Collaborative Quilt and Radial Design

First semester art students closed out the year with a collaborative quilt in the Gee's Bend quilting tradition and radial design inspired by the science and photography of William "Snowflake" Bentley. Students worked with tongue depressors and tempera paint to create an individual 'quilt' square which became part of the larger quilt design. After learning a variety of folds and cuts, students created radial designs by stacking a selection of their snowflakes, and cutting apart others to extend the radial design.

Name Symmetry - Portfolio Cover Design

Students designed the front of their classroom portfolios using their first name as the starting point for a reflected, symmetrical design. Ultimately, they could create an imaginary creature, or place; or simply play with color, pattern and shape. Here are some of the results of the different ways students completed this design challenge as well as the project rubric and instructions.

Ukiyo-Notan

This is the final summative project of the Japanese art and philosophy inspired unit. Students chose one of their two brayer and leaf printed papers to use for their Notan design. The leaf prints symbolize the Ukiyo-Floating World concept. The Notan represents the Japanese concept of balance between light and dark. Finally, work was 'signed' using the signature chop. What a great job they all did!