Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), was one of the most important artists of the 20th century. His abstract designs had a huge influence on the graphic design, architecture, and interior design of his day. He was best known for his stylized, geometric designs of black and white grids filled with bright, primary colors. Students are fascinated to see his work still influencing designs in use today!
This is a great project for K and 1st that has super-easy prep and lots of opportunities for learning (art history, design concepts, color theory, and vocabulary)…. and results in everyone being successful. Try it and see!
Materials:
- 12×18 white paper
- 7″x7″ cardboard template (one per student)
- crayons (black, red, yellow, blue)
Directions:
(vocabulary words in bold)
1. Place your template anywhere on your paper, so that its edges are parallel to the edges of your paper. Trace around your template with a black crayon.
2. Then, move your template to overlap your traced shape and continue tracing to create more squares and rectangles across your paper. Keep all your lines vertical and horizontal… no diagonals!
3. Now look for squares and rectangles and color them with primary colors. Leave all the “L” shaped areas white.
These Mondrian-inspired creations were made by my fantastic Kindergarteners!
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