Complementary Colors Organic Shape Collage

Grade 3 artists have been studying shapes and color. For this collage project, they were inspired by the work of Elizabeth Murray. We noticed that she uses many organic shapes and they often have curved and irregular sides.

American Artist, Elizabeth Murray

They also learned that the geometric shapes are simple shapes that we can easily recognize (square, triangle, and rectangle). Next, they learned about complementary colors. Complementary colors are across from each other on the color wheel. They noticed when two complementary colors are next to each other, they stand out. Students were asked to create organic shapes out of construction paper first. Once they had their shape, they used the complementary color to create patterns on top with collage.

Their finished pieces came out wonderfully and they are displayed in the hallway on the third floor.