I used a lesson from The Art of Education to introduce Wassily Kandinsky to my students. It seemed like a fine next-step in our study of line and shape. Although I adjusted a few of the lesson details to introduce more variety and to match more of the specifics of what my class was studying:
- Students were to use two line directions in their work
- Their lines could touch shape to shape, shape to edge, shape to line, or line to line
- Markers were used to color the shapes’ details (see steps #9 and #10 below)
Breaking it Down
The steps of the project were straightforward enough:
- Class discussion about Kandinsky: his life and work
- Class discussion on geometric shapes (triangle, circle, square, etc.)
- Students select a geometric shape and draw it on half of a 3×5 card (must take up most of area on card)
- Students cut out their shape
- Teacher hands out 9×12 watercolor paper and students sign their names and class/section number
- Class discussion about basic composition principles (repetition, spacing, overlapping, etc.)
- Students trace their shape 5-6 times and then drew the same shape small inside the original (this created a shape inside of shape)
- Students trace all of the lines in Sharpie marker (I used both ultra fine and fine tip for different areas)
- Students select three of their shapes and color the inside: 2 with a primary color, 1 with a secondary color
- Students select a marker color they have not used yet (sorry, no black or brown) to color the outside shape for the remaining shapes in their design
- Class review of line types and line direction
- Students include 3-5 line types and two line directions
- Students trace their pencil lines with Sharpie marker as in Step #8 above
- Students use watercolor paint to complete their artwork by adding color the background or area behind their shapes
Next Year
Click to Enlarge
While working with my students, I started thinking of alternative approaches for this project. Over the Summer, I plan on exploring these options using my own kids as art idea guinea pigs <smile>. I have done some research already after looking at Kandinsky’s work itself. As I come up with new ideas, I’ll be sure to post them for feedback.
