Mondrian

The class spent two days looking at the works of Piet Mondrian and discussing their qualities. We talked about the quality and the types of lines in Mondrian's paintings, his use of primary colors, and composition. We also looked at Mondrian's "Broadway Boogie Woogie" and discussed how music plays an important role in interpreting and creating works of art. Students were given pre-cut black lines made of construction paper. During the first session, students glued black lines onto white paper as they saw fit. The only teacher guidance consisted of helping them figure out how to use glue. During the final session, students were given construction paper of various sizes and colors, as well as scissors. They proceeded to cut out various shapes and glue them onto their works. No guidelines were given outside of technical instruction (review of the proper way to hold scissors and usage of glue). At the end of the day we held a class critique of the finished pieces.

Frank Stella reliefs

I've been teaching a kindergarten class in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn since September 2011. Although the main focus of the class consists of science, social studies, math, and ELA topics art is integrated in almost everything I teach. This particular project was based on the works of Frank Stella. We looked at the works by the artist and discussed various elements of Stella's work. Employing the Visual Thinking Strategy we analyzed the works based on their colors, shapes, and lines. Following the introduction, students created shapes on paper and filled them in with various patterns. The final step was to cut the shapes out and to use them in creating a per relief sculpture. In the process we covered pattern recognition/creation, scissor skills, gluing, and learning about works of art.