Moving Memories in Year 5: Exploring Movement and Printmaking in Our Art

vinnyturner4
Sep 10
2 min read

This term in Year 5, our budding artists embarked on a creative journey all about movement—and what an adventure it’s been!

1. Capturing Movement from Memories

First, we asked the children to think of a memory filled with motion—like feeling hair blowing at the beach. They started with a simple sketch, using wavy, flowing lines to show how the breeze moved the hair. It was such a wonderful way to connect art and memory!

2. Adding Depth: Foreground, Middle Ground, Background

Next step: give that sketch some life and space. We taught them how to separate their scenes into foreground, middle ground, and background. Suddenly, that sketch transformed into a picture with depth—more like the real world.

3. Printing Practice & Tracing Magic

Then came the printing challenge. Each child traced their sketch onto polystyrene, carving out the lines slightly. Using plain paper, they practiced printing by pressing—revealing a bold, tactile impression of their original lines.

4. Building Confidence & Boldness

We encouraged them to press a little harder with pencils to deepen the carved lines, so the print would show strong, energetic marks. It was all about learning through doing, adjusting, and seeing how each step impacted the final print.

5. Self-Portraits with Movement

In the grand finale, the children created self-portraits that really moved—full of swirls and gestural strokes that showed energy and personality. Letting go and making expressive lines was tricky at first (“It’s scary—what if it's messy?”), but they took the leap and the results were simply incredible.

6. Inspired by Artist: Hom Nguyen

We introduced the class to Hom Nguyen, a modern painter born in Paris in 1972. He creates powerful, gestural portraits using sweeping strokes of pencil, charcoal, ink, and paint—portraits that feel alive with emotion and movement (Wikipedia, Lot-Art). His bold, expressive line work helped our students see how movement can convey mood, personality, and life in art.

Why This Matters for Year 5 Artists

Movement lines help drawings feel dynamic—like they’re moving.
Depth techniques make flat images pop and become more realistic.
Printing skills strengthen understanding of positive and negative space, and allow creative layering.
Expressive marks encourage confidence, spontaneity, and imagination.
Artist inspiration (like Hom Nguyen) shows children how real artists use these same tools to create amazing works.