Students learned about the Japanese principles of Notan which means "dark light," before creating their cut paper designs.  They concentrated on creating balanced designs with equal amounts of positive and negative space as they expanded the square.  They also concentrated on using color contrast.  Unfortunately the digital photos shown here do not do the actual colors justice; in person the designs are much more vivid.

When they were finished with their individual designs they worked cooperatively to create more complex designs. 

NOTAN: The Dark-Light Principle of Design is a book by Dorr Bothwell and Marlys Mayfield that proved to be a valuable resource.

(This lesson was inspired by Bunki Kramer of Los Cerros MS in California.)