Concentric Circles Art Project

 

Concentric Circles

There is no must in art because art is free”

~Wassily Kandinski

The Artist

Wassily Kandinsky was known for his colorful abstract art. Born in Russia and trained as a lawyer, he became a well-known artist in the famous Blue Rider Group. He also taught at the German Bauhaus school of art. Later, he settled in France and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1944.  A well-known work of art is his Concentric Circles.

Concentric Circles Art Project

Concentric Circles is a great project for students to feel successful. Even young students love experimenting with different color combinations.

We love using oil pastels for this project. The artist originally used paint and we have seen successful versions made with pretty much any art materials under the sun. You can pull this project off with crayons and scrap paper if necessary.

There are many YouTube video lessons to choose from to inspire your students. This is one of our favorites. The teacher used black construction paper instead of white and it looks great as well.

 

Materials For Concentric Circles

  • Paper
  • Pastels/Crayons

Procedure

Model folding the paper four times and then unfolding it. The creases become the frames for the concentric circles. Show students how to draw the circles with the oil pastels. The thicker they color in, the more colorful the image becomes.

Have fun creating! If you liked our concentric circles art project, please check out more of our (Almost) No Prep Art Projects.

Wandering Black Line Art Project

Wandering Black Line
This is one of our favorite (Almost) No Prep Art Projects. You can literally pull this together in 5 minutes. We usually plan this for the first week of school and revisit versions of it throughout the year. The kids love it and every child can feel successful. We are always amazed how different each one turns out to be. The students’ personalities shine through in surprising ways.

First we turn on some music and hand out black markers. It really helps to monitor their meandering lines. We use water based markers and wipe the tables down afterwards. If you are using anything more permanent you might want to have some newspaper to cover the desks.

When the kids have finished the black lines we hand out red, yellow, and blue markers. We find it really helps to limit the colors in the beginning. Some of our other line projects include patterns and more shades. You can use any material at hand to make wandering lines. They even look great with only paper and pencil!

Are you interested in more (Almost) No Prep Art Projects? You can find a selection of our favorites right here.

Paul Klee Castles


Paul Klee castles are a great way to introduce kids to this wonderful artist.

Materials

  • Newsprint paper
  • Pastels
  • Marker
  • Watercolor

Procedure

Introduce the students to Paul Klee. Show the class several examples of his work. Demonstrate how to use shapes to draw a castle. Explain that they will make the outline with black oil pastel and then color in the shapes with watercolor and marker. Have fun!

(Almost) No Prep Spring Art

Tangled Easter Egg

This is a great project for any age.  Small children might need some help creating the egg shape.  Any material can be substitute with whatever you happen to have in your classroom.

Materials

  • Markers
  • Construction paper

Procedure

Show students how to draw a large egg.  Introduce kids to different tangle patterns.  Share some images of Ukrainian Easter eggs on Google Images.  Help younger children to make the large egg shape on a white piece of construction paper.  Trace all lines with black marker and then color.

St. Patrick’s Day Art Activity

St Patrick's Day Shamrock

This beautiful art activity is a great way for your students to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.  They draw a shamrock and create the lines with a ruler. Then kids simply add tangle patterns. You can create a beautiful display or send the project home for some Irish appreciation.

Supplies

  • Markers
  • Crayons
  • Ruler
  • Pencil
  • Google images of tangle patterns

Demonstrate how to draw a shamrock.  Show how to draw lines using a ruler. Share some pattern ideas with the class. We usually draw some patterns on the board.  Your students might want to draw with a pencil first and outline with a black marker later. Don’t forget to have fun!

Read Across America Chalkboard Art

Lorax Quote

This is a simple art activity for Dr. Seuss Day.  It requires (almost) no prep and comes out great. You will be surprised how creative you class is!

Materials:

  1. Chalk
  2. Black Construction Paper
  3. Dr. Seuss Books
  4. Google Images of Dr. Seuss Quotes

Procedure:

  1. Read you favorite Dr. Seuss book.
  2. Share Google Images of Dr. Seuss quotes.
  3. Write your favorite quotes on the board.
  4. Demonstrate how to use chalk.

Have fun!