This week, during Oman Week, Grade 8 combined visual art and math with an exploration of the patterns found in Islamic art and architecture. They looked at artwork from the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, and learned about how geometric designs can represent spirituality and other abstract concepts.
When planning for this lesson, we discovered that Rajab, the seventh month of the Islamic calendar, will soon begin. We learned that Rajab is a sacred month in which conflicts are forbidden. In honor of Oman Week, students each designed a geometric pattern using symbols and colors that would in some way communicate a sense of peace or respect. For example, green might symbolize respect for nature, while blue might represent respect for others’ beliefs, and red might indicate respect for all life. These finished artworks are lovely and are now on display in the LC3 atrium.
