In this UOI students were exploring the work of Georgia O'Keef and her approach to abstraction of natural forms. This was a really interesting lesson as the students were working outside of the classroom, using materials that were new to them.

At the beginning of this unit read a book together about Georgia O'Keef from the "Getting to Know" series. This is a great series of books that are so accessible to young children--lots of interesting and engaging biographical bits, without glossing over some of the more serious aspects of an artist's life and work.

We started off with a few activities that trained them to look closely, using lenses and frames to organize composition. The final step in our investigation was a few lessons in the welcome garden painting some of the unique plants in the atrium.