4th Grade - Op Art

I like this project for a variety of reasons, but it's one of the only mostly-technical projects I do in my classroom for a reason.  Teaching skills is a valuable part of the art experience through each grade, but I like to add a little more abstract thinking into each lesson.  The next time you see this project, it may be in a very different form.  Stay tuned.

This project focuses on using curved lines and value to create a sense of space.  We follow a specific process to make the lines, then open it up to more student choice with how and where they add color.  Take a look at some stellar examples.

6th Grade - Op Art

To open the year, 6th graders learned how to manipulate a sense of space using curved lines and shading.  In an op art project that's really deceivingly simple, students worked hard to fill the page and come up with their own patterns to make their two-dimensional paper look 3D.

4th Grade - Op Art

The fourth graders worked on strengthening their technical skills with this Op Art project.  We learned how to use curved lines and value to make our artwork look 3D.  Adding value is a tough challenge for the art students, but we worked hard and pulled through.  To finish the project, we balanced our drawings by adding value throughout the composition.

4th grade - Op Art

4th graders learned about optical art and illusions before working on an illusion of their own.  We learned about how different types of line can trick our eyes into seeing objects a certain way, and how a wide range of value can help something look more 3D.  These 4th graders produced some great work!

Thanks to mrsbrownart.com for the inspiration!