Tenzin, grade five.

Jane B. Montero

When we think of traditional art projects in upper elementary art classrooms, visions of clay, watercolor paint, and construction paper come to mind. If youʼre looking for an alternative, using Chromebooks to create hexagon compositions has proven to be an engaging option for my students. This project allows them to demonstrate their understanding of how artists layer shapes on top of shapes. I call this project Hashimoto Hexagon Compositions because it draws inspiration from contemporary artist Jacob Hashimoto.

Introducing the Artist
Jacob Hashimoto is a phenomenal artist who creates dynamic work rooted in tradition. We start with a slideshow presentation of Hashimoto’s amazing wall sculptures, which combine traditional Japanese materials such as rice paper, bamboo, and thread. Hashimoto paints each hexagon or circle individually and strings hundreds of them together to create his final installations.

The Process
Following the presentation, students spend three class periods creating their own hexagon compositions in Google Drawings. My students are already familiar with the digital art-making tools in the app.

The more success students have with technology, the more confident they will become.

On day one, students select either the hexagon or circle shape to create the outside border for each individual design. They create at least three shapes, each in its own file.

On day two, students download each shape as a PNG file so that it won’t have a background. Each file is then uploaded to a single Google Slide. Once the files are uploaded, students duplicate (Control + D) each hexagon or circle shape at least two additional times and use the “recolor” menu, which is found in the “format options” tool.

On the third day, students embellish their overall design by adding transparent hexagon and circle shapes to create depth.

Porter, grade five.

Tips
Make sure students are only creating one main shape per Google Drawings file; I have noticed that a few students have tried to design everything in one file, which won’t work as a PNG moveable image on the Google Slide.

If students did not download each file as a PNG, the images will have a white background when they are uploaded to Google Slides, making them impossible to overlap and recolor.

Assessment
Upon completion of the project, students upload their Google Slide as a JPEG or PNG file to the Canvas app. The project is graded based on the following four-point rubric:

+1 = The student created at least three separate png files that included either a hexagon or circle as the outside shape.
+1 = The student used additional shape and line tools to create designs inside each main shape.
+1 = The student organized final shapes into a Google Slide and duplicated each shape at least two times with the “recolor” tool applied.
+1 = The student embellished the overall design with additional transparent hexagons and/or circle shapes.

Reflection
Students enjoyed learning about Hashimoto’s art and creating their own digital composition inspired by his colorful hexagon wall sculptures. Experimenting with a variety of materials, including technology, helps deepen students’ understanding of the complexities of creating art.

Itʼs important for art teachers to provide different experiences to engage students in the creative process. The more success students have with technology, the more confident they will become, which will result in more young designers entering the workforce in the future.

Jane B. Montero is an art teacher at Creekside Intermediate School in Dexter, Michigan. monteroj@dexterschools.org    Hashimoto-Inspired Hexagons