Positive/Negative Bugs!!

     This lesson was super fun!  

These are examples of 6th grade work:

We had already been working on positive and negative space for two weeks prior to this lesson.  Here is an example of the first lesson that we worked on:

      

      Once they understood the concept of cutting out a shape along an axis and flipping it over to the other side to create a mirror image, we were ready for bugs.

      I actually found this lesson on Pinterest.  Here is the link to the post from Pinterest (the photo does not go to a blog or credit a teacher, but I wanted to post where I found it):  http://pinterest.com/pin/44543483785160136/.  We started the lesson by looking over a handout I made showing the shapes of various types of bugs.  I demonstrated how to draw half of a bug on each edge of a white rectangle.  I also emphasized that each but needs to be cut-out VERY NEATLY!  Make sure to tell them that they are saving both the bug and the background piece so they can't 'over cut' or cut around the shape and cut the details later.  After they cut out the large shape of their bug, they needed to cut a small shape out of the body.  Next, they flipped the shape along the line of symmetry to create a positive and negative image.  Good luck!!  The results are quite stunning when put on display.

Positive/Negative Pumpkins

This jack-o-lantern lesson can be used with any grade level and the results are so much fun.  The students really got into thinking about what types of shapes they could cut-out to make the most interesting jack-o-lanterns.  We discussed positive and negative space, symmetry,  and reversed images.  First, we started with the orange paper, folded it and drew only half of a pumpkin, added the features and cut them out (while the paper was still folded). Next, the students cut all of the pieces of paper that had a folded edge in half.  Then, students put their jack-o-lanterns back together using only half of the pieces.  To add some artistic flair to their work, students added line and shape designs to the orange paper with a black marker, and green or yellow designs to the black paper with a GelFx marker.

For students who do not celebrate Halloween, they can do the same project but instead of the jack-o-lantern, they can use random geometric and free-form shapes.