Over the past two weeks my students have been learning about shape and form. We first discussed the meaning of both of these terms as it relates to art.
Shape: A two-dimensional area with a defined boundary. A shape has a height and width.
Organic Shape: An irregular and usually curvy. Typically shapes found in nature or shapes we make up with our imagination.
Organic shapes can be tricky when I introduce the concept that they are found in nature because students think of the symbol and not the actual shape.
vs
Form: A three-dimensional quality of an object. It has height, width and depth.
So now I bet you are wondering what projects we created to help us distinguish between 2D/3D and geometric/organic. Let's start with our little bitties...
The younger students were asked to categorize 2D shapes and 3D forms by playing a sorting game on our Smartboard. We discussed how 2D shapes are flat while 3D shapes take up space and volume (see the image above).
Before telling them about our project I handed them a colored sheet of construction paper and ask them if it was 2D or 3D--and EVERYONE got it right! How amazing is that!?!
Then I asked how could we make our flat, 2D paper into something 3D. This question took a little more thinking and a little more discussion. Eventually we came to the conclusion that if we folded the paper, it would take on a 3D form!
So the students created a design using the shapes we talked about during our lesson and the lines they learned earlier in the year. They then got to practice their cutting and gluing skills by molding their paper into a lizard! Take a look....
Aren't they adorable!? Of course this isn't all of them, but it is all that I have up at the moment. I will try to add a picture of the whole group at a later time.
By the time our students reach the 3rd and 4th grade they can distinguish between two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. So for this lesson we focused on the differences found in geometric and organic shapes. When thinking about these free-forms my mind immediately went to the artist Henri Matisse.
(1869 - 1954)
Henri Matisse was an artist who found fame during his life for drawing, painting, sculpting and creating wonderful "drawings with scissors."
For this project we talked about how we can make organic shapes using our imaginations. If you look carefully at some of Matisse's cutouts you can see the inspiration behind his shapes. Can you see the inspiration? Think organic!
What do the shapes remind you of?
Foliage!
Making this connection was by far the highlight from this lesson because it reinforced the idea of organic shapes. From here we discussed that organic can mean "from nature" which is why you might see that word in the produce section of grocery stores. It was almost like you could see the little light bulb's going off in their heads!
Here are a few more examples by Matisse.
In the last image you can see a dancing figure in the top right corer. The inclusion of figures can be see in several Matisse cutouts. So when it came time for my students to create their mini-Matisse artworks, the first thing they did (after writing their name on the back of course) was add a figure cut out. From there they cut out free-flowing organic shapes. Here is their finished artworks!
Here is the full installation! Doesn't it look great against our purple walls?
The Matisse banner was made by one of our 4th grade classes. They only had one class period to work on it but they really rose to the occasion. Y'all did a wonderful job!
Here is a sampling of the well-crafted works by our two other 4th grade classes. They worked really hard to master their skills with scissors and glue. Their compositions definitely reflect their attention to details too!
Last but not least, here are a few works by our 3rd graders. They worked really hard to accomplish so much in this one project. Day by day their skill level is rising and their creativity is growing!
Up next : Alberto Giacometti Sculptures
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