4th graders ended the school year with a great project that incorporates line, shape, pattern, contrast, color schemes, and symbolism.

We began by talking about Senufo culture and looking at a variety of artwork including 2D and 3D works. Students were inspired by the West-African motifs and patterns and created a border around a square piece of paper using symbols and patterns.

 

Students were allowed to choose the animal they wanted to feature in the middle of their composition. I encouraged them to pick an animal that has significance to them in some way. Some students brought in toys or pictures to reference and I also provided step-by-step drawing pages of animals.

 

After tracing over everything with sharpie, 4th graders chose an analogous color scheme to use for the background. They painted with liquid water-colors and sprinkled on some salt at the end. I love the contrast in these paintings, they really turned out great!