Art Meets Math Camp: Where Creativity Meets Calculation
Art and math are often seen as opposites but when you look closer, they share deep connections through pattern, structure, and creative thinking. During our weeklong Art Meets Math Camp, 4th–6th grade students explored the intersection of these two disciplines through the work of five renowned artists: Wayne Thiebaud, M.C. Escher, Sol LeWitt, and Wassily Kandinsky.
Each day featured a short artist study, hands-on creation, and rich discussion connecting concepts like geometry, symmetry, and pattern to artistic expression. Here’s a look at the week’s journey:
Day 1: Wayne Thiebaud
We kicked off the week with Thiebaud’s whimsical, dessert-filled paintings. Students examined how he used repetition, form, and shadow to create dimension and applied these techniques to their own oil pastel drawings of sweets. Along the way, they explored mathematical ideas like 3D shapes, symmetry, spacing, and proportion.
Day 2: M.C. Escher
Next, we stepped into Escher’s world of illusion and intricate design. Students learned about tessellations and created their own repeating patterns using rotation and reflection. This hands-on work helped students visualize geometry in action and see how math can create captivating visual effects.
Day 3: Sol LeWitt
LeWitt believed that the idea behind the artwork was as important as the artwork itself. On Wednesday, students embraced this concept by writing their own step-by-step art instructions in LeWitt’s style, then trading with classmates to see how clearly their directions communicated a visual result. They later used rulers, protractors, and colored markers to create structured geometric pieces based on a personal set of rules, which they combined into a collaborative mural.
Day 4: Wassily Kandinsky
Music met visual art in our last artist study. Inspired by Kandinsky’s belief that color and shape can express sound and feeling, students listened to a range of music while creating abstract compositions. The focus was on line, color theory, emotion, and balance- demonstrating how even non-representational art can tell a story.
Day 5: Artful Reflection and Sharing
On the final day, students reflected on their week of exploration, how math supported their artistic choices and how art revealed new ways to understand mathematical ideas. Their work culminated in an art show attended by friends, family, and fellow campers.
