Op Art Mural

When students finish early I usually ask them to free draw.  However, I've been noticing that some of my fourth and fifth graders were losing interest in this free time.  So instead I created an op art design and fourth and fifth graders filled in the colors on their free time!  It kept their interest and came out beautiful!!

Op Art in progress...

5th grade students discussed a style of art called op art.  Op art is not about what we see but HOW we see- a process called optics.  The way our eyes try to make sense of an abstract image is the subject of Op art.  Looking at the work of Bridget Riley we discussed how the various illusions were created using line, patterns, shapes and color.  Students then used lines and value(lights and darks) to create their own op art.  Here's some examples that students have just begun coloring!