Week Five - Pointillism
The goal this week was to show how to convey shape and form using just dots. This technique is better known as pointilism.
Probably the most famous artist of this movement was Georges Seurat. So we studied his famous “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”. The kids were surprised to discover the piece was made up entirely of colored dots!
Some embraced it. Others found it boring (totally understandible). But I’m happy that everyone adhered to the technique and, though tempted, resisted the urge to paint lines.
I really like how Chloe (Grade 1) applied what she saw in Seurat's painting. Most notably, she tried to give the center of the flower and the grass more form through the use of other colors.
A few children were still in abstract expressionism mode, which was fine. Arden (Kindergarten) was one of them. From the time I said start, she quietly attacked the paper with a flurry of expressive marks! Absolutely wonderful!
I thought pointillism would appeal to Rylee (Grade 3) since she tends to work small, methodical, and detailed. It really plays to her strengths. Again, she did a great job playing with value to give her islands more dimension.