Georgia O'Keefe

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
How are organic shapes made?
How do artists use organic shapes?
Where do artists get ideas?

GENERALIZATION:
Curvilinear lines make organic shapes.
Brief Description of Lesson:
Students observe and draw plant forms.

Resources:
Art objects: Georgia O'Keeffe, Trumpet Lily, Purple Petunia, or other similar images
Art Materials: oil pastels (or choice of drawing materials or watercolors), 12" x 18" white drawing paper (or choice of colored papers), assorted plants


Target Learning: The student:
Knows and uses curved lines to create organic shapes.
Recognizes and uses organic lines to create plant forms.
Understands and uses varying pressure to draw.
Sees nature as a source for ideas
Develops skills in observational drawing
Identifies organic forms/shapes in art

Assessment Criteria: The student:
Uses curved lines to create the curvilinear edge of an organic shape.
Uses organic lines to represent observed plants.
Uses firm and light pressure with drawing tools as seen in lightness and width of line.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES (What the Teacher Does)
1. Introduces O'Keeffe paintings, asking students to identify kinds of lines that define edges of flowers.
2. Showing a real plant, asks students to identify lines that define edges.
3. Models observing a plant without drawing (look at the plant to see all the types of lines that give the plant its shape).
4. Models drawing while looking at the plant (Draw the plant large enough that it reaches out and touches all the edges of the paper. While you draw press harder in areas that stand out to you and lightly in others).

CREATIVE PROCESS (What the Student Does)
1. Observes and identifies types of lines in painting reproductions and traces fingers over curvilinear lines.
2. Observes and identifies types of lines in living plant and traces fingers over curvilinear lines.
3. Looks at and then draws plant using choice of drawing materials - or paint.

Assessment Strategies
Performance Assessment - modified rubric
Teacher journal (Drawing pressure)
Checklist

Evidence of Student Learning
Student drawings include plant forms made with curvilinear lines of different widths based on tool pressure.

Vocabulary:
curvilinear line
organic
pressure: hard, light

Kandinsky

The students will understand:
• the elements of color, line, texture, and shape
• The principles of pattern, balance, movement, contrast, unity
• Color theory to blend and contrast colors
• Abstraction

The students will know
• How to arrange elements and principles of art in an abstract composition
• How to mix and blend colors
• How to use oil pastels
• Examples of work by Kandinsky

Essential Questions:
• What is line? Shape? Texture?
• What is a pattern?
• How do you mix colors?
• What is an analogous color family?
• What is a complimentary color?
• In what ways can you use the principles of movement, Balance, Emphasis, and/or Unity in your composition?
• What is abstraction? How can it be identified?
• What does abstraction mean to you?
• Who is Wassily Kandinsky? From? Why is he special?


Objective:
The learner will create an abstract composition with lines and shapes then add color with oil pastels that convey the principles of balance, movement, contrast, unity, and pattern throughout the work.

Terms: elements: line, shape, pattern, color, principles: pattern, unity, movement, balance, emphasis, abstract, oil pastels, Kandinsky, blending

Project Procedures:
1. Teacher demonstration of Kandinsky examples/discussion, basic procedure with examples in progress
2. Students use shape templates and rulers to design an original abstract composition in pencil on 12x18 white paper.
3. Students choose colors to blend, consulting the color wheel for mixing choices, and compliments for contrast.
4. Once the color is finished throughout the composition, black lines are added for emphasis and movement.


Materials:
12x18 white paper, pencil, shape templates, rulers, portfolio water soluable oil pastels