Zentangles and Geometric Solids at School 29

Art teacher Ms. Elson’s fourth grade art class recently engaged in a mathematically driven project that incorporated two-dimensional zentangles in the background and three-dimensional geometric solids in the foreground.

In the background, a perspective of small to large curved forms, repeated in strong black and white patterns, generate the zentangles.  The effect is that the background sometimes appears to be moving.  In the foreground the geometric solids add excitement through contrast.  Each three-dimensional figure uses opposite colors - red & green, blue & orange, yellow & violet.

  The objectives of this lesson are:

            To articulate required knowledge concerning the elements and principles of art.

            To generate a project that is rooted in performance and product

            To engage in the study of aesthetics

            To utilize an application to produce a result.

 Another project took place in second grade teacher Ms. Taliercio’s second grade class.  With the assistance of Art PIR Professor Myra Winter, the classes created sculptures using four different-sized, opened shaped rectangular prisms.

 

Students were first given the measurements to create four different rectangles.  Then, through a series of carefully organized and coordinated folds, they created open rectangular prisms.  

The students then worked together in groups of four, using their imaginations to combine their prisms into sculptures.  Some of these were abstract, but some students created transformers or robots.