ArtReach Videos

AFK ArtReach Video Series

This series of videos guides classrooms or individuals at home through art activities focused on principles of creative inquiry and play. Videos are posted to our website throughout the school year. Enjoy!

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AFK Trace Monotype Kit: Self Portraits

We're making: Self Portraits using using trace monotype printmaking and mixed media collage techniques
We're inspired by: Harlequin (2019) by Graham Gillmore, Plains Cree Chiefs (1996) by George Littlechild, and Group Chat (2023) by Janet Wang and North Vancouver School District Students
Suggested grade levels: Grades K-12
We're wondering:

What is a conversation? What are examples?
How do we communicate without words?
How might we represent a conversation through art?

AFK Clay Kit: Ancient and Future Fossils

We're making: Clay tiles depicting ancient and future fossils
Suggested grade levels: Grades K-7
We're wondering:

What is a fossil?
What can we learn from fossils?
What might future generations learn from fossils left behind by human-made materials of today?

Paths: Abstract Painting

We're making: Mixed media painting that tells a story of how you arrived to class using acrylic paint and a variety of drawing media
We're inspired by: Russna Kaur's painting Butterfly Tattoos (2019)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 8-12
We're wondering:

What are some ways we can interpret the idea of "paths"?
How can we use intuitive mark making to create a sense of mood in a non-representational artwork?
How can abstract shapes and symbols add to the psychological depth of an image?

Painting the North Shore

We're making: Mixed media landscape paintings representing the North Shore using oil pastels and watercolour paints
We're inspired by: Anne Meredith Barry's print Mountain Sun Storm (1995)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7
We're wondering:

How can we use layers and atmospheric perspective to show depth in a landscape painting?

Painting Underwater Environments

We're making: Mixed media paintings of layered underwater scenes using oil pastels and watercolour paints
We're inspired by: Images of seaweed and fish local to the Pacific Northwest Coast
Suggested grade levels: Grades 2-7
We're wondering:

What is seaforestation and how can it benefit our natural environment?
How can we use layering, negative space, and colour, to depict movement in a painting of a fish in an underwater environment?

Made Up Machines

We're making: Drawings of playful imaginary machines using pencil crayons and an image transfer technique
We're inspired by: Gordon Smith's print LG III (2006) and his untitled mixed media sculpture, as well as the drawings of Rube Goldberg
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7 & 8-9
We're wondering:

How can we combine drawings of shapes, lines, and objects to design our own made up machines?

Paper Fruit

We're making: Paper sculptures representing tree fruit, adding colour and texture using tempera or acrylic paints
We're inspired by: Victor Cicansky's bronze sculpture Mountain Pear Bonsai (2009)
Suggested grade levels: Grades K-7
We're wondering:

Where is our fruit grown?
How can we represent texture using paint?

Drawn to Birds

We're making: Drawings of birds with a variety of media including pencil, graphite powder, and India ink
We're inspired by: Josie Papialuk's print All Kinds of Birds Flying North in Spring (1987) and Jack Shadbolt's drawing Notebook of Drawings of Birds (1954)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 8-12
We're wondering:

How can we develop our skills in representing birds through practice and play?

Mapping Our Own Perspectives

We're making: Tiled map drawings with pencil, fineliners, and watercolour paints, that can be rearranged and joined with classmates' tiles to create a collaborative map
We're inspired by: Landon Mackenzie's painting Artists for Kids Camp (2000)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7 & 8-9
We're wondering:

How can we represent our own perspectives of an experience or place through drawing?
How can trying to understand other people's perspectives help us to respond with respect and thoughtfulness?

Paper Playgrounds

We're making: Paper sculptures representing a play environment using a cardboard base and strips of paper, optionally adding colour using paint
We're inspired by: Gordon Smith's painting Tangled Beach (2006)
Suggested grade levels: Grades K-3
We're wondering:

What does your dream play environment look like?

Transforming Words into Art

We're making: Mixed media drawings incorporating a collection of "found" words using oil pastels, watercolour paints, and an image transfer technique
We're inspired by: Graham Gillmore's painting Einstein/Frankenstein (2009)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7 & 8-9
We're wondering:

How can we transform "found" words and phrases into an original text?

Drawing What We Hear

We're making: Drawings representing the sounds in the environment around us
We're inspired by: Ann Kipling's print Dog in Sky (1999)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7
We're wondering:

How can we represent what we hear in a drawing?
Why is it important to listen with attention?

Stencils & Storytelling

We're making: Collaged whales using stencils and images from magazines
We're inspired by: Anna Binta Diallo's exhibition Wanderings (2020) at Access Gallery and David Blackwood's print Wreck of the Nickerson (1993)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 3-7
We're wondering:

How can we tell stories by collecting and playing with images?

The Stories We Carry With Us

We're making: Mixed media drawings representing our personal histories through symbols, adding colour using watercolour paint, markers, or pencil crayons
We're inspired by: Kenojuak Ashevak's print Between Friends (2008)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7 & 8-12
We're wondering:

How can we represent our personal stories and histories through symbols?
How can we contribute to environments in which we all feel safe to play?

Playing with Food (and the Frame)!

We're making: Thumbnail pencil sketches and a series of photographs of still life arrangements featuring food and hands
We're inspired by: Iain Baxter's mixed media artwork Watermelon and Salt Shaker (1980), Mary Pratt's print Cut Watermelon (1997), and Birthe Piontek's photographs Melon and Fennel from her Janus series (2020)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7 & 8-12
We're wondering:

How does playing with the frame create meaning in art?

Collaged Characters (on the go!)

We're making: Playful collaged characters using images from magazines, then photographing them in different scenes and settings
We're inspired by: Karin Bubas' photograph Mystic (2008) and Nadina Tandy's collages Hoo Hoo, Unicorn Rider, and Tin Tin Goes to Cannes (2020)
Suggested grade levels: Grades K-7
We're wondering:

How can we create a visual narrative through collage, composition, and play?

Visual Listening Journal

We're making: An accordion fold book that can be used as a visual journal to record mixed media drawings and notations representing individual journeys of learning and unlearning in relation to race, racism, and identity
We're inspired by: Jane Ash Poitras' painting Shamanic Journey (1992)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7 & 8-9
We're wondering:

What role does active listening play in a journey of learning and unlearning?
How can we communicate our learning journey using the languages of the arts?

Drawing the Unseen

We're making: A series of photographs and pencil drawings representing details found within our own homes
We're inspired by: Artwork by Emily Neufeld, as well as works by Wayne Eastcott, Betty Goodwin, Erin McSavaney, Robert Young, and Etienne Zack
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7 & 8-12
We're wondering:

Who contributed to the construction of our homes?
What materials are used to construct our homes?
Where do these materials come from?

Landscape Painting

We're making: Paintings of a forest scene using acrylic paint and ink, as well as mark-making tools found outdoors
We're inspired by: Gordon Smith's print Pender Harbour (2009)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7 & 8-9
We're wondering:

How can we represent the feeling of a place?
What can we learn from other people's creative processes?

Origami Salmon

We're making: A collaborative installation of origami paper salmon
We're inspired by: The print Swqaqaan [Salmon Pool] (1991) by Yaahl Sgwansung (Bill Reid) and the installation A Pig's River (2014) by Gu Xiong from the exhibition Gu Xiong: A Journey Exposed (2014) at the Gordon Smith Gallery
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7 & 8-12
We're wondering:

How do journeys transform us?
How do our own journeys connect to those of others?
How are journeys similar to the creative process?

Experiments in Drawing

We're making: Abstract drawings created using experimental techniques and tools
We're inspired by: Ann Kipling's print Dog in Sky (1999)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7 & 8-12
We're wondering:

How do artists develop their unique visual languages?
How can these be used to represent change?

Playing with Words

We're making: Watercolour paintings using words selected from books or generated through games
We're inspired by: Graham Gillmore's print OpOrTunist (2018) and his paintings Harlequin (2003) and Einstein/Frankenstein (2004)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7 & 8-12
We're wondering:

How can words and images be combined to communicate new meanings?

Abstract Paper Sculpture

We're making: Paper sculptures by first drawing colourful shapes and patterns using oil pastels, and then cutting and twisting our drawings to create 3D forms
We're inspired by: Jack Shadbolt's print Shore Image (1997)
Suggested grade levels: Grades K-7
We're wondering:

How can we use the languages of the arts to communicate about the things we care about?

Drawing Sound

We're making: Oil pastel drawings representing an animal and the sounds that they make
We're inspired by: Anne Meredith Barry's print Whale Song #18 (1993)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 4-7
We're wondering:

How can we communicate sounds in a drawing?

Preserving Stories Through Drawing

We're making: Mixed media drawings representing our own memories, adding colour with watercolour paint, markers, or pencil crayons
We're inspired by: Victor Cicansky's ceramic sculpture Fish Jar (2010)
Suggested grade levels: Grades K-7
We're wondering:

How do we preserve stories?
Which stories do we choose to preserve?

Stencilling with Found Objects and Images

We're making: Layered mixed media drawings using stencils made from found objects and images, adding colour with crayons, oil pastels, or paint
We're inspired by: Damian Moppett's painting Figure Maquette in Studio at Night (2006)
Suggested grade levels: Grades 5-7 & 8-12
We're wondering:

What stories do objects tell?

Drawing Balance in an Ecosystem

We're making: Mixed media drawings representing animals from the Arctic, adding colour with watercolour paint, markers, or pencil crayons
We're inspired by: Kenojuak Ashevak's print Song of Spring (2006)
Suggested grade levels: Grades K-7
We're wondering:

How can we create balance?

The Artists For Kids ArtReach video series and digital gallery tours contain copyrighted artworks and/or materials, the use of these artworks/materials have not been specifically authorized by the Rights owner(s). In accordance with our mission and goals as a non-profit art educational organization and gallery, we are sharing these artworks and materials as a public service for educational purposes only.