Waldorf Form Drawing Class - Art Through Form and Color

In this ongoing class I will be introducing students to the form drawing techniques as defined by Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Waldorf teachings.  This is a beginning class for students who would like to know more about form drawing.

Form drawing is about the process, not the end result.

Form drawing is repetitive drawing of symbols and shapes—both linear and lateral, zigzag or congruous knots.  They develop in difficulty through the years (adding algebraic patterns and cultural representations in later years) and begin when the child is turning 7 years old.  Some benefits of form drawing include multi-sensory learning, crossing the mid-line, visual motor integration, and spatial intelligence.  These serve a foundation for both reading and writing through eye focus, body awareness and working with both curved and straight lines.  Form drawing is an excellent foundation skill for improving handwriting, concentration and spatial awareness.

Form drawing brings cognitive feeling and problem solving skills together using a simple, story-telling approach.  For the younger child, form drawing should be an engaging, immersive, and enjoyable activity in which the child may see their own progress building through the stories and skills of curved and straight lines.  

Our first lessons will be spent learning straight and curved lines and the importance of both.  All the lessons are built on stories and it is through story that the form drawings emerge.  Form drawing, although an art, does not begin with elaborate pictures but rather ideas from the story which are developed through line and space techniques.  All the beginning form drawings will be created from simple straight and curved lines so it will be easy to join the class at any time.

Classes will begin with a Waldorf welcome to class verse followed by some warm up finger and hand exercises said with verses and poems.  These might include bees wax or playdough.  After the warm ups, we will begin with the form drawing.

Lesson 1: Straight lines (directional)
Lesson 2 : Curved lines 
Lesson 3 : Garden wall, Castle
Lesson 4 : Rainbows
Lesson 5 :Waves
Lesson 6 : Butterfly