4th grade radial symmetry relief sculptures

This is a very successful project and one of the few projects that I actually teach every single year.  The kids love doing it and they always turn out gorgeous.  Plus, it's a great math and art connection!

Before beginning, we do a little lesson on radial symmetry (symmetrical in many ways from the center).  I help them remember the name because it radiates out from the center.  Radiate-radial.  Knowing that, the students will create their paper designs in a repeating patter, radiating from the center.  We also learn about relief sculptures.  A relief sculpture is a type of sculpture that is flat on one side and generally hangs on the wall. 

So to set themselves up for success, they begin with a 12" x 12" squad pieces of black paper and fold it as shown below.  Doing so creates creases where it was folded.  These become the guideline to help create a symmetrical piece of artwork. 

Now, before beginning the really fun part, I usually spend about 30 minutes or so prepping the small colored paper squares for the project.  I use a cutting board to cut a ton of 3" x 3" squares of all different colors.  This way they are prepped and ready to go and I don't have to think about it again.

To teach the students the folds, I actually like to show them the video I posted below.  This allows me to pause, rewind, restart as much as possible and it's awesome because it is a large image for the kiddos to see and learn from.

After learning the basic folds, the artists have a great time creating their designs.  They overlap the paper, insert them into each other and glue them down to create unique and colorful designs.  This year when I taught this project, I had them stick to a color palette of 3 or 4 colors.  I love how they turned out with a limited color palette and so did the artists.

A winning project for sure and one that the kids always love the process and the end result!