Aims | Outline | Curriculum Relevance | Background | Activities | Links |
Making It: Programmes
27–39
Programme 36: Unlock
After watching the programme, pupils should be able to:
- communicate design ideas in different ways, bearing in mind aesthetic qualities, and the use and purpose for which the product is intended;
- explore the sensory qualities of materials and how to use materials and processes.
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Sometimes feelings are so strong that it's hard to put them into words. When illness or fear affects family life, it can be difficult to cope. It helps if you can find a way to let your feelings out.
A girl whose mother has to go into hospital joins an art therapy group to help her come to terms with her feelings. Kids in the group draw and paint faces or buildings. Others model people who are important to them in clay. Sometimes, painting shapes or designs about your feelings or memories seems to help. Sometimes it's easier than trying to put it all into words.
The kids put on an exhibition of the artwork that has helped them unlock their feelings and move on to a happier life again.
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- Art: investigating and making art, craft and design; collect visual and other information, develop patterns and designs.
- Personal, Social and Health Education: dealing with life's problems.
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The best thing about making a work of art is the freedom. There are no rules and there is no right or wrong way to be an artist. It's a very personal experience and most people enjoy creating something new and attractive.
Art therapists use the freedom and enjoyment art offers to help people deal with difficult feelings. The process of making a piece of art has been described as 'a holiday for the mind', a time away from the ordinary problems of daily life. It can be a relief to avoid words and just use shapes, colours, lines and images to express yourself. You are free to explore, try new things and have some fun.
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Make Mood Paintings
You will need: paints, art paper, mixing palette, brushes.
- Your aim is to represent a mood or a feeling, rather than to paint a picture of a particular object or person. Your finished painting might be an abstract design (a pattern of shapes, lines and colours) though it could include details of objects, animals or people you can see or remember.
- Begin by choosing the emotion you want to paint. You could choose from this list: cheerfulness, anxiety, fear, guilt, rage, love, pity, hope. There are plenty of other moods, feelings or states of mind that you might want to paint instead.
- Try mixing some colours that fit the mood of your painting.
- Decide which colour (or colours) is to be the background of the painting and lay this onto the art paper first.
- Keep the subject of your painting in mind and paint the shapes, lines and details that occur to you. You're making up the painting as you go along, rather like doodling.
- You could do several paintings to show different moods or feelings. It helps if you work in a group of friends doing the same thing.
- Finally make a display of your paintings. Ask friends to think of a title for each picture. Do they see the same things in your paintings as you did?
Keep a Mood Scrapbook
You will need: a blank exercise book; scissors, glue; magazines, comics and newspapers.
- Artists often keep a scrapbook of interesting pictures they find. Your aim is to build up a collection of images that show different moods, feelings or states of mind.
- Give each page of the scrapbook a heading, such as: Kindness, Laziness, Anger, Relaxation, Worry, Contentment, or Boredom.
- Cut out and paste pictures into your scrapbook from magazines, comics, newspapers, etc.
- Don't try to finish your scrapbook in one session. It will be a much richer source of images if you let it develop gradually, over time. Just add interesting images to the book whenever you come across them.
- You could use your scrapbook as a starting point for future paintings.
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Loads of ideas for art projects:
www.arts.ufl.edu/art/rt_room/index.html
An online gallery where schools can show their artwork. And it gives prizes!
www.kidsart.org.uk/cms/view.php?id=200
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