Yayoi Kusama - Artists who inspire - Art Lesson
Who is Yayoi?
Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist who makes a lot of different types of art. She is best known for her dots. She has an inspiring story and more information about her life can be found over at Tate Kids
We created an art project in both grade one and three. We began our lesson by reading the wonderful book: The Dot by Peter H Reynolds. It's an absolute favourite of mine. It explores the theme of a lack of confidence in being able to draw. In the story the child becomes confident in their own ability to express themselves creatively.
We read the story. We also explored the art by Yayoi Kusama and spoke about which elements are largely used in her installations. We explored:
The form and shape of a dot.
symmetry
solid forms
floating forms
forms and shapes placed close together
forms and shapes placed far apart
forms and shapes placed within each other
colour
We then created our own collage polka dot masterpieces. There are several variations to this art activity based on time and skill level. The easiest would be to precut the dots in various colours and sizes and encourage the students to place their shapes.
Alternatively I let the students choose three or four colours of brennex paper squares. They cut out their own circles and glued them onto some sturdy white paper. I completed this activity by placing and framing their works on coloured card. Ta Daaaaa! They looked fabulous and added a large pop of colour to the classroom.
If you are fortunate enough to live in Canberra the National Gallery of Australia currently has an exhibition by Yayoi titled: "The Spirits of the Pumpkins descended into the Heavens." It's well worth a look!
