Abstract Sculpture Inspired by Kandinsky

Low fire clay

Kandinsky inspired slab built form

Kandinsky inspired abstract tree form

Pinch Pots

Display case showing students work

This 3-D lesson is designed to jump start the 8th graders imagination about abstraction. First the students are introduced to the father of abstract expressionism Wassily Kandinsky through a glog http://jkodonnell.glogster.com/glog-1149/. Students are motivated by a quote from Kandinsky relating art to music and how they are both abstract in nature. The students will also get excited about using a new media as well. Students sketch a couple ideas about what they are going to construct out of clay. As a warm up exercise students are handed a ball of clay and pinch pots are demonstrated. Pinch pots are a great way for students to get acquainted with a new media and they are able to see instead success. Next the teacher demonstrates slab construction and works with the students step by step in order to make a free standing sculpture in full round. The students have to incorporate at least five elements and principles of design relating to Kandinsky's work. The teacher also demonstrates a free standing hand built sculpture of a abstracted tree form.

An extension project would be to do this lesson as part of a Language arts class. Instead of having the students look at images on the computer the teacher could plan to visit a near by gallery. While visiting the gallery students must choose one piece of work and write a paper about the meaning of the work. Students would address elements and principles of design in the paper as well as how the work made an impact on them and why they choose that specific work.