For our second post looking at Math and Art we have been inspired by Australian artist Erica Wagner. In particular we looked at
Then, I showed the children the work done by some Grade 2 students, incorporating cereal boxes, line and water-colour.
My challenge to them was to find a nature themed magazine cut out that they were drawn to and to create a piece of art similar to to those from the Fine Line students.
The process was as follows:
- Choose a cut-out.
- Paste it onto a piece of water-colour paper.
- extend lines from the edge of the magazine cut-out to the edge of the page.
- fill the sections, created by the lines, with colour, matching that of the cut-out.
One of the main elements of design, when considering art, is LINE. In this activity the children are focused on line placement as a key part of their artwork.
Line is also a key mathematical element. Have the children consider the differences and similarities between line as an element of ART design and line as an element of GEOMETRIC design.
The National Gallery of Art defines Line as “a mark made using a drawing tool or brush. There are many types of lines: thick, thin, horizontal, vertical, zigzag, diagonal, curly, curved, spiral, etc. and are often very expressive. Lines are basic tools for artists—though some artists show their lines more than others.”
The Illustrated Math Dictionary defines Line by the following:
In Geometry a line:
• is straight (no bends),
• has no thickness, and
• extends in both directions without end (infinitely).
Consider if your art was constructed based on the Geometric definition of Line. How would it be different?
If you would like to explore the Elements of Design further, I highly recommend Judy Willemsma’s Elements of Design Sketchbook lessons. I have done these with my children and we loved them!
Email your finished creation to jo.mathinnature@gmail.com so we can add it to our Gallery!
Don’t forget our 2021 Art and Photography competition is open to Australian entries from Oct 22 to Nov 26. If you have had fun creating a Camouflage collage, you can enter your creation using the entry form HERE.
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