WBG Educ Pack for Secondary Schools.Indd
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W Barns-Graham WBG portrait for Art First, 2000, photo Simon Norfolk Education Pack (Secondary) produced by Fife Contemporary Art & Craft for the Barns-Graham Charitable Trust W Barns-Graham Welcome to an education pack on the life and CONTENTS work of the artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham. It has been produced by Fife Contemporary Art & Craft (FCA&C) on behalf of the Barns-Graham Projects Charitable Trust (BGCT). 3 1a Observational drawing small scale 4 1b Observational drawing of landscape Barns-Graham had a long and highly productive 5 2a Colour exercise using paint career and is now rightly regarded as an 6 2b Colour exercise using digital media 7 3c Colour exercise using abstraction infl uential British artist. This pack demonstrates 8 3 Collage exercise the breadth of her artistic ability through a 9 4a Printmaking exercise - offset drawing series of short projects which pupils may expand 10 4b Printmaking exercise - screenprinting 11 4c Printmaking exercise - screenprinting in order to study aspects of her work and career 12 5 Colour/pattern in textile design in more depth. In this way, she is an ideal artist 13 6 Comparative studies to learn about in order to fulfi ll aspects of secondary art & design, found within experiences and outcomes of levels 3 & 4 as well as within Cross-curricular links the Intermediate 1, 2 and Higher programmes. 14-15 How the above art & design project can be For further information about W Barns-Graham, linked to the wider curriculum please contact the BGCT: Balmungo House, St Andrews, KY16 8LW Tel 01334-479953 / www.barns-grahamtrust.org.uk Teaching resources For further information about the pack, please contact 16 Information on the Barns-Graham FCA&C: Charitable Trust 17 WBG Chronology Town Hall, Queen’s Gardens, St Andrews, KY16 9TA 18 23 Facts about WBG Tel 01334 474610 / www.fcac.co.uk. 19-20 Photographs of WBG 21-22 Information sheet on WBG’s drawings You can also fi nd FCA&C on the Creativity Portal (for 23-25 Examples of WBG’s drawings link to website, please click on logo below). 26-27 Information sheet on some early infl uences on WBG’s work 28-29 Information sheet on WBG’s paintings 30-33 Examples of WBG’s paintings All images are reproduced courtesy of the Barns- 34 Information sheet on the basics of Graham Charitable Trust, unless otherwise stated. colour theory 35 Information sheet on WBG’s collaged work This education pack has been produced courtesy of 36-37 Information sheet on WBG’s prints The Cookie Matheson Charitable Trust. 38-40 Examples of WBG’s prints 41 Information sheet on late 19th/20th century textile designers 42 Information sheet on the Golden Section 43 Information sheet on Modernism 44 Suggested further reading Expressive Arts (Art & Design) 1a Observational drawing Background small scale “I have always been interested in drawing - it is a discipline of the mind. I seek to discover abstract shapes, accepting Art & Design EXA 3-03a the subject’s demands often touching different moods.” I can use and combine the visual Wilhelmina Barns-Graham elements and concepts to convey ideas, Throughout history artists have looked to nature for their thoughts and feelings in expressive and inspiration and Barns-Graham was no different. During her design work. long artistic career, detailed observational drawing was an important process to her, even if the fi nal results developed Art & Design EXA 3-04a into abstracted or manipulated forms. It allowed her to Through observing and recording, I can record what she actually saw, and although she saw herself create material that shows accuracy of primarily as a painter and printmaker, she never under- representation. estimated the importance of being able to draw. She was interested in all kinds of natural forms - from the miniature Technology 3.15b (eg mushrooms growing wild) to the large-scale (such as I gain inspiration from natural forms, rock formations in Lanzarote). the built environment or imagination to develop a creative idea which could be For the drawing, each object should be given its own sheet realised using computer aided of paper, ie this is not about putting together a still life of manufacture. sorts, but rather to appreciate all the qualities of the individual object that make it unique. Choose a simple Technology TCH 4.15b material to make the drawings with - a soft pencil or When developing or enhancing charcoal stick. It is important to take time and observe in representations of ideas or items, detail the subject matter in order to capture it carefully. manually or electronically, I can apply Such acute observation is a useful skill to develop for my knowledge of colour theory, justify- future work. ing the choices I make. Pupils could also be given different time periods in which to complete a drawing and differences noted. Is a more fully Art and Design: Expressive Activity worked up drawing ‘better’ than one fi nished in 15 minutes? Analytical drawing from fi rst-hand The class’s drawings of the same type of natural objects sources could be looked at together and compared - it would be Developing media-handling skills and interesting to discuss different drawing styles. creative techniques Aims To learn to look at objects carefully before drawing them and to practise the skill of using simple materials to achieve impressive results - to practise shading, foreshortening, scale etc. Objective To create a fully worked up drawing of something collected from nature (eg pebbles, shells, feathers). Resources in the pack W Barns-Graham chronology & 23 facts Info sheets on W Barns-Graham’s drawings/early infl uences Examples of W Barns-Graham’s drawings Resources from you Collect portable objects to draw in advance (eg pebbles, stones, shells, small sticks) Soft pencils, pencil sharpeners, or charcoal sticks A5 sheets of white cartridge-type paper Time scale Approx 1.5 hours 3 Expressive Arts (Art & Design) 1b Observational drawing Background “It seemed to breathe!...This likeness to glass and of landscape transparency, combined with solid, rough ridges made me Art & Design EXA 3-03a wish to combine in a work all angles at once, from above, I can use and combine the visual through, and all round, as a bird fl ies, a total experience...” elements and concepts to convey ideas, W Barns-Graham thoughts and feelings in expressive and Barns-Graham wrote this enthusiastic statement after visit- design work. ing the Grindelwald Glacier in Switzerland in 1949. In many ways, it was a life-changing experience for her, combining a Art & Design EXA 3-04a powerful, natural beauty with transparency and glassy Through observing and recording, I can colours. It affected how she viewed natural phenomena in create material that shows accuracy of the future - whether wave or rock formations, or more representation. general landscapes. Art & Design EXA 4-03a This second observational drawing exercise is based on I can use the visual elements and some kind of landscape or feature of landscape. Ideally, concepts with sensitivity to express pupils should photograph and print out the example they qualities and relationships and convey want to work from. Close-up of waves would work well, or information, thoughts and feelings. I wind moving the branches of trees; or a series of hills or can use my skills and creativity to gen- bumpy land taken from a distance. erate original ideas in my expressive and design work. As before, the drawing should be done using simple materials - pencils or charcoal. The purpose is to try and Technology 3.15b really understand the natural force beneath the drawing, I gain inspiration from natural forms, so that some of its energy is brought out by the drawing. the built environment or imagination to Barns-Graham was extremely interested in the develop a creative idea which could be mathematical rhythms found in nature and many of her realised using computer aided drawings illustrate this. She drew in this way as she truly manufacture. felt the natural subject had these properties. So, to succeed at this exercise in a way that Barns-Graham would Technology TCH 4.15b approve, pupils should do a series of drawings of the same When developing or enhancing subject in order to try and incorporate its different aspects. representations of ideas or items, manually or electronically, I can apply Aims my knowledge of colour theory, justify- To practise looking more deeply at a subject before drawing ing the choices I make. it, in order to understand it better. Art and Design: Expressive Activity Analytical drawing from fi rst-hand Objective To create a series of landscape-based drawings which focus sources on one area of nature. Developing media-handling skills and creative techniques Resources in the pack W Barns-Graham chronology & 23 facts Info sheets on W Barns-Graham’s drawings/early infl uences Examples of W Barns-Graham’s drawings Resources from you Photographs of the subject matter (taken in advance) Soft pencils, pencil sharpeners, or charcoal sticks A4 sheets of white cartridge-type paper Time scale Approx 1.5 hours 4 Expressive Arts (Art & Design) 2a Colour exercise using Background “The discipline used [in drawing] releases me in my paint- paint ings to work more freely, expand with ideas and Art & Design EXA 3-03a imagination involving joy in colour, texture and harmony, I can use and combine the visual [to] start creating.” elements and concepts to convey ideas, W Barns-Graham thoughts and feelings in expressive and design work. Barns-Graham used colour confi dently in her artworks and it was a skill she had learned from her tutors at Edinburgh Art & Design EXA 3-04a College of Art, many of whom were the product of the so- Through observing and recording, I can called ‘Scottish Colourist’ movement.