Invent a border from your own repeating unit

Choose a small group of personally invented shapes and test how the unit joins to its next copy. The resulting design can be credited accurately as original work without attaching an unsupported cultural label.

To hand: Paper and original shape ideas.

Invent a unit. Repeat along an edge. Check the joins.

Check where one unit meets the next

A leaf-dot-curve unit forms a border without copying a cultural motif.

Invent the repeat unit from personal shape choices. Accurate description of authorship matters even when an original pattern resembles a familiar design.

Do not attribute invented patterns to a culture.

Where does each unit begin? Use a pre-marked strip.

Resources

• Free Elements of Art Worksheet for Kids – Shape, Line, Color, Value, Space, Form & Texture — Use the element vocabulary as a reference while children make their own visual choices.

Further reading

• National Gallery of Australia — learning resources

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