7th grade students just finished an art assignment involving paper cutting and layering colors. This lesson was originally from School Arts Magazine and written by Helaine Schechtman.
We started by cutting colored construction paper into 9×9 inch squares. Students measured and drew a 3/4 inch border on all sides of the paper. Next I demonstrated cutting techniques with an Xacto knife. I focused and stressed on repetition and pattern in their paper cutting. The idea is to have a top layer with lots of detail and design, a second layer with one repeating unifying pattern, and a bottom plain paper layer. Once all layers are complete, they need to carefully be glued together. I had to stress to the students to glue all the parts of the layers down including the small details.
Layer 1
Layer 2
All 3 layered together
Student work!
GMG Art 