Art Class, Level 3: Da Vinci’s Clock

Product Description

Learn to create a collage from shapes inspired by the parts of da Vinci’s clock.

We often think of Leonardo da Vinci as a painter. Who hasn’t heard of his painting of the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, or the Lady with the Ermine? But da Vinci was more than a painter. In fact he thought of himself first of all as an engineer/inventor, and invented the first self-propelled “car,” a robot, war machines, and several clocks.

The Academy Model Company has converted one of his plans for a clock into a working model, making it easy to study the clock’s mechanics. The model makes it easy to imagine what the invention might have looked like if one were using 15th Century materials.

Students will study the parts of the clock, and use them as inspiration to create a collage. In the process they will:

• Collect templates,
• Collect paper with a variety of textures,
• Trace the template shapes onto the papers, cut them out, and
• Glue the shapes into a collage.

In the PowerPoint version, the collage with be finished in monochromatic colors, using paint and oil pastels. In the Video version, the collage is finished with aluminum foil and color media. Students learn techniques to achieve unity in a composition. It’s an exciting way to explore collage and create an original composition.

This lesson includes both POWERPOINT and VIDEO versions of the lesson.

Approximate Time to Complete the Art Class:

• Collecting textures: 1-60 minutes (Take your time! This can be a lot of fun.)
• Tracing and cutting shapes: 20 minutes
• Arranging, gluing and painting the collage: 45 minutes
• Total time: 125 minutes

Families will have access to the online lesson for one year from the date of purchase.