Op Art is one of our fourth graders favorite projects. The artists continue creating many more optical illusions on their own after this lesson is taught. Each year I like to change the lesson a little.
The first class of the lesson we talked about what Op Art is and how it began. During this discussion we view Op Art by Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely. We then view sections of the DVD by Peggy Flores on Optical Illusions. If time during the first 40 minute class, the student artists explore what they have learned with paper, pencils, and markers.
The second class of the lesson we all began by putting a dot in the middle of our paper. Next we drew an even number of straight or curvy lines to the outside edge of the paper. The third step was to draw shapes around the dot. They could be organic or geometric. Next we colored the shapes we created in with marker making sure we colored in a checker board effect.
If there was time the students added the final step of making Op Art spheres and arranging on their backround.
