Cactus Zentangles: A Colorful, Fun Art Project
"Cactus Zentangles" is the title of our most recently completed art project for third through fifth grade students. This project included learning about many different elements of art, featuring line, landscape, and color.
Fourth graders Lillian Grooms, Catherine Daniel, and Merritt Beecher agreed that "zentangle" is a fun word. "This was our first big project. It took three weeks!" The girls walked me through the steps of their project.
First, the students learned about the three parts of a landscape - the foreground, the middle ground, and the background. Next, they worked hard to create this landscape with lines to form a Zentangle. A Zentangle is a form of doodling that has patterns, or "tangles", that come together to form a Zentangle. From there they continued to use line designs to create more detailed artwork. Finally, the students used watercolor for the first time this school year.
Art teacher Mrs. Kylie Siegwald said, "Third through fifth grade students took line to the next level as they applied this art element to landscapes! I was extremely impressed with each student's choice of color as they worked to create a beautiful composition!"