negative space Archives - Art is Basic

Inside Out Design

By Marcia Beckett | May 13, 2023 - 10:21 am |July 5, 2024 1st grade, second grade, shapes

Abstract artwork featuring symmetrical yellow and black geometric shapes, with yellow shapes forming face-like profiles facing each other on a black background—an Inside Out Design masterpiece.

This is a fun, one-day project for kids that teaches about positive and negative space and is good for spatial awareness. I taught this to my 1st graders and most of them understood the concepts and some of them needed help. First, positive space is the shape you cut out of the paper. Negative space is the shape left behind. You will need one sheet of background paper 8.5″ x 11″ and a color rectangle of paper that is half … Read more… →

Notan Cut Paper Designs: Third Grade

By Marcia Beckett | July 27, 2015 - 1:50 pm |July 5, 2024 collage, third grade

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Nine square-shaped Notan designs on a white background, each in a different color and unique pattern.

I have several art lessons that I did not post about yet from this past school year, so look forward to a few more art project ideas this summer. This lesson is fairly simple to prepare for and teach. “Notan” is the term used by the Japanese to mean “light/dark” space. We can also learn about positive/negative space through Notan designs. My third graders studied Asia this year in their Social Studies class, so this was a nice tie-in. To … Read more… →