By Diana Mousetis, Art Coodinator. September in the art room was all about shapes, color, secret codes, and Auguste Herbin. We used simple materials to complete both projects, and the students learned about two elements of art- color and shape. The kindergartners focused on primary colors and geometric shapes to create their abstract works of art, while the lower elementary students hid secret messages in their projects.
The kindergarteners’ first art project of the year is based on Auguste’s abstract cubist paintings. We learned that cubism is a style of painting that portrays everyday objects with flat, geometric shapes. We also started our journey into color theory with the primary colors- red, blue, and yellow. The students used only the primary colors to paint their shapes, and then arranged them however they liked on their background paper. This project was such a great way to ease into art class for the year!
Auguste Herbin developed his own artistic language by assigning certain shapes in certain colors to the letters of the alphabet. He named his alphabet “alphabet plastique”. Each student chose a word or short phrase, and picked out the shapes from Auguste’s alphabet, then painted them the correct colors to spell out their secret messages. After gluing them to the background paper, their projects were complete!
