Heather Hansen Symmetry

So I had been looking at doing a project about Heather Hansen for a while but Don Masse over at shinebritezamorano.com beat me to the punch (his idea was cooler than mine though)!

Heather Hansen is a kinetic artist which means that she moves around and involves her whole body in the art-making process.  This is largely due to her background in not only art, but also in dance. Her work is very meditative and requires a lot of concentration and energy from her. Her work is also symmetrical.

After discussing Heather Hansen and her symmetrical work with the kiddos, we got right to work! With one of my classes, I used a long sheet of black butcher paper so that everyone's work could fit on one huge banner. The class was split in two so that each person had a partner. One person would lead the activity. The leader would make symmetrical marks with each hand. This meant that students had to have a piece of chalk in each hand which threw them off a little at first. As the leader moved their hands symmetrically across the paper, their partner, who was sitting across from them, mirrored their movements. This created a bi-lateral symmetry. With another class, we went outside and made the drawings on sidewalk, layering colors on top of each other.