Art Education for the Home School

Art is an important, but often overlooked, subject when it comes to educating today's children. Through art, children learn a different way to perceive the world around them, a new way to express themselves, and cultural lessons. However, teaching meaningful art lessons in the home schooling environment can be difficult. This article is the second in a series entitled Art Education for the Home School. This series is designed to give the home schooling parent the lessons and resources necessary to build an effective home school art education curriculum. Previously, the art elements and line were discussed. That lesson is available by clicking here. This lesson will continue with the elements of shape and form.

To review, the elements of art are the pieces, or building blocks, that make up every artwork in existence. A good analogy is the elements of art are like words in a sentence. Depending on which words you choose and what order you put them in, you can create many different sentences with many different meanings. So is the case with the elements. Depending on which elements you chose and how you put them together, you can create endless different artworks with endless different meanings. The elements of art are line, shape, form, texture, color, value and space. All art education should begin with this foundation. Below are two lessons on the elements of shape and form. In subsequent articles, I will cover the remaining art elements two at a time with lessons that teach and visually reinforce each term.

SHAPE

Definition -- an element of art, a two dimensional (or flat) defined area. Shapes can be divided into two sub-groups
Geometric -- regular, mathematical shapes such as triangles, squares, rectangles, circles, etc.
Organic -- irregular, naturally occurring shapes such as blobs, puddles, leaf shapes, the human outline

Bell Ringer (a quick question/pre-assessment at the beginning of the lesson to get your student thinking) - If you were to break a human face down to the simple shapes its made of, what would you use to draw it?
The head is an oval.
The eyes are ovals with circles for the iris and pupils.
The nose could be represented with a triangle, etc.

Art Analysis - Show your students work by Piet Mondrian that have the word "composition" in the title. (Mondrian images available here). Next, show your students work by Wassily Kandinsky, also with the word composition in the title. (Kandinsky images available here). Ask which artist used mostly geometric shapes (Mondrian) and which used mainly organic (Kandinsky). Ask the students to point out examples. Discuss how that geometric shapes tend to give artwork more of an organized, calm feeling while organic shapes tend to give artwork more of a dynamic, busy feel. Also, take time to review line by pointing out the different types and styles of lines used by both artists.

Studio Project - Non-objective Shape Drawing

This project will enforce the concepts of shape (organic and geometric) and non-objective art. Non-objective art, like that of Mondrian and Kandinsky, is art that does not represent any recognizable subject matter. It represents "no objects." It is simply art of shapes, lines, colors, and designs. Give your student a large sheet of drawing paper and various colored markers or crayons. Instruct them to create a non-objective composition like those of Mondrian and Kandinsky. Encourage your students to mingle both geometric and organic shapes depending on what mood they want to impress on their drawing. Allow your students to trace objects around your home when creating their composition. After they have filled their page and are satisfied with their composition, discuss their use of the different kinds of shapes and what feeling their drawing gives off.

FORM

Definition -- an element of art, a three dimensional (or fat) defined area. Forms can also be divided into two sub-groups
Geometric -- regular, mathematical forms such as pyramids, cones, cubes, spheres, etc.
Organic -- irregular, naturally occurring forms such as clouds and the human body and parts

Bell Ringer (a quick question/pre-assessment at the beginning of the lesson to get your student thinking) - Shapes are 2D (flat) and forms are 3D (fat). Given the list of flat shapes below, write down what forms they could create if they were drawn three dimensionally.
Square = cube
Rectangle = rectangular prism
Triangle = pyramid or cone
Circle = sphere or cylinder

Studio Project - Geometric Shape Animal.

Give your student a large sheet of drawing paper. Instruct them to pick their favorite animal. It would be a good idea to look up a photo of their favorite animal. Next, have students begin drawing the animal, except they may only use geometric shapes. Take a dog for example. The head could be a sphere with a cone on it for the snout. The body could be a block while legs and the neck could be cylinders, etc. Finished drawings should completely fill the page (add geometric form tress to fill the background if needed), should be shaded well to indicate 3D forms, and be complete drawn using only geometric forms.

Now, your students should be fluent with the elements of line, shape, and form. Next up will be the elements of color and value.