Sonia Delaunay

Middle School students will love making this dramatic art lesson while learning about Sonia Delaunay and her influence on the art world. This project covers Common Core Standards for Math at a variety of grade levels but especially grades 7- 8 which can be found at the end of this lesson.

Grade Levels

5th, 6th 7th and 8th Grades – the examples in this lesson are from a 6th grade class

Objective

In this Sonia Delaunay Art Lesson, students will design a painted piece of art in the style of, and inspired by, the artwork of Sonia Delaunay using primary, secondary and achromatic colors.

Time

3 – 60 min lessons

Materials

• Pencil
• Ruler
• Round objects (empty yogurt containers etc.)
• Black and White – Crayola Washable Kids Paint Set, 10 Count
• 9×12 Watercolor paper – Canson (100510941) XL Series Watercolor Pad, 9″ x 12″, Fold-Over Cover, 30 Sheets
• Brushes – Acrylic Paint Brush Set, 1 Packs / 10 pcs Nylon Hair Brushes for All Purpose Oil Watercolor Painting Artist Professional Kits
• Liquid Water Colors – Sargent Art 22-6010 10-Count 8-Ounce Watercolor Magic Set
  • Or this mini version for homeschooling – Sargent Art 22-6210 10-Count 4-Ounce Watercolor Magic
• Kleenex for blotting paint
• Optional: SHARPIE Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Black, 2 Ct

Inspiration/Artist

Sonia Delaunay

I was inspired by this idea: Click Here

Instruction with Questions

Day 1

Here is a great lesson about another Art Master – Sonia Delaunay. Even though I originally taught this lesson to middle school students, I think all grade levels will enjoy learning about how she used shapes and colors to make her art. She is very famous for painting, but also for designing clothing, furniture, and even cars! She is the first woman to ever have an art showing at the Louvre Museum in France. Encourage students to go on a shapes hunt. Look especially for circles and triangles. Ask them to see if any of their parent’s clothing, or the furniture in their house has these shapes on them. Finding shapes and colors is great for art for all ages!

Present my PowerPoint Presentation on Sonia Delaunay.

Students watch videos about Sonia Delaunay.

Youtube Video: Images of her artwork: Click Here

Youtube Video: Background on Sonia: Click Here

Have a discussion about shapes and colors seen in Sonia’s artwork.

Lines and circles:

• How many lines are there approximately in each piece?  And how many circles?
• Where are the circles placed? Are they random?  Do they touch a line?  Or do they touch another circle?
• When I drew the circles, did I connect them completely around, or are they ever broken in half?
• Will colors connect across a line to complete the circles? Or, are colors different on either half of the line?
• Do any colors lie next to each other? Is a color on one side of a shape painted directly on the other side of any line?
• How does she incorporate achromatic colors?

Day 2

Students practice using a ruler and round objects. (empty containers, bowls, etc.)

Students analyze their artwork and ask:

• Do I have too many or too few lines or circles? How busy or simple is my drawing?
• Looking at my circles, are they “floating by themselves” or are they connected to a line or another circle?

• Did I create any circles that broken in half? Can I paint inside every area?
• When painting my picture, where will my color start and stop?

• How will I incorporate achromatic colors into my piece?

Students complete their pencil drawings on Day 2 and begin painting.

Day 3

Students finish painting.  They have the option to use Sharpie markers to clean up any lines.

Here are some finished Sonia Delaunay Art Lesson pieces!

Common Core Standards

7th Grade – Math – Geometry

Solve real-life and mathematical problems involving angle measure, area, surface area, and volume.

8^th – Math – Geometry

Understand congruence and similarity using physical models, transparencies, or geometry software.