Products of Environment & the Life and Artwork of Yayoi Kusama
Designed for grades 4 & 5
Fine Arts, English Language Arts and Reading, Science
Formal Lesson Plan & TEKS Information
Activity and Lesson Plan by: Amber Day Scott

Click the Formal Lesson Plan information above to find one full week of lessons related to this project.

Activity 1:

Get in a froggy mood with this inspiring video about the frog life cycle:

Activity 2:

Next, let’s learn more about our featured artist, Yayoi Kusama, via this video:

Activity 3:

This project will require the use of large, simple shapes. Let’s design a frog silhouette that fills the entire canvas/paper. Take 4 minutes to draw a frog silhouette. Play this audio file of frog songs to set the mood and to serve as a timer!

Select two colors for your base. The background should be painted/colored one solid color, and the frog should be painted/colored solidly in the other color.

Now it’s time for dots! Create variety and depth by using colored dots. No lines or shading allowed. How can you pull inspiration from Kusama’s work?

Think about your spacing and placement, and try to keep your dots separated with consistent coverage.

As the dots are beginning to dry, start adding smaller dots inside the larger dots, in a contrasting color. Cool! Frog Spawn!

(Bonus Activity)

Did you enjoy this spotty, dotty activity? Take the lesson further and explore Stippling.

Use a pencil to lightly outline a picture inspired by the Frog’s Life Cycle on a solid color piece of paper.

Fill the space with dots to simulate color and form. This is not a fast process. Be patient and persistent.

Check out this video of Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture Teaching Artist AmbeR Day Scott using white ink on black paper to depict a Texas frog. In real life, her drawing took 1 ½ hours to complete. Take your time!