Lines, Lines, Lines

PK and Kindergarten artists started off the year by exploring line! Lines are a traveling mark, created when a dot goes for a walk. They help define the edges of shapes and space, and we can see them all around us! We learned about the names of different lines, including straight, wavy, zig-zag, curly, dotted and spiral. We also created some of our own, including a "circle line," "bumpy line" and "castle line"! 

Using oil pastels, students drew a variety of different lines in their "line challenge" drawings, making them go all the way across their paper. They drew lines that we had learned about, like straight and zig-zag lines, and invented new lines from their imagination. They also tried combining different lines together. 

Next class, we explored what happens when we add paint on top of our oil pastel lines. We watched a demonstration of paint on top of oil pastel and noticed that we could still see the oil pastel lines through the paint -- as one student said, it worked like magic! We learned that this is because the oil pastel and paint are made of different materials so instead of mixing together, they move away from each other. This is called resist! 

Students painted on top of their oil pastel lines, working on washing out their brush between colors and trying to cover the entire paper with paint. It was fun to see resist in action, and watch our lines magically show up through the paint! It was especially fun with the lines we made using white oil pastel. Below are examples of our artwork, some of which are on display on the bulletin board in the connector hallway! 

Alessandra, Kindergarten (Tan)

Astrid, Kindergarten (Bolton)

Billy, Kindergarten (Beatty)

Dara, Kindergarten (Blackwood)

Joaquin, Kindergarten (Blackwood)

Lilyana, Kindergarten (Mattson)

Rosa, Kindergarten (Beatty)

Sona, Kindergarten (Segreve)

Continuing their study of line, PK and Kindergarten artists took their lines and shapes into the third dimension! They were challenged to think of different ways to change and manipulate flat, straight lines of paper and transform them into 3D lines and shapes. We began by learning about the difference between two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects. Many students thought about having been to a 3D movie, and how objects look like they are popping out at you. We thought about how we could change a piece of paper from two dimensional, flat pieces to three dimensional forms that pop out and stand up, just by using our hands. 

We came up with a few different techniques, including folding and bending the paper. We learned how to fold it to make a zig-zag line, and how to fold the ends of a curved piece of paper to create feet to help it stand up when glued. Then we began to work on our own 3D sculptures. 

Starting with a cardboard base, students added colorful 3D lines and shapes by changing the paper in a variety of different ways. We discovered even more ways we could change the paper, and creative ways to connect and add them to our sculptures. Students added lines and shapes on top of each other, overlapping them, and also thought about trying to fill up their cardboard base. 

Some students were inspired by amusement parks, race tracks, even outer space! Some of our sculptures are on display on the first floor of Hosmer, near the entrance by the Pre-School, so be sure to check them out!