5th Grade Kandinsky

This lesson was inspired by Russian artist, Wassily Kandinsky. Kandinsky is considered as the inventor and theorist of abstract painting in the 20th century.  5th Graders emulated Kandinsky's style.  We talked about the great influence music had on making his creations.  The black outlines were made with sharpie marker, students listened to classical music and draw how they felt the music.  We also discussed abstract art and how color can change a mood or express a feeling.  Students explored different watercolor techniques to fill their paper. 

"Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, and the soul is the piano with many strings.  The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul."

                                  --Wassily Kandinsky

1st Grade Concentric Rings

1st graders learned about  Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky. For the first back to school project I wanted to focus on something that could be seen as bright and cheery.  So we studied Kandisnky's painting, Squares with Concentric Rings. 

We watched this short video to get us inspired to make our own:

 Students set to work by folding their paper to make 8 squares ( 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom). They then traced a large circle in each square and added two more hand drawn circles to each square.  Students then set to work painting. They were instructed to keep their colors separate and try not to mix them, as well as two of the same colors could not be touching each other.  It took two 50 minute classes for students to finish, for this project brush control was stressed greatly.

Here are some of the results:

5th Grade Wassily Kandinksy

This lesson was inspired by Russian artist, Wassily Kandinsky. Kandinsky is considered as the inventor and theorist of abstract painting in the 20th century.  5th Graders emulated Kandinsky's style.  We talked about the great influence music had on making his creations.  The black outlines were made with sharpie marker, students listened to classical music and draw how they felt the music.  We also discussed abstract art and how color can change a mood or express a feeling.  Students explored different watercolor techniques to fill their paper. 

"Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, and the soul is the piano with many strings.  The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul."

--Wassily Kandinsky