Younger Children

Louise Bourgeois

American, born in France, 1911

Eyes

1982

Subject: Shape
Activity: Create a collage that combines different shapes
Materials: Colored paper, scissors, glue
Vocabulary: Artist, form, outline, sculpture, shape

Introduction:

Point out to your child that he or she can follow the outline of a figure by running a finger around the edges. Explain that shape is what we call the outline of a form. Circles, squares, and triangles are very common shapes. Anything that has a form, or a body, also has a shape. We can see shapes in everything around us.

Artists use shapes to create different forms. This artist made a sculpture that uses two different kinds of shapes.

Questions:

What shapes are in this sculpture?

Which shape did the artist use twice?

Is the shape on the bottom a common shape, or is it different? Why?

Observations:

Note that by putting two circles together, the artist created eyes. Encourage your child to create recognizable objects by combining different shapes.

Activity:

Cut basic shapes out of colored paper, such as circles, ovals, rectangles, squares, stars, and triangles. Ask your child to select shapes, identify them, and glue them onto a piece of paper. Encourage him or her to make something recognizable by placing the shapes together.

Vocabulary:

Artist - someone who makes things, such as paintings and sculptures
Form - the shape of something, as opposed to its surface
Outline - a line drawn around the outside edge of something
Sculpture - a work of art that has height, width, and depth
Shape - an outline of a body, like a circle or square

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