Pre K–1

Workshop Overview

Discover shapes and colors found in the Nelson-Atkins collection in a developmentally appropriate tour of the galleries. Then use paint and collage to create a mixed media work of art. All supplies will be provided.

Outcomes

• Students will create a collage integrating shapes, colors, and lines.
• Students will identify primary and secondary colors.
• Students will demonstrate mixing primary colors to achieve a secondary color.

Curriculum

• Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
• Build skills in various media and approaches to art making.
• Use observation and investigation in preparing for making a work of art.

Vocabulary

• Primary Colors: red, yellow, and blue- colors that cannot be created by mixing other colors
• Secondary Colors: orange, green, and violet- colors made by mixing two primary colors
• Collage: a piece of art made by attaching various materials together
• Organic shapes: free-form shapes similar to those found in nature
• Geometric shapes: shapes based on math principles, such as square, circle, and triangle
• Pattern: something that repeats in a predictable way
• Line variety: when an artist places different types of lines in the same composition. For example, straight, curvy, zigzag, dashed, etc.
• Location words: behind, beside, underneath, on top, inside, around, left, right, below, above

Pre-Workshop Activities

• Read a book to your class about colors and shapes. Some suggestions include: Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni, Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh, White Rabbit’s Color Book by Alan Baker, A Book About Color by Mark Gonyea, Round is a Mooncake by Roseanne Thong and Shapes, Shapes, Shapes by Tana Hoban.
• Practice using “location words” included in the vocabulary list to prepare the students for exploring artwork in the galleries.
• Play the game “I Spy” or do color/shape matching with a handmade deck of cards. Paint chips at hardware stores can make easy color matching cards.

Post-Workshop Activities

• Have students use pre-cut shapes to create various objects, buildings, animals, people. Invite students to share about their shape creations.
• Set up a painting station and allow students to paint using the primary colors: red, yellow, and blue.
• Cut geometric shapes from different materials, such as corrugated paper, fabric, or sandpaper. Place them in a box or bag and ask students to feel the shape and guess what it might be.
• Go on a toy color treasure hunt. Have students find and categorize a collection of brightly colored toys into color groups. Ask which groups are primary colors and which are secondary.