Bug Shapes on the Light Table

To connect with the exhibition The Art of Eric Carle: Bees, Butterflies, and Other Bugs on view in our West Gallery April 7 - August 30, 2015, the Art Studio created an open-ended exploration inviting our guests to use basic geometric shapes to design bugs on our light table.

Taking inspiration from the bugs and insects in Oodles of Animals by Lois Ehlert, we selected some basic shapes (circle, half circle, square, triangle tear drop, rectangle, and heart) and cut a few of each shape out of green, pink, yellow and blue translucent vellum paper. We love how the light table serendipitously and organically teaches color theory without us ever having to say a word.  Young guests learn while playing and experimenting with translucent colored materials.

We also cut some circles and a tear drop from black construction paper.  Having laminated the circle close together, we cut them from the laminated plastic in one piece, suggesting eyes or spots. The black tear drop we cut into strips and placed carefully in a lamination pouch, making use of negative space, to create two tear drop-shapes.

Bugs and insects are great examples of symmetry in nature, so to allow our guests to play with symmetry in their bug designs, we created pairs or trios of each shape.

For the times when older children or parents are playing with young children at the light table, we created a sign with the question “How many different bugs can you make with the shapes?” to suggest that there are multiple ways to make a bug. Of course, if our guests create something other than a bug using the shapes, that’s perfectly fine and encouraged too! We love how open-ended a set of geometric shapes can be!

Making Art with Children is generously sponsored by the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority.