Mondrian Inspired Primary Color Abstract Design

Kindergarten
1 Class Period

50 minutes

Mondrian Inspired Primary Color Abstract Design, Kindergarten Art Lesson

About the Artist: Mondrian was born in 1872.  He began his painting career by painting realistic paintings of landscapes and portraits of people.  Eventually, his artwork took on more of an abstract look.  He became enthralled with the use of primary colors and geometric design.  Mondrian's goal was to create the most perfect harmony he could within the composition of his artwork.  The artist past away in 1944.

Day 1:
Students view a power point presentation on artist Piet Mondrian. I used this lesson to introduce the primary colors to the students. We discuss his life and look at this artwork in great detail.  I used this lesson to introduce the primary colors to the students. Students are then shown examples on how people are still inspired by his artwork today.

Students selected a 9 x 9 inch square in either red, yellow or blue.  They glued a white 8 x 8 inch square in the center of the 9 x 9 inch square.

Students were then given an assortment of red, yellow and blue pieces of paper cut in various sizes of squares and rectangles.  We discussed composition and placement of these pieces on the white paper.  Students were reminded to glue carefully.  We did not want our squares and rectangles to turn into diamond shapes due to sloppy gluing.

The last step was to place black strips over the artwork.  I have these ranging in size from 1/2 inch x 8 inches, to 1 x 8 inches and 1.5 x 8 inches.  Students were reminded to only glue the strips in horizontal and vertical placements and to be careful of creating diagonal lines with sloppy gluing.

Carefully planning out how black strips will lay on the composition.

Student Examples: