Welcome to the Upper Elementary Gallery
Puzzle Project
Students were asked to begin at the center a draw a variety of different kinds of shapes that expanded outward and were connected on all sides with the shapes around them. Several are in progress and when completed there are online services that make a real cardboard puzzle from a photograph of the drawing.
Coral Pattern
We watched a National Geographic video on coral, its structure, importance to the survival of marine life, and the threats to its survival from rising ocean temperature and pollution. With photos of coral as reference, students were asked to create a pattern of coral forms that could be viewed from any direction.
Celebrating the Circle
In Ancient Greece the circle was a symbol of symmetry and balance in nature. Almost infinite examples in our world were mentioned from wheels, to lenses and satellite orbits. We briefly discussed the diameter and radius as well as the ellipse with two axis of different lengths. Students were asked to draw a pattern of concentric circles and ellipses with all of them touching.
Shallow Space Cubism
We viewed and discussed the art of a few of the Cubist artists including Picasso, Franz Marc, Severini, and Leger. Students were asked to make outline drawings of objects around them and redraw them as overlapping transparencies. The resulting overlapping shapes were shaded individually creating the illusion of objects reconstructed in a shallow space.