Think Outside the Page

Project/Activity: Think Outside the Page

Age Level: 8 and up--but may be adjusted for younger students (see Optional Activities)

Materials: White paper (four 4"x6" papers for each student and one 8"x10" per child)

The Big Idea: When students first begin to draw, they tend to center small subjects in the middle of the page with not much connection to the edges of the paper. Most children do not even realize that it is OK for pictures to go to the very edge of the page and even beyond. When objects or shapes seem to escape the boundaries of the picture or seem to move beyond the frame line, the eye is led out of the picture, giving the illusion of greater dimension or space.

Procedure:
1. Show students several prints that display shapes and objects successfully going beyond the edge of the paper. Some great examples of this are Absinthe by Degas, Dempsey and Firpo by Bellows, and Seven A.M. by Hopper. Talk about what happened to the missing parts of shapes and why we can still tell what the original objects are.
2. Discuss some of the reasons artists use this concept. Talk about how cutting off an object might NOT work--for instance, placing a head at the bottom of a picture with the body missing.
3. Explain the "Rule of Three". In art, if a picture goes outside the border at all, it must go out on at least three sides so as not to look lopsided.
4. On the 4x6 papers, have the students do quick practice sketches in which parts are cut off by the edge of the picture.
5. Using one of their sketches as a sloppy copy, have the students create a finished, colored picture utilizing this technique.

Optional Activities :
1. This lesson may be simplified for younger students. Skip the practice sketches and have the students make a cut-and-paste collage, extending their pasting beyond the border of the page so that things "hang off" the paper. Then cut or mat the picture to the original size.

Teaching tips:
It helps when setting students loose to do their quick sketches to have some kind of open-ended theme to get them started. This can actually be a great tie-in to other curriculum. If learning about space, have them draw scenes from outer space. If studying the rain-forest, use a jungle theme.

At the top of the page is an example of a finished drawing utilizing the concept.