Originally published: 14 January 2021
Squares are solid, reliable, and steady shapes – but can a square be art?
We read a lot of picture books, including books about match and geometry. A couple years ago, we ended up with two different children’s books about squares at the same time.
One came from our local library. The other was in a set we picked up from my kids’ school. Both told fun stories about a pragmatic, sensible square who learned how to create art!
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In Perfect Square by Michael Hall, a piece of paper starts out as a square. When it gets torn or cut into many different shapes, it learns to adapt and turn into something new.
In Mac Barnett’s book, Square is only interested in moving and stacking blocks. Then his friend, Circle, asks him for help.
More recently, we’ve found a new book about tangrams that also uses shapes to create all kinds of images. The Quest for a Tangram Dragon by Christine Liu-Perkins and Lynn Scurfield starts out with a small triangle.
The triangle wants to find a dragon who can bring back the rain. Along the way, though, the triangle meets another triangle, and then a square. With each new shape, the characters have to learn how to work together to continue their journey.
All three of these books are perfect for teaching kids about collage, math, and shapes!
Reading List:
Perfect Square, by Michael Hall
Square, by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
The Quest for a Tangram Dragon, by Christine Liu-Perkins and Lynn Scurfield
You’ll also want to collect scissors, glue, and a stack of colorful paper. You can use construction paper, scrapbook paper, or any other fancy paper you have lying around.
This project is also a great way to up-cycle old paintings or scrap paper. We used old finger-painting doodles that I’ve been saving for a craft project.
Instructions:
Simple Collage Projects:
For basic collage techniques, start with Michael Hall’s Perfect Square. This stories main idea is simple. Start with a piece of paper. Then tear or cut it up into smaller pieces. Use those pieces to create something new.
My youngest made a tree with bright-colored leaves, but you can create anything from simple shapes glued together.
If you want to add in other collage inspiration, look for illustrators who use collage. Compare how they use colors and and shapes in their artwork. Some illustrators cut paper carefully, while others tear and crumple the paper to create textures.
Eric Carle, author of The Hungry Caterpillar, is one of the most famous children’s authors to use collage. Older kids can study Steve Jenkins’ Actual Size or Creature Features for more detailed, precise collage work.
This butterfly uses Carle’s bright loose style and simple shapes.
Tangram Pictures
A tangram starts with one large square, cut down into a series of shapes. I used the picture on the Wikipedia page as a guide, to see what shapes to make.
With a little help, kids can also practice cutting the shapes themselves. Even if the shapes look a little ragged, they’ll still work for the next step!
If you want to create this tangram set with your own paper, follow these steps:
Start with the first square, fold the square in half diagonally. Cut along the fold to create two triangles.
Fold one of those triangles in half and cut along the fold again to create two smaller triangles.
With the other large triangle, find the corner with the widest angle.
Fold that corner down to touch the opposite edge (the longest side). Cut along the fold. This creates a small triangle and an extra-long trapezoid.
With the trapezoid, fold it in half and cut again.
Now you have two matching quadrilaterals. With the first piece, fold the pointy corner across to the square corner. This creates a square and a triangle. Cut those shapes apart.
Finally, with the second quadrilateral, find the longest side of the shape.
Then find the square corner connected to that side. Fold this corner up, creating a triangle and a parallelogram. Cut these shapes apart.
That’s it – you’ve created a tangram puzzle!
Study The Quest for a Tangram Dragon to see how the illustrator used these shapes to make various images. Then see what other shapes or critters you can create!
(Note: paper shapes will wear out after a while. If you want to the puzzle to last longer, you can use cardboard instead of paper. Simply trace the shapes onto cardboard and cut them out.)
Shapes & storytelling:
Mac Barnett’s Square is part of a series which uses shapes as the characters. Ask kids to create their own shape and tell a story using their characters.
You can treat this as a collage project and design backgrounds with cut paper. Or, if you’re working with older kids, ask them to create a stop motion story using their shapes!
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Now it’s your turn – what kinds of art can you make with paper?
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