Advanced Art students in the fall of 2005 (Art 2 students in the fall of 2006) started the year creating Light-Capturing Cut Paper Designs. This project was developed by art teacher Barbara Felsecker, and it appears in the 2004 lesson plan section of the Dick Blick Art Materials website. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow, and my students achieved good results.
Students practiced cutting and folding pre-printed designs (available with the lesson plan on the site) and then brainstormed to come up with designs of their own. They were required to use at least two but no more than four designs that would fit into a pattern comprised of 54 2-inch squares. Most students developed some sort of stencil or template in order to keep their motifs consistent.
Once they had all of their designs transferred to the paper, they carefully began cutting designated lines with a razor-knife.
After cutting all of the designs, they turned the paper over (per the instructions--great idea!) to avoid having to erase their guide lines. In most cases, the designs were "opened" to about a 45-degree angle.
As a final step, the paper was mounted on a sheet of black railroad board and displayed where the light would create interesting value patterns due to the cut and folded paper.
Fall 2006--On Square Paper
Thanks so much to Dick Blick Art Materials for featuring lesson plans on its site, and to Ms. Felsecker for sharing her idea!