Notan

This project had a very high success rate and the majority of my students could finish in one class period. 

First, I handed each of them a handout (free on teachers pay teachers!) and had them read about the Japanese paper cutting.

Nōtan is a Japanese design concept involving the play and placement of light and dark elements as they are placed next to the other in the composition of art and imagery. I think I remember doing something like this in my Basic Design class in college. 

(My art teachers and I have been complaining about how hard it is for students to follow basic instructions when it comes to cutting and gluing, as the 'crafty' stuff has been phased out of regular classroom curriculum in recent years, they have less and less exposure to the basics).

This project helps them to visuals how to cut something and then flip 'half' of the shape, exposing the negative space. I also like it because they don't have any scraps, they use everything that they cut out. And it isn't seasonal, it can be done any time of year. 

Supplies:
12X12 white background paper (I also had red/green)
6X6 black paper (I also had red/green)
scissors
colored pencil for drawing
glue sticks

After reading and discussing the handout, we watched a little video which really helped them understand how to do this. The artist in the video is using some sort of weird glue, so they were a little baffled by that. I told them to make sure they use glue sticks so they don't have a gluey mess on their tiny little cut outs. I also had a few envelopes so they could save tiny things for next time if they didn't get everything glued down. 

In the future, I could combine this with a lesson about Matisse.