school. One is waiting for you there.
Activity 1: Draw your favourite animal with a pen or pencil.
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In your sketchbook, draw a sketch of one of the animals here. I have chosen pictures of drawings to look at to see how each artist has made marks.
Look at the fur, the skin, the feathers and make this really detailed in your drawing. Make it as big as the page.
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See how these animals have been drawn with a pen or a pencil. Look at the details and try and put these in your drawing.
You can choose a different animal if you like.
Watch a time lapse video of me drawing this fox head.
I did alot of shading and used a variety of different marks.
Activity 2: Make a piece of animal art from recycled objects.
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I am going to show you an artist who also makes art from recycled materials.
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This is Darrell Wakelam www.darellwakelam.com
He is really famous for using card, plastic, foil and all the kind of things you will find in your recycling bin and cupboards. He is an artist and also a teacher.
He has made art for museums, festivals and for schools with the children.
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Look at this amazing life size Dalek from Doctor Who!
Darrell is really interested in fossils and dinosaurs.
Where he lives in Dorset there are lots of fossils on the beach.
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Darrell also likes to make sculptures of animals.
I would like you to make your own animal from recycled objects and if you like you can follow the instructions from a Darrell Wakelam creation.
I have put a few here but to see his whole collection please visit his website HERE
He has instructions especially for children and families to do at home.
Dont forget to add colour to them also to make them look real!
Below are examples of children who have made some of these which should encourage you!
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Please try to do both activities this week. Send them to your DB Primary and you can email them to me as well on art@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk
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25th January 2021
You will now have your own sketchbook to do these activities each week!
If not, then one will be waiting for you at school to pick up. Yay!
Just like when we are in school, fill the page and mistakes are always good!
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Artist of the week:
David Melling
www.davidmelling.co.uk
Some facts:
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David Melling lives near Oxford with his Croatian wife and their two children, but he grew up in London.
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He always loved to draw. He became an illustrator in 1986, drawing for magazines. He worked on several animations including FATHER CHISTMAS by Raymond Briggs and Beatrix Potter’s PETER RABBIT.
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David Melling has created over 150 books and these have been published in more than 30 languages!
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He first wrote and illustrated his own picture book THE KISS THAT MISSED, in 2002. His picture book THE TALE OF JACK FROST (2004), was made into an animated TV film with the BBC.
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HUGLESS DOUGLAS is one of David’s most popular picture book series.
An illustrator is an artist who makes pictures for books, magazines and newspapers. David Melling writes his own books, so he is an AUTHOR and an ILLUSTRATOR!
Let's look at some of his amazing drawings:
This is a self portrait by David Melling
See how these animals have really expressive faces. They have big noses too!
I think David Melling likes to draw noses.
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One of David Melling's very famous books is Hugless Douglas. You may have seen this book at school.
A book about a bear trying to find a hug!
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David Melling wrote a famous book called The Tale of Jack Frost.
This book has the most amazing drawings! Here's the front cover and one of the bigger drawings from the book below. There are lots of GOBLINS that feature in the story too. These are fantasy or made up characters that are usually silly, funny, mean and bad tempered.
NOW FOR A BIG SURPRISE...
This is very special indeed, a video message from David Melling just for the children of Beecroft Garden!!! Press play to listen, or click HERE
This week I would like you to do your art a bit at a time, not all at once. It will take time to do this well so take your time and don't rush. It should be fun!
Activity 1:
Make a drawing of a Goblin.
Find a clean page in your sketchbook. Use a pencil and a rubber.
David Melling says:
"The great thing about drawing a fantasy, ‘made up’ character line a goblin, is there is NO perfect way of drawing goblins. They’re all different. So if your goblin’s nose is too big or it doesn’t look the same as my drawing, or its' ears look the ‘wrong shape’ then don’t worry - that’s just how YOUR goblin looks! He/she could be a Funny-Eared Goblin (just look at the names of some real creatures with names like that - Long-eared Owl!). So my message to you is YOU CAN’T MAKE A BAD DRAWING! Each drawing, is your version of a goblin!"
This is so true!
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Now to do your own goblin in your sketchbook:
Start by following David Melling's 'How to Draw a Goblin' sheet.
When you're finished, draw it again but don't look at the goblin sheet this time. You could draw a different shaped nose or the ears or eyes could be different. You will be making your very own character, and characters have their own stories.
Look at the animals below to help you to make your goblin really interesting. Use some of these animal features to help you with your own goblin.
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David Melling made this this sheet for you to have a go at your first goblin drawing.
So use the sheet to help you make your first goblin, then draw your own goblin, with lots of details.
David Melling likes goblins so much he made lots of stories about them. Here are some more books he wrote with different goblin characters:
Activity 2:
Draw and paint a forest for your goblin:
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First open up your sketchbook to a double page just like this picture:
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I want you to make a forest scene a bit like this one in the picture below, or completely invent your own.
Look at the shapes of the trees. They don't have any leaves on them, like right now outside. It's cold.
What colours will you use to paint or colour in the tree shapes and the ground?
It's up to you.
Notice how twisty and bendy the trees are. They also have faces and big noses. Can you spot the funny Owl Frogs in the picture? What about a unicorn?
Spot as many creatures as you can.
Can you see a tunnel?
Make your trees have faces and draw animals in the forest too.
I want you to fill the page. You can use coloured pencils, felt pens or watercolours.
Try not to leave any spaces. Do some outlines around your animals and tree shapes so that they really stand out.
Look at some tree shapes to help you. These real trees look like people! Put one of these in your picture.
Look below at some of these pictures of forests to help you.
Look at the background. Can you see lots of trees in the distance? Can you see the sky? Notice how the trees get smaller as they are further away:
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Below are some paintings made by children who used pens, pencils, paints, ink, oil pastels, scratch tools, collage (when you stick things onto paper)
Any of these would be a good setting for goblins and other creatures.
You can use any colours you like.
Make your trees have chunky shapes and funny faces like the ones above and like ones you took photos of last week.
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Copy your second goblin onto a piece of recycled card. It can be an old cereal pack or part of an Amazon package. Use felt tips to really show the character, Cut it out or get an adult to help you do this bit.
NOW STICK YOUR GOBLIN ONTO YOUR FOREST! (You can do more that one goblin if you like)
Take a GOOD photo and post it for us to see!
Here you can see David Melling's goblin. Remember you are doing your own goblin this time and I would like to see lots of details with pens, especially black pen for the outlines of clothes and face details.
Please try to do both activities this week. Send them to your DB Primary class page so that your teachers can see them. You can email them to me as well on art@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk
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Maybe one day you will become an illustrator too!
Have fun and I can't wait to show David Melling your art!!
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18th January 2021
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Artist of the week:
Hundertwasser (1928-2000)
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Some facts:
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He was also known as: Friedensreich Dunkelbunt Regentag Hundertwasser. That's such a long name
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He was Jewish and born in Austria.
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Hundertwasser was an architect, and an artist.
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He believed in conservation and that humans should always do their best to respect the Earth and live in harmony with Nature.
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Remember an architect is someone who designs buildings. Let's look at the buildings he designed:
Some of these buildings are curvey, seem to be part of the landscape and have a green roof.
Everything looks higgledy-piggledy and not like the usual box shapes of most buildings.
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Hundertwasser also believed in using lots of colours. Let's look at his paintings and drawings:
Hundertwasser loves colours, circles, stripes and spirals.
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His trees are famous for being painted like huge lollipops!
Activity 1:
Make a drawing or painting using coloured pencils, pen, sharpies, felt pens or paints. MAKE IT COLOURFUL!
Look at how Hurdertwasser fills the page with wavey lines and shapes full of colours. He uses all of the surface and if you look carefully you can see houses, trees, streets, the sky, and even faces in the landscape.
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Press play to look at this video of me doing a picture a bit like Hundertwasser:
I drew lots of wavy lines and shapes, then I used colours to fill the shapes and used pen on top.
See if you can fill a page with lines and colours. Make your picture have lollipop trees, wavy houses, a bright stripy sky and maybe some people or animal faces. It's up to you what you put in your picture!
Send it to me: art@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk
I will put it in our next online gallery
Activity 2: TREES
Take a look at these photos of trees. What do you notice in all of them?
That's right, they are all photos that were taken from right underneath.
Here is one that I took in a park near my house. Look at all the branches at the ends that make twisty lines.
This picture was taken by someone who rested their tummy on the tree trunk and then looked up.
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This is a great way of taking a photo of a tree!
Now go out for a walk and find a tree. It might be in a park or down your road, There are lots of big trees around Brockley.
When you find your tree, put your tummy on it's trunk and look straight up to the top.
Can you see all the branches and the shapes and twisty lines?
What colour is the sky?
Now take a photo (you can send a few if you like) and send to me:
art@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk
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Have a good week, keep safe and don't forget to send me any art you make.
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Dilys x
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Below are some older activities from our last Lockdown:
Monday 6th July
Artist of the Week:
Georgia O' Keeffe
This week let's look at the artist
Georgia O' Keeffe.
She was born in 1887 in Wisconsin in the USA, growing up on a dairy farm with 6 brothers and sisters.
She loved painting as a child and decided to be an artist when she was 10.
She lived in New York and Chicago, but was most inspired by the New Mexico landscape.
She continued making art throughout her life, but when she was much older she took up pottery because she started to lose her eye sight.
She was very famous for painting huge close-up paintings of flowers.
She also painted landscapes and buildings, but let me show you some of her flower paintings:
These paintings are all very large, its a bit like diving into a flower!
This is what she said of why she painted flowers:
“When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so much, they have no time to look at a flower.
I want them to see it whether they want to or not.”
This is why she chose to paint:
"I found I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way... things I had no words for.”
Activity 1:
MAKE A CLOSE-UP PICTURE OF A FLOWER
This time of year there are so many amazing flowers to see all around you. Alot of wild flowers are what many people call weeds, but they are so good for the bees and when you look really closely there are so many colours and shapes to see.
Find a flower you like and look at the inside of it very closely, maybe you can use a magnifying glass if you have one.
You can pretend you are a bumble bee that needs to get really far down into the flower to get the pollen out. What would you see?
Take a picture of it with a phone.
Does your photo look like a flower or like another world?
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Use anything you like to make a close-up picture of a flower.
Use some of the techniques you used in previous weeks.
You could do it on an ipad or tablet. Make sure can see the inside of the flower and use all of the space.
This is art using paint on top of collage. You can do this on any recycled card.
This is art using pen or any biro on paper, with patterns filling all the shapes and space.
This is art by James Brunt, using natural and found objects to creat patterns that look like flower close-ups.
There are lots of ways you can do this. Here are some examples:
These gorgeous flower close-ups were made on top of old pizza boxes! They used paper towels and glue then paint.
OLD PIZZA BOXES
Activity 2:
DO AN ACTIVITY YOU HAVENT TRIED FROM A DIFFERENT WEEK
Remember, you can make art from anything.
Try something you havent had a go at yet!
Have a great week and send me all your lovely art to the Arts@Seesaw page, or email to me: dfinlay@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk
Monday 29th June
Artist of the Week:
Jean-Michel Basquiat
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Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in New York in 1960 but only lived to be 27 years old. In that time he produced around 1500 drawings, 600 paintings, many sculptures and was also a musician and poet.
He was super intelligent and learned how to read and write at the age of 4! By the age of 11 he could speak 3 languages fluently.
Jean-Michel Basquiat's parents broke up, he dropped out of school, ran away from home and found friends to stay with. He sold T-shirts and home made postcards on the street to make some money to survive. He painted lots of street art on buildings around New York.
He soon became very famous. He went on TV and sold work in galleries, but sometimes felt sad, like he didn't fit in with all the famous people who wanted to hang out with him. Most didn't share his experiences or look like him and all the art dealers and gallery owners were white.
He drew and painted alot about his own roots of Haiti, Puerto Rico and Africa, about the Black experience, about the struggles and successes and the racism he and other African Americans experienced.
In his art are men that look like they are not only ready to struggle but ready to resist struggle!
This is a photo of Jean-Michel Basquiat with his girlfriend Madonna
The artist Andy Warhol had lots of art shows with him and they were firends
This is with artist
Keith Haring
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Now take a look at some of his paintings:
Jean-Michel Basquiat
makes paintings and drawings with lots of bright colours and alot of black paint. He often uses words and writing, like codes, to add meaning to his art and express his experiences. He has painted many heads with hollow eyes, like skulls, some with a crown,
He often paints and draws all over the surface to cover it completely with marks, lines, smudges, dribbles and splashes.
Jean-Michel Basquiat did the illustrations of this famous book of poetry by Maya Angelou. We have it in our school library:
LIFE DOESN'T FRIGHTEN ME
This book was published in 1993, after he died but his pictures go so well with Maya Angelou's words.
This book gives you the sense that Jean-Michel Basquiat was always being brave and fearless in his life with the way he painted and how strong his art is.
Watch and listen to this beautiful video of the book:
Activity 1:
MAKE A BASQUIAT PORTRAIT
You will need:
A large piece of recycled card with labels or writing still stuck on.
Different colour paints, including black and white.
A paint brush.
A marker pen.
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Make a big self portrait in the style of Basquiat, this means
hollow eyes, big mouth with teeth, a bit like a skull.
Start you portrait by painting straight onto the card without drawing first. Add details and colours. Fill in some areas with extra black paint. Don't forget to add lots of background colours and white. Once the paint is dry, you can add any words you think of, that come straight into your brain, and small drawings in different spaces using a marker pen on top.
It's really important to not be neat. Mistakes look great. Go wild!
If you have a computer or a tablet you could try and do this activity on there.
Have a look at these examples.
The children here used a white marker pen also
Activity 2:
MAKE A BASQUIAT CROWN
You are going to make an ART CROWN just like the one you see in Basquiat's drawings and paintings, but one you will wear!
This is a special crown with magical powers. When you put it on your head it will make you feel confident and strong!
Think of making it in the same shape as this one, out of any old packaging card, then decorate it however you like, full of colours
Take a photo of you wearing your crown.
Have a great week with Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Don't forget to click on the link to listen to Maya Angelou's poem with Basquiat's illustrations. You will enjoy it!
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Please send me all your art on Arts@Beecroft or email to me at
dfinlay@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk
Monday 22nd June
Windrush Day
On June 22 every year, the UK celebrates Windrush Day to honour the British Caribbean community.
The ship that brought people from the Caribbean to Britain was called the Empire Windrush and it first arrived on June 22nd 1948 at Tilbury Docks in Essex.
After the Second World War people from the Caribbean were invited to Britain and this was to help rebuild the country, to help it to get back on its feet again. They were known as the Windrush Generation. They not only brought with them the much needed work skills to help our country, but what also came was art, music, poetry and writing too! It was so exciting!
Artist of the Week:
Frank Bowling
I want to introduce you to Frank Bowling. He was born in 1934 in Guyana, a country in South America which is part of the Caribbean. Frank Bowling wanted to be a poet. He came to England in 1953 to live with his uncle to finish his education.
He is part of the WINDRUSH GENERATION.
He did his national service in the Royal Air Force, but then went to Chelsea School of Art to study painting. He was so talented that he won a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art.
He painted lots of abstract art, this is the kind of art that doesn't try to show us images of the world, people or animals.
Instead, abstract art shows shapes, lines, colours and textures.
That was his favourite way to express himself.
This is an old photo of Frank as an art student
This is a photo of Frank as he is today in his studio
(I really like his scarf!)
His style of art is called
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
Take a look at some of his paintings:
Frank Bowling makes really huge paintings as big as some walls of a room. He paints onto canvas, which is a very thick kind of cotton fabric.
He very often doesn't use brushes to paint with. Instead he places his canvas on the floor then throws the paint onto it and also pours it on.
He likes to make accidents happen all over his paintings. To him the paint has a life of its own and it often surprises him how his work turns out.
Sometimes he uses the idea of maps in his work.
Can you see any in the paintings here? Why do you think he shows maps?
Activity 1: (This idea is taken from a book by Zoe Whitley illustrated by Helene Baum, called 'Meet the Artist: Frank Bowling')
MAKE A TEXTURED PAINTING
Frank uses lots of materials in this painting called Spreadout Ron Kitaj. What can you see in this artwork? Shells? Jewellery? Toys? Glitter?
Hidden in the painting is even a drawing made by one of his sons when he was a little boy!
This is an amazing painting by Hazel in Year 1 who used some of Frank Bowling's ideas.
I love how she filled the picture with colours and left no spaces. The colours really stand out too. I wonder how yours will turn out.
You will need:
*PVA glue or a paste made from flour and water
*Salt
*Food dye, ink or watered down paint
1. Pour some glue or flour mixture onto a piece of recycled card to make a pattern. Really try to make lots of lines and shapes all over the card, doing wiggly or straight lines, spirals or shapes.
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2. Cover over your glue lines and shapes with lots of salt. You can add glitter if you have some too, or sand or soil.
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3. Add drips of paint, ink or food dye over your glue or paste lines. Watch how the colours travel along the patterns and shapes you made.
Leave to dry, then add more colours in all the spaces.
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Activity 2:
MAKE IDENTITY HANDS
Imagine what it must be like to arrive at a different country not for a holiday, but to live and work hard.
Will you make friends? Will you try and fit in? Would you feel worried?
Just like when you go to school for the first time ever or for the first time in a long time, it is important to remember who you are and where you are from. This is all about your identity.
Take a look at these hands found in a cave in Argentina. They are thousands of years old.
Each hand is unique and gives clues about how people lived and travelled.
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Now look at these hands:
These are identity hands drawn and painted by artists and children.
These are identity hands that have been turned into maps of where that person is from.
I wonder what a Frank Bowling map painting would look like on a hand.
This is a project by an amazing art teacher called Mrs Barrett from Gomersall Primary School:
She has asked her children to draw around a hand and arm and fill it with drawings and words of what they did and like doing.
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Have fun with your art activities this week and don't forget to share them on Arts@Beecroft Seesaw
I am always excited to see what you do each week!
Monday 15th June
Artist of the Week:
Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama was born in Japan in 1929. She loved drawing and painting and although her parents didn't want her to be an artist, she was determined. When her mum tore up her drawings, she made more. When she could not afford to buy art materials, she used mud and old sacks to make art !!
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This is a drawing she made of her mum when she was 10 years old.
Yayoi Kusama is sometimes called ‘the princess of polka dots'. Although she makes lots of different types of art – paintings, sculptures, performances and installations that mostly have patterns made with DOTS!
Take a look at some of her colourful paintings...
This is what Yayoi Kusama says:
‘Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos. Polka dots are a way to infinity. When we completely cover nature and our bodies with polka dots, we become united'
Have a look at her amazing installations with mirrors and lights!
Aren't these rooms colourful? I would love to be inside one of these installations!
But what do you think? Is it all a bit too crazy? Is art crazy? What's you're favourite art like?
Activity 1:
Create your own Yayoi Kusama art with DOTS and PATTERNS
You can do this with anything you like. It can be 3D or 2D or you can use a tablet.
Look carefully at the colours she has used and how the space is filled.
Here are some ideas of art made by children using polka dots and patterns just like Yayoi Kusama:
Here are examples of a Yayoi pumpkin covered in dots and patterns
What about these amazing abstract designs full of colour using circles as giant dots with patterns inside?
Or these photos cut out, stuck down and coloured all over with patterns like camouflage?
Here's a picture of Yayoi Kusama sitting infront of her abstract paintings.
This activity is all about pattern and different ways of using pattern.
You could use just one colour + white if you like, it's up to you.
Send me your ideas and use your imagination.
Maybe you could make dot planets in a galaxy!
You could make a collage, or even try out another bit of plastic art like last week, using lots of different coloured plastic, but please get a grown up to help you.
Activity 2:
Create art with WORDS
This activity is about using lettering in a word or a sentence to make art. Lots of artists use words in their art:
Take a look at some who do:
Bob & Roberta Smith paints messages on old wood
Jenny Holzer makes moving signs onto buildings with messages to make people stop and think.
Fouad Fahziri uses pen on paper
Tracey Emin makes neon signs with messages
Now look at these pieces of art using messages and words:
I would like you to make your own word art using interesting shapes and patterns. It can be a single word or a message. Challenge yourself to fill the page, using pen, paints, collage or a tablet even.
Look at some of Yayoi Kusama's art to inspire you, or maybe some doodles like Tom Gates illustrations by Liz Pichon.
Remember last week I showed you this useful poster? Well you can use this also to help you to get some ideas for patterns if you like.
Don't forget to keep sending me your photos and cartoons for our photography exhibition and cartoon gallery
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Send all your art to Arts@Beecroft or you can email me at
dfinlay@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk
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Using a heat gun to melt the plastic
Monday 8th June
Artist of the Week:
Mbongeni Buthelezi
This week I would like to introduce you to Mbongeni Buthelezi, an internationally famous artist from South Africa, who creates very large pictures using recycled plastic bags to make portraits by melting small pieces of torn plastic onto a large surface and then melting them on. The result is some amazing pictures full of textures and colours, and all from the plastic that is thrown away!
First let's have a look at some of Mbongeni Buthelezi's art:
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Look at the amazing texture,
it looks a bit like painting and drawing
Self portrait
You could say that this art is really called collage - art created by sticking things down onto a surface to make a variety of different patterns, textures and pictures.
The amazing overlapping colours of the skin is so beautiful and very cleverly done with layered plastic!
Mbongesi Buthelezi makes art about hope.
He wants everyone to understand that by looking at his art and understanding his history, people are able to realise that in South Africa there are many opportunities, that it is possible to make a better life and a career out of nothing.
He believes making art helps people to change their lives and give something positive to the world.
In his studio.
Look at all the plastic on the floor!
Activity 1:
Make your own melted plastic collage
This week you will need to get a bit of help with a grown up because you will be using an iron on the warm setting. I would like you to collect some scraps of colourful plastic.
You are going to make a plastic collage of anything you like. It can be a landscape, a portrait or a picture of anything you like.
Click the link for a video by an amazing teacher called Andria.
Andria has seen all your art and she wants me to show her what you get up to this week!
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This works with foil
if you don't have baking paper
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Remember that when the iron melts the plastic, it begins to look a bit like paint!
Post your ideas on Arts@Seesaw or email them to me on dfinlay@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk
I will also show Andria Zafirakou your results.
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Activity 2:
Discover all about patterns
An amazing art teacher called Mandy Barrett from Gomersall Primary School made this really useful poster to help people understand all about patterns, what they are and where we can find them.
There are some really useful words on here too to describe patterns.
Take a look:
Look at all the pictures in the poster. These are all PATTERNS.
Do you recognise some of them?
I would like you to do some PRINTING!!!
Do some printing with vegetables and Ketchup! (or paint if you have some)
You could use old card to print onto (or paper).
Oh and it can get quite messy, but it's really fun!
Here are some ideas...
Here is some printing made with a lemon and an orange
Onions are great to print with. See if you can arrange your printing in a pattern
Guess what this is...
CELERY to make a rose!
Okra, or Lady's Fingers to make patterns if you cut them in half!
It makes a pentagon shape
Have fun again this week. I can't wait to see what you get up to.
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Don't forget to keep sending me your photos and cartoons for our photography exhibition and cartoon gallery
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Send all your art to Arts@Beecroft or you can email me at
dfinlay@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk
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Monday 1st June
Artist of the Week:
Iain Green
This week I would like to introduce you to Iain Green, a well known nature photographer. He has worked on BBC Springwatch and also visits schools to get the children to take photos of nature in the green spaces around their schools.
NEWS FLASH... Iain will be visiting Beecroft Garden in the Autumn term to work with our school too!
Let's listen to this very special message from Iain Green for the children at Beecroft Garden:
Let's look at some photos Iain has taken.
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These are insects called Damselflies
A Sparrow eating a Damselfly
A close up of a Dragonfly's wings
A Goldfinch eating seeds
This is a closeup of seeds
A Watervole
A Kingfisher sleeping
But what is this?
Try and find out
You can find all of these things around London, and many around our school too!
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Activity 1:
Photography Exhibition
This week as the weather continues to be very dry and sunny, I would like you to take some close up photos. I want you to ask yourself:
"What would the world look like to a mouse or a frog?" This is a question Iain Green is asking. Get really close and low down, then take a picture!
Take as many as you like, then post your 4 best ones on Arts@Beecroft
Iain will choose his favourite ones and post them online. We will have an online exhibition of all your photos too!
If you don't have a garden or are going for a walk, below are just some of the great green spaces nearby to take photos. If you are at school, use the Peace Garden, Year 1 garden or Forest School area.
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Hilly Fields
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Brookmill Park
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Forster Park
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Crofton Park Cemetery
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Ladywell Fields
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Blythe Hill
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Remember to pretend you are a mouse or a frog. What would they see?
I will show Iain Green the photos you take. He will love to see them!
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Activity 2:
Make Your Own Cartoon Character
I would like you to look at shadows that objects make.
There is an artist from Belgium called Vincent Bal who makes hundreds and hundreds of shadow doodles. Take a look...
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Choose your object. It can be anything like the ones in the pictures, or something you found on a walk.
Sit in the sun with some paper and see what funny shadows your object makes on the paper. Now draw around your shadow. Add some drawings to the shape with a pen, just like Vincent Bal, and see if you can make your own cartoon character.
Add colours or just use one colour.
Give your character a name.
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You can make a cartoon with your character in it if you like.
I will be starting a cartoon gallery and we will add to it every week!
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As usual, post all your ideas on Arts@Beecroft seesaw.
Also, if you are not on Seesaw, please send to me too on dfinlay@beecroftgarden.lewisham.sch.uk
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Have a really creative week whether you are at home or at school.
Monday 18th May
Artist of the Week:
James Brunt
This week I would like to introduce you to a famous artist who makes sculptures and works of art using objects, tools and natural objects he finds around his home, in a garden, a park and on long walks. He lives in Yorkshire with his family and during Lockdown he has been very busy showing the kind of art it is possible to create with the things you have around you.
He has been on TV too to show people his art!
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Let's listen to this very special message from James Brunt for the children at Beecroft Garden:
Many of us don't have space or materials for making and keeping our art, so this could be a great way of using things you see around you. It is very much about finding, collecting then making, using lines, shapes and patterns just like you would do in a drawing or painting, but the objects you find and use have texture and could be heavy or light.
First let's have a look at some more of James Brunt's amazing art using things he found and collected:
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These use twigs and leaves
These use stones and pebbles
These use screws! Wow! How many do you think he used?
Can you guess what James Brunt used to make these Star Wars pieces?
Activity 1:
This week we are going to really think about making temporary art.
This is art that you can make and get rid of, if you like, afterwards, then start again. But I would like you to send me photos on Arts@Beecroft, or to your teacher who will forward your pictures to me.
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For your temporary artwork I would like you to either make a sculpture, some patterns, shapes or even a picture with:
what you find on your daily walks in a park, natural things like leaves, twigs, stones, (no outside rubbish as it's not safe!)
or
what you have at home, like toys, lego, marbles, buttons, pens or anything else. Lots of small things work well.
It can be as big as you like and try to get your adults to join in to help you!
If you like you can copy one of James Brunt's work.
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I will show James Brunt what you have done. He is very excited to see your art!
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Activity 2:
Here is an idea by another really well known artist called
Bob And Roberta Smith, (it is his artist name, not the name he grew up with)
This is him in the photo,
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He believes all schools should let children make lots and lots of art (a bit like we do at Beecroft Garden)
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He has made a big tree using cutlery.
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He calls it Laying the Table for Life.
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Many people believe that trees are the life force in our world. They are definitely some of the most important things on our planet!
His tree here has a crop of spoons ready for picking.
You could make something like this and add anything you like for picking like real fruit or cups.
You could make your tree on the floor or a big table, then take a photo of it.
Don't forget to tidy up after you take your photo!
Post your ideas on Arts@Beecroft.
We will show the art you have made over the last 2 weeks in our online gallery this week too, so please do look out for that!
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Have a great week!
Monday 11th May
Artist of the Week:
Patricio Forrester
This week I would like to introduce you to an artist who lives near our school. He paints big murals around South London, in the New Cross, Brockley, Deptford and Lewisham areas.
Soon he will be painting our music block with the help from all of you and he will call it the Music Box. He has a company of artists called Artmongers and they have a mission:
To make art belong to everyone, not just in a gallery, to fill the world with colour and to use art to make a big difference to how we feel about where we live!
Patricio will be working from today at Beecroft Garden with the children at school to start ideas for the Music Box mural. Last week I got you all to start thinking about what you would like to see on the walls of this building.
Here is a special message for you from Patricio Forrester in a video taken just outside the school gates at Beecroft Garden:
This is such an exciting challenge and it will make a huge difference to how we feel about our school, how we play and learn.
Have a look at some of Artmonger's art around the whole of Lewisham:
Have you seen any of these paintings around where you live?
What do you think of these murals? Do you think some are funny and make you laugh? Which is your favourite one?
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Activity 1:
This week we are going to continue to think about designs for the building because last week most of you were great at finding murals, but I want more of you to start making them!
This time think of these walls only:
the playground wall (musical instruments games, activites?)
and ...
the forest school wall (nature, minibeasts?)
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What would you paint on these sides?
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Look again at the picture, the shape of the building, and use your imagination to inspire you.
We want to change this from boring to fabulous!
You can send in any ideas you would like to see on Arts@Beecroft Seesaw.
I will then send these ideas to Artmongers.
Remember: This is up to you!
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Below are some examples of music themed murals from around the world to give you some ideas:
Activity 2:
You are going to make some Keyhole Art. Look at these keyholes and then look at the amazing art people have made using their imaginations of what they might see through a keyhole from the inside looking out:
First draw your keyhole shape using ordinary paper. See how here.
Now add something interesting inside your keyhole. You can use anything you like. It can be patterns, shapes, scenery...ANYTHING
I am just showing you ideas using pencil, and that is ok. You can keep it black and white, or make it really colourful!
Post your ideas on Arts@Beecroft Seesaw. We can show your art in our online gallery next week too, so please do lots of amazing things!
Oh, and please don't forget to continue your lovely Me In A Box sculptures that we started last week (Activity 3)
Have a great week!
Monday 4th May
Artist of the Week:
Lionel Stanhope
This week I would like to introduce you to another famous artist who lives near Hilly Fields, very near Beecroft Garden. He paints scenery for films and TV. He is also really well known for his street art, painting lots of big paintings on the walls around the local area. He uses spray cans and brushes. Alot of his paintings have been in the news.
He likes to use bright colours when he paints, the walls make you really stop and think about what his art is trying to say, rather like there is a message in each painting as well as looking beautiful.
He has a mission for you...to find his art around the streets of Brockley, Crofton Park and Ladywell when you go out on your daily exercise.
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Let's hear Lionel Stanhope's special video message for us at Beecroft Garden:
We are really lucky because in the Brockley area there are lots of amazing walls that have been painted with interesting pictures. These are called murals. Have you noticed them when you go to the shops or the park? Lionel Stanhope likes to paint in the street because lots of people can get to see art outside, not just in a gallery. He would like more people to become artists.
Have a look at some of Lionel Stanhope's art:
Have you seen any of these paintings around where you live? Do you recognise the man with the glasses in the picture at the top? His name is Ian Wright and he grew up in Brockley!
What do you think of these murals? Which is your favourite one?
There are also 2 murals here that are influenced by famous old paintings in the National Gallery: the artists are Caravaggio and Van Eyck. Find them online and compare them with Lionel Stanhope's paintings.
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Have you seen other murals in the area which you like?
Activity 1:
I want you to go for a walk everyday and to try to find as many of these paintings by Lionel Stanhope as you can.
When you find one, take a picture of you in front of it then post them on Arts@Beecroft on Seesaw to share with the other children.
See how big it is and look closely at the way it was painted.
Talk to your grownups about the murals you find.
Activity 2:
Do you recognise this building?
It looks a bit like a box doesn't it? It looks quite boring.
Well I want you to imagine it full of colours and pictures.
What would you paint on the walls?
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This week I want you to think about how art can make a big difference to how we live and see the world.
Look below at examples of how a famous mural artist company called Artmongers made a difference in our community:
Here is a picture children called the SCARY BRIDGE.
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Look at what ARTMONGERS have done to make it feel safer!
Here are two buildings. Which one do you prefer and why?
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This one?
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...or this one?
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Now back to the music block
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Design some pictures that you think would look good on the OUTSIDE of this building.
Please post them on Seesaw.
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There are 4 walls on the outside so I want you to choose 1 wall...
Wall 1: Forest school side (this has trees and bushes so good for nature)
Wall 2: Playground area, entrance to music block (think about music)
Wall 3: Reception and Nursery side (what would these children see?)
Wall 4: MUGA side (for sports and exercise)
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You can choose more than 1 wall if you like, just make it interesting!
You can use pens or pencils if you don't have felt pens and paint.
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Soon Artmongers are going to paint our music block with lots of amazing designs inspired by the things you like and what you want to see on the walls, so let's get busy with our ideas!
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Here's a little film that Artmongers made at Beecroft Garden in Apple Class showing children with very messy hands. Artmongers wants to start a mural school, a School for Muralism, to make the world a better place!
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Activity 3:
This will take longer so will be for the next 2 weeks
ME IN A BOX
'Turning an old box into a wonderful personal piece of sculpture'
by Paul Carney
This is a lovely idea by Paul Carney an amazing artist and art educator.
I think you might like to try it. This activity is about INSIDE the box.
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Find an empty box at home. It can be any size at all. Cut out one side so you can see inside it. (Get help with cutting from your grownups please).
Use paint or cover the inside of the box with old newspaper, patterns, or pictures of your favourite things.
Now begin to make or add special objects, precious things or toys on the inside. Arrange them how you like.
This box can be a story box, a box all about you, or about anything you are interested in, anything you like can go inside the box! Make it into art.
Take a picture of it and post it on Arts@Seesaw.
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Here are some ideas that children and artists have made:
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This display of boxes is based on stories and poems
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This box is based on nocturnal animals
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This one is based on sea creatures
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This display of boxes is based on a chosen room in a flat or house
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And this one is a collection of a child's favourite things arranged in a special way.
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Remember you have 2 weeks, so no rush
Monday 20th April
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Artist of the week:
Kobina Nyarko
Kobina Nyarko is from Guana in the continent of Africa. He is 48 years old and lives in the city of Takoradi right next to the Ocean. He paints huge paintings on canvas of thousands of fish. Take a look at these two paintings.
Monday 27th April
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Artist of the Week:
Liz Atkin
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This week I would like to introduce you to a famous artist who lives down the road from us at Beecroft Garden. She is famous for making some really dramatic drawings using charcoal, pens and painting with ink and watercolours.
She has a mission... for us all to become TEXTURE HUNTERS!
Let's hear Liz Atkin's special video message for us at Beecroft Garden:
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Remember everyone that texture is how something feels.
If you touch something, what words could you use to describe what you feel?
Many artists are interested in using texture in their art.
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First take a look at these amazing photographs Liz Atkin took on her daily walks around Forest Hill. Can you count how many she has taken?
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(Answer at the end of Activity 2)
Now see how Liz Atkin has taken ideas from her photographs to make these amazing drawings and paintings. Can you recognise the textures she has used?
This one is a pen and
watercolour painting
These are drawings Liz makes with lots and lots of charcoal and pastels.
Charcoal is her favourite thing to draw with. You can also see a picture of Liz Atkin's hand working with charcoal. At school we use charcoal too and it's very messy!
"Tunnel" acrylic on canvas
What do you think of these pictures?
Do you think they look like scenes from another planet or perhaps part of a strange and dramatic landscape?
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Talk about them with a grownup.
Activity 1:
You are going to be an explorer, a TEXTURE, HUNTER GATHERER!
Take one short walk a day and look for colours and textures.
Take photos of these colours and textures with a phone. Remember that it should be a close up texture.
When you get back home, take a really good look at your photos and chose the 3 best ones.
Post and share them to our Arts@Beecroft page on Seesaw.
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Tell us what you think your texture photos remind you of.
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Here are a few I took earlier...
Activity 2:
You are going to choose one of your photos to make a drawing, or a painting or a collage... or all three!
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You can draw with biro or pencil. Try not to rub out if you use pencil because mistakes are always good. They show us how our brains are working!
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Here's a demo of how to get going with biro on ordinary paper:
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Now then...a collage is when you stick down onto a surface to make a picture.
But how about making a picture by using things you find in your garden or local park, like old blossom that has fallen on the floor, old twigs, stones or leaves? You wouldn't need any glue.
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You could carry on being a TEXTURE, HUNTER GATHERER and build your own pattern or picture with what you find outside?
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Remember not to pick flowers except for dandelions and daisies because these grow back quickly. The bees need pollen from flowers.
Here is something I did outside:
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I made a spiral from twigs, leaves and fallen petals.
I hope you can take some lovely photos this week and make some amazing art to post on Arts@Beecroft.
I will send some to Liz Atkin too. She can't wait!
Send me lots of other art you might do also. I always love to see what you get up to.
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Oh, and the answer was...81
Have lots of fun this week.
It's always important to enjoy yourself whilst you create things.
Don't forget to post your ideas on Arts@Seesaw
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"Surfer's Pride" acrylic on canvas
Activity 1:
Draw and cut out a small fish on a piece of scrap paper or newspaper, like this.
Draw around this shape lots of times until you get lots of fish the same size. Cut them out. (You can get someone to help you do this as there will be alot to cut out!)
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Now place them on the floor and make patterns out of them. Play with your fish. Take photos of them in different spiral and wave patterns.
If you have glue and big paper or recycled card, you can stick them down. You can even do your own version of a Kobina Nyarko painting using other shapes, like bees or butterflies or spiders!
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Take photos and send all your pictures to me on Seesaw, Arts@Beecroft
Look at some photos of fish or if you have a fish in a tank or pond, think about the way they move, their tails, fins, shapes.
Activity 2:
I would like you to make a fish out of anything you can find. It can be scraps of material on the floor, scrap paper, junk modelling, ANYTHING. As big or as small as you like.
Take a photo and send it to me. Please be careful if you cut things out. Try and get a grownup to help you.
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When we have lots of your pictures we can put them all together to make our very own collaborative Kobina Nyarko picture and I will even post it online!
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Here are some ideas...
Be careful when you cut things out. Get a grown up to help you.
These are made from old cds or dvds
This fish skeleton is made from string and fabric
This one is made of electric wires and circuits boards. WOW
If you have time spare you could research other artists from Africa who are alive today. Tell me about your findings. Send me as much as you like on Seesaw, Arts@Beecroft
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