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Abstract Art with Craft Sticks

  • Art & Art History
  • Kindergarten
  • Grades 6-8
  • Grades 4-5
  • Grades 1-3

Use wood sticks of different shapes and sizes and bright colors to create a simple piece of abstract art!

Materials



Jumbo Craft Sticks
Mini Craft Sticks
Skinny Sticks
Craft Sticks

Wavy Sticks

Paper

Black Marker/Pen

Instructions



Step  1.

Gather your supplies. 

Step  1.

Gather your supplies. 

Step  2.

Begin by tracing a wavy stick with a black marker.

Step  2.

Begin by tracing a wavy stick with a black marker.

Step  3.

Continue tracing the wavy stick until you’re ready for another shaped wood stick.

Step  3.

Continue tracing the wavy stick until you’re ready for another shaped wood stick.

Step  4.

Keep tracing the different shaped and sized sticks until you’re happy with the pattern.

Step  4.

Keep tracing the different shaped and sized sticks until you’re happy with the pattern.

Step  5.

Color in all the areas outside of the wood sticks with black marker.

Step  5.

Color in all the areas outside of the wood sticks with black marker.

Step  6.

Begin coloring in different parts of your drawing with a bright pink paint stick.

Step  6.

Begin coloring in different parts of your drawing with a bright pink paint stick.

Step  7.

Continue filling in the spaces with brightly colored paint sticks until there is no white left!

Step  7.

Continue filling in the spaces with brightly colored paint sticks until there is no white left!

Associate colors with music to create abstract art, just like abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky!

  • What Makes Art Abstract?: The Abstract Art movement began in the 1940s, and many artists used colors to emphasize certain emotions to create vibrant color blocks and eccentric shapes. Abstract art is described as an unrealistic depiction of a person, place, or thing!
  • Father of Abstract Art: It is said that the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky had a rare brain condition called synesthesia, where he could see sounds in color! In particular, music helped him paint colors for each instrument’s sound, and their shapes, too. Travel back in time to meet the artist himself!

How can music inspire your students’ art? After tracing your craft stick shapes, play some jazz in the classroom to inspire your students to color in the shapes on the paper. Afterward, have them present what each color symbolizes to the class!