I do a lesson on fragmented grids and their purpose to abstract and
camouflage with my art2 students. This lesson also allows them to display
their understanding of color theory and improve their watercolor technique.
I begin with the students making a stencil (a theme is introduced)- we talk
about their purpose and use in art and review basic composition. They then
trace the stencil enough times to make a pleasing yet interesting composition
with rotation, translation, reflection, overlap etc. I have them measure
equal distances around the perimeter of the paper and begin connecting points
in a NON-regular pattern -breaking up the space into unequal units. They
then chose a scheme to work with and begin painting after the demo on
different watercolor painting techniques. It usually takes me a good two
weeks to get a completed piece- but you could certainly bypass a lot of the
talk and reduce the size of the paper to chop off some time. Check out
examples at site listed above.
Kathy in Kalamazoo