Inchies!

Have you heard of inchies?  An inchie is a one-inch-square work of art.  I challenged my students to divide two pages in their sketchbooks into a 1" grid.  Whenever they have "free time", they are to draw an inchie or two in their sketchbooks.  The goal is to have both pages, which have about 80 squares each, filled up with tiny works of art by the end of April.  The students must make each square its own artwork, and they must each be original.  I am participating with them.  I am not sure what we will do with them in the end yet, but we will use them for another activity.  More details and photos to come!  Here is an example of the beginning stages:

Kaleidoscope

I think all art teachers have done some version of a mandala or kaleidoscopic image with their students.  After all, it is an awesome art activity to learn about radial balance!  So, students had to include their name and three things that they like in their design.  i wrote my last name in cursive, drew a thread with a needle, an orchid and a zebra longwing butterfly.  Here is my example design:

The students enjoyed this assignment, although the transfer process can be a little complex for some.  It is so cool how those things that are drawn make their own unplanned design elements when the mirror image is added.  In the future, I believe we will not use watercolor washes on it so they can be more vibrant.