Teach-Primary-Issue-19.8

One of the joys of working as an art specialist in primary education is discovering focus artists for projects that excite and inspire young learners, providing a platform for creativity. I came across the work of Chiaozza (the collaborative studio of artists Adam Frezza and Terri Chiao) by accident and loved their vibrant, abstract sculptures. Linking to Year 1’s science topic on plants, children thought about what type of flora might exist on other planets. Using paper clay made by the children, the outcomes provided opportunities for pupils to extend learning by mixing their own tones of bright colours. 1 | DESIGN Begin the project with the question: What is sculpture? After looking at famous examples and discussing materials, introduce the theme of alien plants . Share some example images to inspire ideas (such as these plants created by game artist Elisa Tamagnoli: tinyurl.com/ tp-AlienPlants ). The children really enjoyed imagining where the plants came from, their purpose (carnivorous monster eaters were very popular), and inventing funny names for their species. Next, look at Chiaozza’s sculptures (you can see a selection at tinyurl.com/ tp-CHIAOZZA ), and discuss the use of colour, shape and pattern, as well as giving the pupils a chance to describe plant-like features such as stems, leaves, or flowers. Demonstrate drawing examples highlighting these features. Next, ask the children to sketch their own ideas, focusing on the shapes and forms that they want to include in their sculpture. Give them time to experiment with de-signs and develop their own concepts. 2 | MAKE Begin the next section of the lesson by showing the children the paper clay in-gredients, and demonstrate the sequence of combining pre-made paper mass (made from shredded START HERE MAIN LESSON WHAT THEY’LL LEARN l How to draw observational sketches exploring shape, colour and pattern l How to make paper clay using simple instructions l How to make a sculpture using fingers and tools to create textures l Mixing colours and create tones of colour to paint outcomes Art Inspire pupils with colourful high-resolution images and illustrations when introducing the topic and use resources that explore colour and pattern. When resourcing, designing and making, shapes that are compact and can support their own weight are easier to make (think cactus). If you can, pre-make your own paper clay and sculpture example to share so that the children can pass it around and study. Show the pre-made example highlighting that the plant is paper clay and the base is air-drying clay. This really enthused my class! Introduce the idea of alien plants – plants that are unusual, playful, or strange. Create vibrant, imaginative Martian flora from design drawing to final sculpture using paper clay, with Wayne Roberts KS1 LESSON PLAN @dalmain-art.bsky.social Sculpt alien plants inspired by Chiaozza 90 | www.teachwire.net