Materials:

• 21x 18 drawing paper
• pencils
• erasers
• Prismacolor pencils

Have students start a tree with a pencil that extends up the paper 3 inches and then split the trunk into a Y. Keep splitting each branch into Y's. The farther out in the tree you go, the smaller students will make the "y's."

As the tree takes on a life of its own, the trunks can be curved up, down or around. I like to see the trunks weave in and out around each other. I next explain that the tree has to be visually balanced and the negative spaces need to be considered. Once this is done the tree can be shaded, colored (Prisma Pencils) or negative shapes can have the same treatment.

This project takes 5 to 8 hours to complete. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions.