Third graders have begun an intense investigation of Op Art, Ancient Egyptian art, and maps. They will be visiting the Walters Art Gallery in December, and this project is based on a work they will be viewing, a papyrus scroll called the Book of the Faiyum.
The girls learned about the artist Bridget Riley and the were some of the words they used to describe her work: moving, sliding, spaces you can move into, shimmering, shaking, a roller coaster ride, optical illusion. Bridget Riley also visited Egypt and was inspired by the color she saw in the art there.
Third graders also isolated pattern from ancient Egyptian art and created a test print using scratch foam as a printing plate. Students noticed commonalities between the two disparate art forms. Both use pattern, contrast, and symmetry. Ask your third grader to describe the printing process.
(A plate and a print)
Next third grade began to research maps, exploring the differences between Google Earth images and maps, particularly maps made by artists. They researched a certain place, and then began planning an op art map of this place using iPad tools. The abstract map image they created will become a print, so they used a low tech solution to reverse their map image.
(Getting inspiration from fellow third graders)
