Easy Art Lesson - Yayoi Kusama

Looky! Another fun and easy art lesson you can teach for Halloween! An art sub plan based on an artist, can, of course, be taught anytime, but since it features pumpkins, it seems time appropriate.

Based on the art of Yayoi Kusama, students design and pattern their own work.

Written as a creative center activity, it can also be used for an art sub.

Who was Yayoi Kusama?

A Japanese artist, born in 1929, she works mostly in sculpture, however, she is well known for her works in a wide array of other media and fields of art as well.

Her art has the flavor of pop art and is heavily based on her life history. Much of her work has ties that deal with mental illness, for which she has struggled for most of her life.

What art pieces is she most known for?

There has been a resurgence of interest in her work. What people seem drawn to in her shows are her rooms covered in mirrors. These rooms reflect from wall to wall and give an illusion of infinity.

Pattern is a big theme in her work. Part of that is her attempt to control patterns and ideas that repeat over and over again in her head obsessively. Her images and sculptures of patterned and polka-dotted pumpkins are very publicized these days.

Where can I find an art lesson or center activity based on this artist?

TPT store, Centers and Early Finishers, has a lesson called The Patterned Pumpkins of Yayoi Kusama. Click here to check it out: Art Lesson on Yayoi Kusama.

This lesson includes:

--two photos of art by Yayoi Kusama with a brief description of her work

--a sheet with three sets of directions you may use in a creative learning center. (Cut out the one that applies to what you want the students to do.)

--a line drawing of a pumpkin that you may copy for each student or you may use as a model for the students to draw on their own

--a line drawing of a pumpkin with patterns that you may copy for each student or use as a model for step 2 of their drawing

--an example of the finished work

As a center activity, if you want the students to create the entire drawing on their own, supply the station with plain paper, pencils, and crayons.

If you want the students to fill in the sheet with the pre-drawn pumpkin shape, make sure to include the copies of that drawing; pencils; and crayons.

If you only want the students to color the pre-drawn pumpkin that already has patterns, provide copies of that drawing and crayons.

If you want to teach this as an art lesson, you may print out the visuals to show the students up close, or you may project the images.