Teesside Art Studio Suite · Trinity Arts Award Explore
Name one thing you made in art last term.
Own answer — any piece.
What does TEXTURE mean?
How a surface would feel.
Name one thing you can draw with.
Pencil, crayon, graphite, charcoal…
Why do old buildings feel rougher than new ones?
Weather, wear and repair build texture up over time.
Name one decision you made in your last finished piece.
Own answer — a colour, a crop, what was left out.
Texture and pattern — what is the difference?
Texture is how it feels; pattern is repetition you can see.
Which drawing tool would pick up fine detail best, and why?
Graphite or crayon on its side — it catches raised edges.
Teesside is full of worked metal. What does that do to its surfaces?
Rivets, welds, corrosion and paint layers — surfaces carry the work done to them.
Which decision from last term would you make differently now?
Own answer, justified.
Define RELIEF in the context of a surface.
The raised and lowered parts of a surface — the height difference.
Why does a rubbing record relief but a photograph records light?
A rubbing is contact — only the raised parts touch. A photo reads reflected light.
What can a rubbing show that a photograph cannot?
Actual physical relief, at one-to-one scale, without lighting or lens distortion.
Task: Take four rubbings from the surface table. Label each one with where it came from.
Steps: Flat crayon · paper taped · one direction · label each.
Task: Take six rubbings from at least four different surfaces, then take ONE of them again with a changed pressure or direction.
Steps: Six labelled · one repeated deliberately · say what changed.
Task: Six rubbings, plus a hunted surface nobody else has found. Then the pair: same surface, two pressures, and a written verdict on which you will use.
Steps: Six labelled · one hunted find · the pair · verdict written.
The surface table stays out all lesson, and you can route to it whenever you need — you do not have to ask.
You choose which surfaces are worth recording. Nobody assigns you one.
Your labelled rubbings go into the shared bank, so the group sees what you found.
The three most-used surfaces from this bank become the demonstration surfaces in Week 3.
Name the surface you will use again.
Own answer.
Which side of the crayon should you use?
The flat side.
Why do we tape the paper?
So it cannot move and blur the detail.
Which surface gave you the clearest rubbing, and why?
Own answer — usually deep, regular relief.
Name one thing that ruins a rubbing.
Scrubbing, too much pressure, loose paper, crayon on its point.
What will you use your best surface FOR?
Own answer, linked to a future piece.
What can a rubbing show that a photograph cannot?
Actual relief at actual size, without lighting or lens distortion.
Your rubbing failed. Diagnose it in one sentence.
Own answer using the diagnostic — too hard, too light, or paper moved.
Which surface would defeat this technique entirely, and why?
Anything flat or purely coloured — no relief means nothing to record.
| Key word | Definition |
|---|---|
| Frottage | Taking a rubbing by placing paper over a surface and drawing across it. |
| Relief | The raised and lowered parts of a surface — its height difference. |
| Texture | How a surface would feel to touch. |
| Pattern | Repetition you can see, with a rhythm to it. |
| Surface bank | The group collection of labelled rubbings everyone can draw on. |
| Ghosting | A rubbing so faint the detail cannot be read. |
Enquiry: What can a rubbing tell you about a surface that a photograph cannot?
Award part: Bronze Part A · Take Part
Diagnostic: ❌ Too hard — the paper tears and the detail fills in · ❌ Too light — a ghost image you cannot read · ✅ Right — raised detail crisp, background clean
Fix: Use the FLAT SIDE of the crayon, tape the paper down at both ends, and work in ONE direction. Never scrub.
1. Last term (Recall) Name one decision you made in your last finished piece.
2. Vocabulary (Recall) Texture and pattern — what is the difference?
3. Foundational (Recall) Which drawing tool would pick up fine detail best, and why?
4. Greater depth (Think) Teesside is full of worked metal. What does that do to its surfaces?
Two records of the same drain cover — a photograph and a rubbing. Which one tells you more about the surface, and what exactly does it tell you?
Drain cover DEEP RELIEF. Bold, geometric, forgiving — the best first surface. Medium pressure, one direction.
Brick & mortar TWO SURFACES AT ONCE. Smooth face against rough mortar line. Light pressure or the mortar takes over.
Radiator grille REPEAT. Even, mechanical rhythm — the closest thing to a ready-made pattern. Tape it or it slides.
Coin FINE DETAIL. Tests your control. Very light pressure, crayon almost flat.
Tread plate DIRECTIONAL. Raised diamonds that read differently depending which way you work. Try both.
Wood grain SOFT RELIEF. Subtle — needs the lightest touch of all, and rewards patience.
My surface is ____________. It came from ____________.
It came out ____________.
The surface I will use again is ____________ because ____________.
When I changed the pressure, ____________ happened.
A rubbing records ____________ where a photograph records ____________.
My best surface is ____________; I will use it for ____________ because ____________.
Four rubbings, labelled
1:
2:
3:
4:
Six rubbings + one repeated
Surfaces used:
The one I repeated, and what I changed:
What happened:
Six + a hunted find + the pair
My hunted surface, and where:
The pair — two pressures on one surface:
Verdict — which I will use and why:
1) Which surface gave you the clearest rubbing, and why?
2) Name one thing that ruins a rubbing.
3) What will you use your best surface FOR?
Space → Voice → Audience → Influence. The adult’s first job is Space: regulate before you educate.
| Space | The surface table stays out all lesson, and you can route to it whenever you need — you do not have to ask. |
| Voice | You choose which surfaces are worth recording. Nobody assigns you one. |
| Audience | Your labelled rubbings go into the shared bank, so the group sees what you found. |
| Influence | The three most-used surfaces from this bank become the demonstration surfaces in Week 3. |
Closing the loop: out loud, as a class, is enough here. Any inclusion counts — a nod, a word, a pointed finger. If a pupil wants theirs written down, an adult scribes it in their words. Pass is always allowed.
| Authorship — what I selected, made, directed or decided: | Exact support given — prepared / modelled / prompted / scribed: |
| WWW: | EBI: |
| Verified by / date: | |
Signed, sketched, filed 🎨
2 minutes max. Then I’ll resume the timer.