Handmade Brushes & Expressive Mark-Making – Practical Artmaking Task

This five-page practical artmaking task guides students step-by-step through the process of creating their own handmade brushes from found and natural materials and using them to explore expressive mark-making, experimentation and creative transformation.

Students begin by collecting and constructing brushes from a range of unconventional materials before experimenting with them to create abstract ink paintings. They then transform their painted works through deconstruction and reassembly, using collage or decoupage techniques to create a final series of artworks.

The task encourages students to consider how the materials and tools they create can influence the marks, textures and visual qualities produced in their artworks.

What's Included:

• 5-page step-by-step practical artmaking task
• Guided instructions for designing and constructing handmade brushes
• Exploration of mark-making, texture, line and abstraction
• Collage and decoupage artmaking processes
• Tutorial video links to support students through the practical techniques
• Visual examples of:
  • Handmade brushes
  • Experimental ink paintings
  • Collage and decoupage outcomes
• Super 6 comprehension strategies:
  • Questioning – encouraging students to ask purposeful questions about their materials, techniques and creative choices
  • Visualising – encouraging students to imagine, plan and visualise possible marks, textures and artwork outcomes

Final Submission

Students will create a series of related works, including:

1. Handmade Brushes – constructed from found and natural materials
2. Ink Paintings – experimental artworks created using the handmade brushes
3. Collage/Decoupage Works – deconstructed and reassembled ink paintings transformed into new artworks

Perfect for: a Stage 5 Visual Arts artmaking unit, experimental painting project, natural materials exploration or mixed-media project. This resource encourages students to experiment, invent, transform and take creative risks, while using Questioning and Visualising to reflect on their artistic decisions and develop their creative practice.