Zentangle Landscapes and Mountains

Another week, another art project linked to our "Misty Mountains" topic. When in need of an incredible activity, Pinterest is always my first step. I've pinned almost 1000 different ideas now (go check them out!) so all I need to do is flick through and I normally have a few ideas that are relevant to our studies. The ever-reliable Miriam at Arteascuola had posted these wonderful landscapes a while ago which I felt would be perfect for helping the class learn about the element of line.

Equipment

- A4 paper
- Thin felt-tips or gel pens
- Zentangle pattern handouts

1. We looked at pictures of landscapes first of all and I then introduced the class to zentangles. We looked at some pictures of animals and other objects that had been filled with the patterns and they were fascinated. I had found a lot of step-by-step tutorials for patterns and spread them around the tables. The class was given 20 minutes or so to try out different tangles and see what worked for them.

2. On a new piece of paper, pupils followed a rough guided drawing to give them the foundation of their picture with rolling hills, mountains and a sunset. They first drew along in pencil and then went over the lines with a black marker.

3. Children then followed different tangle patterns (some made up their own) and slowly filled in their landscapes. I advised trying to use only 1-2 colours in each section but some of the children fancied being a bit more creative than that!

The most successful were the children who were incredibly patient and careful with their intricate patterns.

Excellent as always. I seriously love teaching art lessons. Today we made a contour map/3D mountain model thing. Look out for the post because the results are worth looking at!

DB.