A Twist on Teaching Line

Kooky - crooked - spirals - wavy - bending - zig-zags - twirling - repeating - weird - wiggly. 

These were just a few of the adjectives that filled our art space discussion, as the third and fourth grade artists studied the art element line the other day.

Sure, you can always grab some drawing tools and have them draw lines, but this year I wanted to take our lines to another level. We made 3D lines using bright and colorful quilling paper. It's narrow, long, and easy to manipulate for the most part. A few Band-aids later, from all the paper cuts, my new approach to line study appeared to have been a success.

We curled, we bent, we rolled, we stretched - not only paper strips, but our imaginations. Our 3D sculptural lines and forms came alive with each new idea. My little artists were thrilled with the variety of lines that were emerging and interacting with other lines as our study continued. It appeared as if there were an endless supply of movement found in our creations and around the room as everyone wanted to share a new way they discovered to shape their lines. Gotta love collaboration!