Notan Paper Collage

Notan is an arrangement of light and dark that creates an impression of beauty. Notan is a popular form of collage in Japan. Students focused on two art principles for this project- shape and space. Students were allowed to work with either realistic or abstract shapes when creating their collage. Notan collages are so unique and beautiful because they focus on a play of positive and negative space that create interesting shapes. We overlapped several different colors to create an even more dynamic and layered design.

Warm and Cool Autumn Trees

Montessori students in grades 4-6 created these vibrantly styled Autumn trees! We began by making a simple grid and drawing a simple tree. Students learned about pattern and contrast by creating many different designs in each square within the tree. The leaves and background were then filled in using colored pencils and/or crayons. Students needed to identify the two color schemes(warm and cool) used in the artwork to create additional contrast. This project served as a great introduction to patterns and color schemes but also introduced the art style of Cubism, which we focused on more deeply in our current mixed media project.

Vincent Van Goghs Sunflowers

Students in PreKinder and Kinder created these artworks after learning about Vincent Van Gogh. We began by using tissue paper in oranges, reds and yellows and gluing them onto a square white paper. The students got to see first hand how yellow and red can make orange. During the next class, we read Camille and the Sunflowers and talked about Vincent Van Gogh. Students then used brown and green construction paper to create the flowers and stems. Students then used yellow triangles to finish off the sunflowers. Van Gogh projects are always loved by students because he was so interesting and his colors were so alive and vibrant!