So, I have a polka dot problem. Possibly an addiction. While I was pulling out an ensemble for the school day in my fuzzy pre-coffee state, I was overwhelmed by the amount of polka dots in my closet. And I did ask myself, is it right, or is it wrong? And I said to myself, my god, what have I done?! (if you don't get the allusion to Talking Heads, shame on you).
Anywho, back to the dots...
So many dots, so little time. Like so many art teachers, I love The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. His beautiful illustrations and the art teacher's sage advice to "make a mark and see where it takes you" is down right inspiring and lends itself perfectly to all things Kandinsky.
I recently came across this adorable circle painting lesson here on the site Small for Big. The lesson of course borrows inspiration from Kandinsky's Squares with Concentric Circles.
Since I can never get enough of good ol' polka dots, I always do some variation every year, usually with my little Kinders. This year, our project continued our study of cool and warm colors. I started with an introduction to Kandinsky's work and looked at multiple pieces. After setting up each table with the following items, the Kinders waited for directions...
- pre-folded 12" x 18" watercolor paper
- Sax liquid watercolors
- brushes
- water pots
- tray to hold the materials
- great listening ears!
To ensure each composition contained a variety of colors, my students were given directions to turn on their listening ears as I gave steps to use a "warm color of sunshine," or the "cool colors in the ocean." Here's a sneak peek into some of their pieces...
I love all things the little Kindergarteners make (just not always the messes they make), but what made my day was having a parent tell me her 5 year old came home bubbling non-stop about Kandinsky and his dots and lines and EYEBALL ART (he meant abstract art by the way).
Now go and make your own EYEBALL art, I dare you!
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