- Today, we are talking about notan, which is not what you get when it rains over spring break.

No.

(upbeat music) Hello, I am Mrs. Fred, and today we are talking about notan and the element of space.

So notan is a Japanese design concept that plays with the balance between light and dark.

But we're also talking about space today.

Does anybody know about space in art?

- Ooh, I do.

Hmm, I do, pick me, hmm.

- Yeah, go ahead.

- (indistinct) - Oh, right, I'm not talking about outer space.

I'm talking about the element of art space.

- Hello, ooh, over.

- Let me help you out.

So today we're talking about positive and negative space in art, which is where an object is on the page, and also where it isn't.

It can be, kind, of confusing, so let me show you what I mean.

So in this painting of the cactus, we see that the cactus is actually the positive space.

It's the spot that takes up the drawing but the stuff around it is important too.

That is called negative space.

See how all of the orange is the negative space?

That's the concept that we're dealing with today.

So we are going to begin our project working with notan and positive and negative space.

But before we get started, we always kick it off with our art motto and it goes a little something like this.

Today in art, I will try my best, I will be creative, and I will problem-solve.

This is pretty important, so let's stick it up on the board so that we remember.

Now let's see what our art goals are for today.

Today's art goals are to learn about positive and negative space.

We are also gonna create a notan collage from a single square.

The art materials you need are glue, scissors, dark paper, light paper, pencil, eraser, and always your imagination.

So let's get started.

We are gonna measure out a four inch by four inch square out of a dark piece of paper.

Then I'm just gonna draw an image on my paper, but look I'm doing it in threes.

The next step is really important.

Trace your square onto a light colored page and then carefully cut out the images that you drew.

Line them up onto your square and flip it open.

Flip that little shape open to the side and you'll see some positive and negative space.

Glue that down right away.

Make sure to line it up to the squares traced line.

And we have our beginning.

You're gonna cut out the second shape and leave it intact as it normally would be in the square.

Then our third shape, you're going to cut it and flip it open just like we did with that first shape.

Flip it open and line it up on the line.

Glue that down really well, and you have your first positive and negative space in our notan design.

Repeat this with every single side of our square.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) Once you're done, glue down that center shape that you have remaining and you have a completed notan expanded square.

What I like to do to finish it is just erase any marks that are still seen and there you have it.

So did we meet our goal today?

It looks like we did because we learned about positive and negative space, and we created a notan collage from a single square.

So, nice work.

I hope you didn't have a negative experience because today for me was positively delightful.

Thank you for joining me.

And remember, keep on arting.

(upbeat music)