Zentangles in 3D

Per student request, we did one more Zentangle project last week. The students seemed to really enjoy the creative freedom and I have to say I really enjoyed how engaged and thoughtful they were. The choices were to create one of two boxes, or a photo frame using what we had learned about space and line and limited only by their own creativity around design. The results were outstanding.

The first choice was a swirley box with a flower-type lid. The students zentangled the net, cut it out, and folded it into a box:

The second choice was a take-out style container with a tab-closure lid:

I was also completely blown away by a student who made a whole deck of laminated artist cards on his own at home! He experimented with red and black pens and they came out great!

I am forced to be out of school for health reasons, but am excited to return because up next is a unit on COLOR!

Zillions of Zentangles!

We have been working on creating zentangles as part of our first unit on line, space, and pattern. Zentangles are abstract drawings that are created using a variety of repetitive patterns. They are traditionally done in black on a square piece of white cardstock. We did not use pencils, erasers, or rulers. The patterns are done deliberately, but any stray marks or "mistakes" add to the uniqueness and character of the piece (this is extremely difficult for those perfectionists among us!). Many people find the art of zentangling to be meditative and stress relieving. We certainly saw that this week as the students were intently focused on their artwork and it was difficult to stop when the class period ended! Many students took supplies home with them to continue the practice.

We began by discussing the creation of space and looking at how we can use repetitive lines to fill space with texture or create depth or movement. We practiced four beginner patterns together by making artist cards:

And I showed them a couple I had done....

.... and they were let loose! The students were encouraged to think outside the box to create their own unique design. We used this book by Jane Marbaix for inspiration. The "tangle directory" in the back shows some great step-by-step patterns to get started. 

I also displayed some around the room that were not in the book, but requested by students:

I was amazed everyday at the creativity of these artists. Many even invented their own zentangle designs! They worked hard and made thoughtful decisions on which papers and pen types to use. 

I asked students to submit the 3x3 square size for inclusion on our class bulletin board. Of course for some it was hard to part with a piece of artwork they had worked on, but we ended up with plenty to create a great display of Zentangle art!

We will do one more Zentangle project this week to continue exploring space, line, and patterns!

The first week back was busy and exciting! I am thrilled to be teaching graphic arts this year and can't wait to explore the HUGE world of graphic design with the 5th and 6th grade students. This week we talked about what graphic design is and where we see it in our everyday lives. 

We began by doing some group problem solving where the students were challenged to work together to sit in birthday order. This was tough, but every class was eventually able to work together and pull it off! 

Then we talked about graphic design, beginning with a definition:

We discussed the role of graphic artists as artists who communicate a message or solve a problem through art. Then we looked at some fun examples of graphic design on our clothing and on some posters hung in the room. Lots of students recognized these Disney attractions by their vintage posters:

We ended class with a cooperative drawing game. The object of the game was to use your imagination to draw one thing, and then pass your drawing to your neighbor. Each time a drawing was passed to you, you were challenged to change it in some way, or add one thing. This game can be challenging because the students only had about 30 seconds of drawing time before having to pass the paper! It can also be hard to let go and let someone else add to your artwork, but everyone did great and had a good time! The emphasis is on imagination, thinking outside the box, and working in small groups.  Results of this game are usually pretty silly; we had to have a gallery walk at the end of class to check out what everyone came up with!

Mystery Artist of the Month!

Each month a Mystery Artist will be posted in the room. Students are challenged to identify the artist and the title of the artwork. Once they've figured out they can fill out a raffle ticket and enter the Mystery Artist Raffle. Raffle winners are picked on the last day of each month. 

Here's the Mystery Artist for the month of September:

Up Next: Exploring line and space with Zentangles!