2nd Grade Secret Code Collage

Do you guys know Hope Hunter Knight from Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists? Other than commenting on blogs and on Instagram, I don't know her a bit. I feel like our philosophies about art ed are very similar. We've shared several lesson ideas and this one is totally ripped off inspired by her original post. 

This is the second year I've done this lesson with my 2nd graders and I decided it was going to be one of our art show projects this year. The whole project is inspired by a French artist by the name of Auguste Herbin. I know a lot of artists, but he was not one of them when I came across Hope's post. I immediately knew the project would be a winner, though. Essentially, Herbin created his own "secret code" alphabet called Alphabet Plastique. 

I have my students each come up with a title consisting of one or two words. They devise a simple geometric code for each letter in their title. The codes will eventually be made out of construction paper, so they can't be too crazy complex. 

When my students did this last year, I tried to have them plan out the final version of their work in a way that didn't leave any blank space. It got a little too intense. This year, I simply gave students various rectangles of card stock and let them figure out how to best fill their paper. If there was negative space left, it wasn't a big deal. I wound up with better results and fewer headaches. Most kids filled up their page anyway. 

I'm blown away by the work my students create. I have to stop and remind myself that they were made by kids who are only 7 or 8. 

I usually post my lesson plans, but I'm not going to post here because the lesson really isn't mine to post. You can see more details over at Mrs. Knight's blog. 

Seriously. The complexity of shape and the overall design are stunning. 

Secret Code Artwork by 2nd Grade

Other bloggers are the best. I really enjoy the fact that there are so many of us that are so willing to take the extra time necessary to share all of the cool things we do in our classrooms. I've found that I closely identify with some bloggers. One in particular is Hope Knight from Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists. I came across this project earlier this school year and had to borrow it. It's just too cool. It's not the first I've borrowed from Mrs. Knight this year!

The project is based on the work of the French painter Auguste Herbin. I hadn't ever heard of him prior to seeing Mrs. Knight's post. He is most famous for his abstract geometric paintings. He used something that he called "Alphabet Plastique," in some of his work. It is almost like a secret code imbedded in his work! 

Students started by picking out a couple of words to use as the title of their work. They gave each letter they used a simple geometric design. They then used their code letters to create the final artwork. We talked a lot about composition and design to make sure the final project was arranged in a cool way. 

I'm not going to post the lesson plan here because it really isn't mine to post. You can see more details over at Mrs. Knight's blog. I really liked how the artwork came out for this project. I was really bummed that I didn't do this until after the art show. It would have been a beautiful addition to the show. It's definitely on my list for next year.