De Stijl Color Study

In this study, 4th and 5th Grade practiced color mixing, learned about Piet Mondrian's take on De Stijl painting, and incorporated the mathematics of fractals in the form of a square divided into fractions whose sum infinitely approaches "one." "

To start, the classes watched this video: "infinity elephants" from Vi Hart

Next, they studied De Stijl and Piet Mondrian.

Then they used a fractal series to draw up and paint these:

After this practice with acrylic paints using primary colors plus black and white, the classes studied paint mixing. On a work sheet, they painted the primary colors, secondary colors, tints, and shades.

This all culminated with a multi-class mural made from the protective white paper that had been laying underneath their projects the whole time. The 4th and 5th Grade classes turned the huge butcher paper into their own Piet Mondrian-esque painting using their recently acquired knowledge of color theory. The results are as follows, and only took roughly four hours to finish between the classes.