Kaleidoscope Drawings

     This was a great project that I basically invented for my annual Picture The Music unit. I generally try to come up with projects that are more abstract in subject matter and which experiment with different color techniques. I found an awesome video on You Tube showing an up close shot of a kaleidoscope set to some music. PERFECT! We folded our papers in half 3x to divide it into triangles. Next, I showed the students how to use simple shapes and lines in each triangle to create a design that is symmetrical. We used sharpie for the drawing and watercolor markers for the coloring. When they were finished, I sandwiched the drawing between 2 wet pieces of plain paper to get the colors to bleed together. I pressed them with heavy stacks of paper for a day. Then, these beautiful colorful drawings were revealed! And the bonus? I have a ton of colorful tie-dye paper that I can use with other projects! It's a win-win.