Let a line suggest the kind of landscape you imagine

Curved, broken and jagged marks can offer different possibilities for an invented scene. Explore the marks before choosing a landscape, and let the maker explain the intended effect rather than assigning each line a compulsory emotion.

Invite the maker to describe the intended effect rather than assigning a fixed emotion. Different viewers can read the same marks differently.

Compare the marks before choosing

Make several line samples. Choose marks for a scene. Explain the choices.

Jagged lines can suggest an imagined rocky path.

There is no compulsory emotional meaning for a line. What effect did the maker intend?

Use broad-grip tools.

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

Read next

• The empty spaces change when the paper shapes move
• Invent a border from your own repeating unit
• Combine two ideas into an object with an imagined use

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