Art and Algebra Project
Objectives:
To work with the principles of Unity and Variety, Repetition and Rhythm, and Balance.
To explore ways of using the same design elements (color and shape) to create a variety of compositions.
Materials: All purpose paper
Pencils
Tile templates (squares, rectangles and units)
Acrylic paints
Brushes
Palette
Illustration Board 11 x 14
Ruler
Procedure:
Instructor will set up project by showing works of Piet Mondrian, Frank Lloyd Wright, etc. and discuss the use of geometric shapes in a composition.
Hand out Algebra Tiles Templates to students (without calling them that) and have them assign specific colors to each shape. Cut out tiles and decide how many of each the student wishes to use.
Arrange the tiles in a number of different arrangements sketching out those that are the most successful on the all-purpose paper. Make sure that each composition has the same number of tiles.
Select your best composition and enlarge it to fit on your illustration board using your acrylic paints.
When all students have finished, have them “name” their math expression.