Volume 8 Enrichment and Review

Challenge 2

Kinetic Art (Art that Moves)

Have you ever seen kinetic art? If you have ever driven past the Lancaster Train Station, you probably have! It is the wind powered sculpture that greets visitors as they arrive.

Try making a basic piece of kinetic art: A pinwheel! Follow the directions below, paying close attention to measurements.

Think like a scientist: How can you make your pinwheel move faster or slower? What factors effect the movement?

Think like an artist. What can you do to make the design of your pinwheel beautiful? Can you add complementary colors on each blade? Can you add elements of line in a pattern to create an illusion?

Mobiles are also a form of Kinetic Art. Alexander Calder, a Pennsylvania native, created some very famous mobiles which are on display in the Guggenheim Museum.

Challenge 4

Action Verb Art

Keith Haring is another famous artist from Pennsylvania! He created graffiti style artwork that looked like it was in action. Action words are called verbs. They describe what a noun is doing. Let's use Keith Haring's art as a way to remember action verbs!

Have someone take a picture of you in an action pose. Name your action pose with an action VERB. (ex. Are you kicking in your pose? Kick would be your action verb.)

Look at your picture. Sketch a stick figure of yourself in that pose. (Watch the video below if you need help.)

Next, turn your stick figure into a moving stick figure by following the example in the link below. Outline it in black and color it in a bold, primary color.

Brainstorm ideas for a story you could write using a lot of action verbs. Write your story and underline the action verbs. Then, create Keith Haring style stick figure for each action verb in your story. Cut them out. Create a video using your action stick figures and read your story as the narration. Share your movie when you're finished!