I try to incorporate a wide variety of mediums into my art classes each year. Though one wouldn’t initially think of weaving to teach op art, this project turned out to be fun. Not to mention, the kids practiced a lesser-known skill. I was a bit surprised by how foreign it was to several of the fifth-graders in the class I taught.
We began by learning about Victor Vasarely and studied a few of his works to identify the various components of op art. This powerpoint presentation taught a few principles of op art and outlined the steps of the project.
It basically went like this:
-
- Fold the black piece of paper in half.
-
- Using a ruler, draw vertical lines ½ inch apart on one side of the black paper.
-
- Using your scissors, cut on the lines you have drawn from the folded edge stopping a half inch before cutting through the unfolded edge. DO NOT CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH
-
- Use your scissors to cut your colored sheet of paper into strips and separate them by size. (1/8 in, 1/4 in, 1/2 in, 3/4 in, and 1 inch).
-
- Starting with the largest paper strip, weave through the black paper. Weave the next largest paper strip through, making sure to alternate where the colored strips go over and under the black ones. Repeat with the next smallest strip of colored paper, then the next, until you get to the smallest. Use both of the smallest (1/8 inch wide) strips of colored paper and then start weaving progressively larger strips of colored paper until you get to the right edge of the paper. You will probably use several of the largest strips of paper before doing so.
I also created this printable, which I printed onto neon paper. Each student selected his/her own shade of neon and was able to cut along the lines to obtain the correct size of paper strips to complete the project.
I do a short sea floor spreading activity with some of my ninth graders where they need to insert strips of paper into slits that they need to cut and prepare. Every year I am amazed to see that 1) cutting with scissors is still a challenge for them 2) They are so confused about how to cut a slit in a piece of paper even when i explain to fold it in have and not cut all the way through. Over the years I have learned to demo every step and have 5 extra sheets on hand “in case.” So kudos for being successful with 5th graders.
Define “successful”. 😉 We had our fair share of do-overs, believe me. How great that you are still working those ninth-graders on their fine-motor skills!