Charley Harper Fish Habitats

If you love nature and any thing under the sea, you will love exploring the world of Charley Harper. 

If you have been following my posts you will see a common theme of

"Make a Splash, Dive into Learning"

This fun lesson introduces your students to the fascinating world of Charley Harper.

Here is a little background information on Charley Harper found on a wonderful site- charleyharperprints blog

   It was also at this time, that Charley developed his own distinctive minimalist style, which he called ‘minimal realism’. The feature of this ‘minimal realism’ was the capturing of (only) the essence of a subject, without all the detail. Charley’s most quotable line is probably that he was not concerned with counting feathers, but of counting only the wings, alluding to the minimalist nature of his designs.   Charley forsook detail and realism, choosing instead a geometric and uncluttered simplicity in his art. Charley’s work is flat and hard edged, with simple geometric lines.   The draftsman’s tools of straight edge, compass, French curve and protractor were his instruments of creation.   

First, I had the students paint their large 12 x 18 paper with tints and shades of blue tempera paint and let dry.

Students then started working on their geometric shaped fish. They could use any shape. They just needed a few small details.

Next, students started to add plant life that 
would be found in a fish habitat. 

We added sea weed, lily pads, driftwood, and various plants that live under the water.

After they added plant life, we discussed how Charley Harper would add geometric lines to represent basic patterns in the objects, such as our fish.  Sharpies worked great for the lines.

We then matted the projects on construction paper for displaying in the hallways. 

Supplies:

12 x 18 construction paper
Tempera Paint -Blue, White 
Brushes
Painted Paper
Scissors
Glue