Getting In Shape

English Landing students are getting in shape.... the art element of shape!  Take a look at some of the projects we have been working on to deepen our understanding of how to use shapes in art.  It's fun to see how we build on our prior knowledge of shapes at every grade level.

Kindergarten created shape collages.  After reading the book The Shape of Things, each child received a shape, and used imagination to turn the shape into a creative picture with markers.  I asked each student for the title of their artwork so that I could write it down.  These always make me smile, so I had to share a few.  Above: "Paint Holder".

Circle turned into a "Segway"

Circle turned into a "Meteor"

Triangle turned into a "Vampire"

1st grade learned about printing.  Each student created a stamp out of modeling clay.  They printed the stamps with tempera paint to create the shapes of leaves for their apple trees.  Clay and paint in the same day?  What a fun lesson!

Clay printing on display.

2nd grade revisits the art element of line while creating these 3-dimensional collages.  They challenged themselves to make curved, zig-zag, and even spiral lines!

3rd grade began painting their abstract Picasso portraits.  To prepare for this lesson, we learned about geometric, free form and organic shapes.

4th grade watercolor landscapes.  We created the building shapes with masking tape before we painted, and then removed the tape after the paint was dry.  Students used colored pencil for the details of the buildings, grass, trees, and water.

5th grade added color to their still life drawings with chalk pastels.  We made our shapes appear 3-dimensional by adding shadows and highlights.