Notans

"Notan" refers to a principle of Eastern art and design that uses the contrast between light and dark elements to create a harmonious, simplified composition. The term comes from Japanese and means "dark-light." It focuses on the interaction between positive shapes and negative space or the background.

Fourth and fifth graders first painted a background using liquid watercolor. After looking at examples of Notans, from the simple to complex, students created their own Notan. They drew their shapes into a black square, then cut them out and mirrored the shapes onto their paper.