First Grade: Color, Line, Pattern

Adire Cloth Inspired Wax Resist

The first graders learned about line and pattern by looking at the artwork of other cultures.  For their first project they learned about the wax resist dye process used in Adire Cloth.  We began by discussing the many ways that lines can be used to create patterns and then practiced making patterns.  The next week we used crayons to create Adire inspired patterns on paper.   The wax in the crayons "resisted" paint when it was applied.

Aboriginal Dream paintings

The next project was inspired by the Dotted Dream Paintings of the Australian Aborigines.  We began with a pre-painted snake which represented the Rainbow Serpent of the aboriginal mythology.  Then the students added dotted outlines.  After a discussion of symbolism and how art can be used to tell a story the students added aboriginal symbols to their work and then shared their stories with other class members.

Kindergarten

The Elements of Art: Color, Line, Shape and Pattern

The kindergarteners learned about the elements of art focusing on color, line and shape.  The first week they learned how to mix colors.  The next week we explored line.  The students discussed different kinds of lines and learned line direction: vertical, horizontal and diagonal.  They learned about cooperation as they worked together to make a collaborative abstract design with colored popsicle sticks. Then they created their own abstract designs gluing colorful strips of paper on black paper.  

Abstract Line Collaboration

Abstract Line Collage

Patriotic Collage 

The unit "Red, White and Blue" worked as the inspiration for our final project.  The class learned about the symbolism and elements of art found in US flag then painted paper with it's colors and patterns. They cut and glued the paper to create imaginative, abstract collages using these elements of art.