Pinc College offers an inspiring and impactful approach to education and pathways into employment for neurodivergent young people aged 16–24 years.
It has creative study programmes in 13 campuses located in galleries, museums and cultural locations in the North West, Midlands, Yorkshire and Wales. The programmes encompass strategies that support mental health challenges and provide students with opportunities for collaboration, workplace experience and connections to the community.
By collaborating with local collections and using collection artworks to inspire their activities, Pinc College encourages young people's engagement with local culture and heritage and in turn, supports the development of new, young audiences for cultural organisations.
Using this resource
The resource is structured into four activity sessions, which can be used together or individually. The activities were developed by neurodivergent young people aged 16 to 24 for young people but can be used by learners of all ages – and by educators or youth leaders in activity or lesson planning.
Visual planners
Pinc College developed visual planners for each workhop to support students in understanding the session structure and to encourage independent learning. These may also be a useful template for educators in planning activities and are included at the beginning of each session.
Student takeaways
We have included the responses from Pinc College students to the workshops to encourage, inform, and inspire you! These may also support workshop planning and understanding outcomes.
Support notes
Additional notes for educators or workshop leaders are provided at the end of each session.
'I didn't realise how many works of art the Potteries Museum had. I feel like this has connected me a lot more to the museum because I now have an idea of how much work they have that isn't on display! Using Tagger has made me look at art differently and I now want to spend more time trying to notice details in artworks.' – Pinc College student.
What is tagging?
Tagging is a way to add descriptive words to artworks to make it easier to find them.
Start with a physical tagging session using high-quality printouts of artworks. This will introduce you to tagging and help you understand the purpose of Art UK's Tagger tool and how it works.
Time: 30 minutes (but it's OK if you want to take less or more time) You will need: High-quality A3 printouts of artworks in your local collection; Post-it note strips or arrows Working: Independently or in groups
1. Look closely at the artwork
What objects, people, or places can you see?
Can you spot any themes, ideas or emotions in the artwork? (This could be an idea that the artist is interested in – such as 'industry’, 'celebration' or 'everyday life', or it could be a feeling or emotion such as 'excitement', 'love' or 'sadness'.)
What visual elements (such as colour or texture) has the artist used?
2. Tag the things you can see in the artwork
Write the details or themes onto Post-it note strips or arrows.
Stick these onto the printout.
Pinc College Tagger workshop
Use Tagger online
Time: 30 minutes (but it’s OK if you want to take less or more time) You will need: Access to a computer or tablet Working: Independently or in groups
What is Tagger?
Use Tagger to add tags to artworks on Art UK's website. These tags could be objects, people or places, or they could relate to themes or ideas (such as emotions) or visual elements (such as colour or texture).
Now that you have a login you can add and save your tags.
3. Find your local collection
Type the name of your local museum or art gallery into the search box. Or use the location search to find galleries, museums or artworks near you.
The Location Search on Art UK
4. Select, analyse, and tag artworks
Look at artworks in your local collection.
Can you see any places you recognise in the artworks?
Have the places changed since the artwork was made?
How many tags can you add to artworks from your local collection?
You may decide to tag everything you see in the artwork or stick to one thing. For example, you could focus on colours to link in with the next activity session.
Pinc College student Tagging artworks online
Competition time!
If you are working as a group, make this activity into a fun competition. Set the timer for 20 minutes and see who can add the most tags. Use the leaderboard in Tagger to see who has won!
Starting with the physical tagging activity may help students who feel overwhelmed by the task – or by looking at artworks on a screen. Students look at print-outs closely and may notice details and textures they can't see on a screen.
You could use tagging as a way of exploring artworks on a visit to your local gallery. Take paper and pencils with you and write down as many words or 'tags' relating to pre-selected artworks (or artworks that interest you). These could relate to a specific theme such as colour, nature or identity. (Don't attach your tags to the artworks though!)
Artworks about your place
If you are tagging as a group in the classroom or gallery, reflect on the subject of the artworks, as well as the details. At the start of the session, you could select and discuss as a group, artworks which show your place, using these prompts, if helpful:
- Do you recognise this place? - Has it changed since the artwork was made? - What do you think the artist is saying about your place? - How have they used visual elements such as colour and mark making to convey this?
Session 2: Analysing colour and a colour photowalk
Analyse colour in artworks
Analyse how artists use warm and cold colours to create mood.
Research how colour saturation can affect our response to artworks.
Discover how colour is used in framing and composition.
Go on a colour photowalk
Photograph your local environment inspired by artists' use of colour.
Use photo editing tools to edit the compositions and colours of your photographs.
Artists and photographers often use techniques such as framing and composition to emphasise colour.
Framing involves choosing what will appear in an image. (Photographers sometimes crop images to ensure that the image appears as they want it to.)
Composition refers to how the elements within an image are arranged.
In his painting Diana, artist Herbert Davis Richter has framed the image so the edges of the painting are cropped close to the still life. We focus on the bright colours of the flowers and the blue ceramic ornament (which shows the Roman goddess Diana).
How different would the painting look if Richter had included more of the plain wall in his composition?
The dark blue colour used for the face on the left of the painting is repeated across the composition – in the smaller flower stem and a patch of dark blue at the top right corner.
The pale blues of the bigger flower are echoed in patches of paint beneath the smaller flower and at the edge of the painting.
Pink and brown dabs of paint are dotted across the painting.
Photo-walk activity
Time: 1-1.5 hours You will need: a mobile phone or tablet that has a camera and photo editing tools. Working: individually or in groups
1. Go on a photowalk
Go for a walk within your local area with your phone.
Photograph things that catch your eye or interest you.
Student on a photowalk
2. Capture colours
Pay particular attention to the colours around you.
It was autumn when Pinc College students walked by a local canal and into Hanley Park in Stoke-on-Trent, so there were lots of warm yellows and oranges as the leaves were changing colour.
3. Think about framing and composition as you take your photos.
How can you emphasise colours using framing?
How are the colours arranged in your viewfinder? If you change the angle of your camera or go closer or further away, do the colours become more noticeable?
Make use of the framing and composition approaches you explored in Session 1.
Photograph framed to focus on colour
4. Review your photos
After your walk, look at your photographs and save the ones you like best to an album.
5. Edit your photos
Try increasing the temperature of images on some photographs and decreasing it on others (inspired by the artists you explored). What is the effect? How does this change the mood of the photographs?
Editing a photograph so that the colours are warm
Editing a photograph so that the colours are cold
Now try increasing and decreasing the saturation levels
Editing a photograph to desaturate the colour
6. Sketchbook research page
Save your research and ideas in your sketchbook.
Print off your photos and any artworks you used as a reference and stick them into your sketchbook.
Add notes about the edits you made to your photos and why you made them.
- Before setting off on the photowalk, it may be helpful to discuss how to best capture the environment on phone cameras and check that students know about the various image settings. - While on the photowalk, talk with students about colour. You could discuss with them how the weather and the seasons affect colours in the environment. (Pinc College creative coordinators discuss how autumn brings with it a distinctive colour palette.)
Movement and wellbeing
Movement is important to wellbeing and helps with learning. At Pinc College students often go on movement breaks from the studio, which helps to recentre them, and helps them to focus. Students were a lot more focused throughout the photowalk and were keen to express their ideas in response to what they saw and the photography task.
Session 3: Visit your local art gallery or museum
This session is all about getting up close and personal with art! It offers ideas for looking at art in your local museum or gallery.
Seeing art in real life is very different to looking at it online or in reproduction in a print or book. (It's a bit like seeing a celebrity in real life rather than a photo of them!)
Visit your local art gallery or museum – or their stores.
Investigate artworks that depict your town or city or the landscapes near you.
Analyse artists' techniques and their use of visual elements to show what your place looks and feels like.
Pinc College visual planner: Potteries Museum store visit
Case study: A visit to The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
Pinc College students visited the art stores of The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent. (The stores are where museum artworks and objects that are not on display are stored.)
Students were given a tour by Curator Samantha Howard, who told them about the history of the museum's collection and showed them artworks from the store. They looked at paintings they had seen in previous sessions as well as artworks they had not encountered before, including historical views of Stoke-on-Trent. Students analysed and discussed changes to the local landscape over the years.
Pinc College students visit the Stores at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
Student takeaways...
We were fascinated to see the 'behind the scenes' spaces of the museum – they were like a tardis as they held so many objects and artworks!
We were excited to see artworks we had analysed online using Tagger, and discover more about the artworks from the curator.
Looking at depictions of Stoke through the years encouraged us to reflect on the city's heritage and how it has changed over the years.
The visit made us feel more connected and engaged with our local collection and more confident about getting involved with museum activities in the future.
We also felt more confident in talking about art and expressing our ideas and opinions.
Face-to-face with artworks
Arrange a visit to your local gallery or museum – or its stores. A Curator or another member of staff may be willing to give you a tour of the collection or stored artworks.
A visit to the stores at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
You could ask to see paintings you explored in the other activity sessions.
Ask questions if you are curious, and photograph or make notes about artworks that you especially like. (You may need to check if photography is allowed.)
Pinc College students visiting the stores at the The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
Consider the differences between seeing artworks in real life and seeing them in a print or on a screen
Do the artworks look the same if they are viewed in real life or in a photograph?
Does how you look at them and see them change?
Do you notice or focus on the same things?
Pictures of your place
Reflect on paintings of your local environment.
What changes have happened over time, and how are these reflected in the artworks?
Why do you think people paint what surrounds them?
One of the benefits of looking at art in real life is that you are more aware of the brushstrokes and other marks made by the artist. You may also notice other aspects of the artist's technique, such as their use of colour and composition.
Look closely at the materials, processes and techniques the artists have used.
- What materials did they use to create the artwork? - What does the surface of the artwork look like? Is it smooth or textured? - What type of brushstroke have they used? Quick, broad, expressive brushstrokes or careful, small brushstrokes? - What colours have they used? - Do you notice anything about how they have framed their subject or the artwork composition?
Most art galleries and museums don't have enough gallery space to display the whole of their collection and store some of it in their Stores. Sometimes these are open to the public to wander around, but in most museums, you will need to make an appointment to visit the stores. There is sometimes information on the museum website about how to arrange this, if not, use the general contact details to make an enquiry.
You can ask in advance to see artworks from the collection and about the possibility of having a member of staff show you the artworks and tell you about them. If you used the Tagger activity to explore local artworks, you could ask to see these artworks in the stores if they are not on display.
The museum will usually request that you leave bags in the cloakroom and don't bring pens into the stores. They may also request that you do not take photographs.
Session 4: Research a local artist and make a monoprint inspired by your place
Research a local artist
Research an artist from your place.
Analyse how they used techniques and visual elements to convey the sense of your place.
Store your research in a sketchbook.
Create a monopint
Explore monoprinting.
Create a monoprint inspired by local townscapes or landscapes.
Develop ideas for a more sustained art project.
Pinc College visual planner: Maurice Wade exhibition tour
Case study: focus on artist Maurice Wade
Students from Pinc College focused on local Stoke artist Maurice Wade. They went to see Maurice Wade: A Painter From Number 57, an exhibitionat the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.
Although many of the paintings in the exhibition date from the 1960s and 1970s, students felt that his depiction of Stoke is still accurate today.
Pinc College students visit the Maurice Wade exhibition at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
Maurice Wade was born in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in 1917. He began painting in the 1950s, finding inspiration in the shapes of the local landscape.
Using very little colour and strong tonal contrasts, Wade's paintings have a stillness and a mood of melancholy. The surfaces of his paintings are flat, a smoothness he achieved by using a palette knife over paint applied with a paintbrush.
'What intrigues me about his work is how normally if an artist wants to portray their home landscapes, they'd typically show it with lighter colours and show the beautiful architecture. But what Maurice Wade has done differently is he's shown the bleak, industrial countryside and townscapes through a limited colour palette and monochrome shades.' – Pinc College student
Your place in art
Research artists from your town, city or village who are inspired by local landscapes or townscapes.
You could research one of the artists you explored in your museum visit or use Art UK's website to discover local artists.
Type the name of your village, town or city into the search box on the artwork page, or add your postcode to the location search on the page.
Select an artist and find out more about them.
If their works are on display at a local museum or gallery, visit and look closely at their work. Or explore their work online.
Use the prompts to support your research, reflection and discussion.
Do you recognise your local environment in the artist's representation?
Has it changed since the artwork was made?
What is the mood of the artwork? What do you think the artist is saying about your place? Does their response resonate with you?
How have they used materials, techniques, textures, colours, shapes and composition to capture what your pace looks and feels like?
How would you represent your town/city/place now? What aspect of it would you focus on?
Store your research and notes in your sketchbook.
What is a monoprint?
A monoprint is a one-off, unique print that can combine printmaking, drawing and painting techniques.
It is made by drawing or making marks onto an inked surface and pressing paper onto the ink to transfer the image. No two prints are ever exactly alike, which is what makes a monoprint unique.
A finished monoprint inspired by industrial buildings in Stoke
Monoprint activity instructions
For this activity, use artworks depicting your place or your edited photographs from your photowalk as inspiration and source material.
Time: 2 hours You will need: a printout of an artwork or photograph; a painting tray; a roller; water-based relief printing ink; a pencil Working: individually or in groups
Method
Use the instructions and tips in this handy guide created by Pinc College, or follow the instructions below.
Monoprint instructions
1. Apply a small amount of ink to your tray. (Don't add too much or the print won't work.)
2. Use a roller to spread the ink evenly across the tray. (If it sounds squelchy when you roll, you have too much ink on your tray.
Using a roller to spread the ink
3. Lay a blank piece of paper onto the ink.
4. Use a pencil to draw your image onto the paper using your printouts as inspiration. You could also lay a printout on top of the paper and use this as an image template. Draw over the main lines or around the main shapes as if you're making a line drawing.
Using a pencil to draw an image over printed template
5. Peel your paper off the ink to reveal your monoprint.
The big reveal!
Top Tips!
Before washing away the ink on your tray, lay another piece of paper over the tray to pick up the traces of the drawn design. You can always work into this second print with pencil, paint or pastel to create another unique artwork.
Have a go at creating abstract patterns and marks by wiping away some of the ink from the plate with a rag. Try a range of tools and techniques to create different types of marks through your paper.
Next steps: Sketchbook research and painting project
Store your experiments with monoprinting and artist's research notes in your sketchbooks.
Students at Pinc College created a Maurice Wade research page in their sketchbooks with images of his work, notes about his use of colour and his techniques and their monoprint experiments.
Sketchbook page inspired by Maurice Wade
They went on to use their research as inspiration for a painting project inspired by his work.
Painting project inspired by Maurice Wade
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