Learning about the Seven Elements of Art

May 6, 2023 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

Did you know that what we think of as a good piece of art typically includes seven elements? Those elements are:

line: the basic marks that form a drawing or painting
shape: two-dimensional objects that can be formed from lines
form: three-dimensional objects
space: the illusion of depth and distance between objects
texture: how something looks like it feels
value: lightness or darkness
color: refers to the particular hue, value and intensity of colors used in a project

Those are super quick definitions, and of course artists can study these elements deeply and consider how different choices make their work look and feel different to the viewer.

When teaching kids about art, these are great terms for you and for them to know so you can talk about their art in ways that don’t judge or interpret it but really refer more specifically to what you see. (“Those forms are interesting” instead of “Is that an elephant?”)

Little Bins for Little Hands has a more in-depth discussion of the seven elements of art, complete with a free printable and different exercises you can do with your kids to learn more about how the different elements work in a drawing, painting, sculpture or other piece of art.

It might be fun to try having an art week where you work with each of these elements, or a DIY summer camp where you play with a different one of the elements each day. Like, how many different ways can you think of to add texture to a project? Maybe painting on a surface that was rough to start with, or using something with a lot of texture to paint with. What does painting with a feather look like versus painting with bubble wrap? What happens when you draw with a single color, or try to use all the colors? So many fun potential ideas!

[Photo: Little Bins for Little Hands.]

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Easy Lacing Cards to Make for Kids

Lacing is a great fine motor activity, and most kids go through a phase where they enjoy working with lacing cards. It helps promote focus and is a great quiet activity for kids to do in the car or to fill time in the classroom. And of course knowing how to lace is the beginning of knowing how to sew, which is great for all kids to learn (more on teaching kids to sew here).

There are lots of ways to make your own lacing cards. This one is just a pin but it’s easy to make lacing cards with any shape a child is into using cardboard and a nail to poke the holes. This could be fun for letter and number recognition or spelling the child’s name. Or try this version from Hey Azka, which uses a hole punch to make bigger holes so you can lace with shoe laces.

You can also just do lacing cards with paper, but it’s a great idea to print them on card stock and/or laminate them to make them sturdier for little hands. Homeschool Share has a set of alphabet lacing cards, which are free with email signup. Deceptively Educational has a set of number lacing cards with numbers 0 to 10.

Picklebums has some basic shape lacing cards, too.

Living Life and Learning has a bunch of cute printable lacing cards, including back to school designs, shoes kids can lace and learn to tie and ocean themed lacing cards. She also has tips for making your own lacing cards.

A Rose Tinted World made their lacing cards with craft foam, which makes them a little more durable than paper and you can cut it more easily than cardboard. They used a die cutting machine but you can also cut shapes by hand.

I also love the cat and mouse cards from Seam Whisperer. They also have some spring themed designs. So cute!

If you want to make lacing cards that are more open ended, check out this tutorial form Pretty Life Girls to make lacing cards that are more like geo boards. Theirs are made with wood but you can also do this with cardboard, craft foam or card stock.

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