The class looked at work by several of the cubist painters and other art work which has flat abstracted shapes. Some of the work studied was portraits. Many of the portraits were not symmetrical and some made use of multiple perspective.

Students chose shapes to use for their portrait in a box full of cut paper shapes. They also could cut their own shapes or alter shapes they found. Students were encouraged to outline the paper shapes to make them stand out in a bold way. This portrait could be an abstract representation of themselves or someone else. They can be asymmetrical, use color in a nonrepresentational way, be divided into planes, decorated with patterns, show multiple perspective, or any combination of these.

Students learned a wide variety of art concepts doing this project and demonstrated some high level thinking skills as will as artistic ability.