In the Montessori studio, learners are introduced to different artists to encourage creativity, self-expression, and imagination as well as to enrich their vocabulary. One such artist is Yayoi Kusama, also known as “the princess of polka dots.” Much of Kusama’s artwork uses polka dots because she believes that polka dots help her art (and herself) become part of the larger universe.
One of the ways Kusama has used dots in her artwork is by painting colored dots and repeated patterns on a black background. The Montessori learners had the opportunity to recreate this style by cutting out circles of different colors and gluing them onto black construction paper. They also cut out strips of construction paper of different patterns, which Kusama has termed “Infinity Nets.”