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Learn all about the amazing French artist Sonia Delaunay with these gorgeous Sonia Delaunay Art Projects for Kids, featuring artwork, collages, and more!

A mother makes a quilt for her baby son. Of course, it’s no big deal, after all, countless Moms across the world and across ages have done it.

But when that quilt becomes the beginning of an art movement, you know that we’re not talking of an ordinary Mom!

That’s right, we’re talking about Sonia Delaunay, an amazing woman, and the first living female artist to have an exhibition at the Louvre. Today, we’re going to focus on this inspiring artist with some Sonia Delaunay Art Projects for Kids!

Sonia Delaunay was born Sarah Stern to Ukrainian parents. She was then adopted by her uncle and aunt in Russia and became Sonia Terk.

She studied art in Germany and Paris, where she lived later and met her husband, Robert Delaunay. The Delaunay couple were pioneers of Orphism, an art movement that was inspired by Cubism but involved bright colors.

Orphism, also known as simultanéisme, is also derived from Pointillism, where colors are placed next to each other, creating a different overall effect to the viewer’s eye. Let’s learn more about this wonderful artist through some fun art projects!

20 Sonia Delaunay Art Projects for Kids

1. Artist Study with Geometric Shapes

A lot of Sonia Delaunay’s work features geometric shapes, and this artist’s study at The Artful Parent uses solid shapes! Hand kids wooden or plastic blocks in different shapes and let them use these along with a ruler to trace the shapes on paper. Give them bright paints and let them choose the colors for some lovely art!

2. Abstract Art Collage

This art project from Deep Space Sparkle is a great cutting exercise. Let kids trace out circles out of common household objects and cut them out of colored paper. Stick the paper circles in different patterns on plain paper and watch how the art comes alive!

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3. Delaunay Circles

If you have a set of circle stencils, then you’re all set to try this lovely art project from Art Projects for Kids! Draw them touching each other and then draw a line through the middle. Use colored sharpie markers to fill in the circles, with contrasting colors next to each other, Delaunay style. If you don’t have stencils, you can use things you find around the house too.

4. Madame Sonia Delaunay: A Pop-Up Book

This is an absolutely delightful book that’ll appeal to everyone – adults and kids alike! The book features lovely little pop-ups based on Delaunay’s art, created by a paper engineer, Gérard Lo Monaco. Along with the pop-ups, the book has fun rhymes to match the illustrations.

5. Sponge Painting with Shapes

This is a good weekend project for the little ones, especially if they like getting messy! Get sponge pouncers or sponges in different shapes and bright paints. Then put on an apron, spread lots of newspaper and get stamping with the sponge shapes. Get the instructions from At Home with Ali.

6. Sonia Delaunay Wearable Art Project for Kids

Sonia designed costumes for many stage shows and even movies, while her husband often worked on the stage design. Eventually, she founded her own brand named Casa Sonia, where she sold her designs on fashion and interior products. Art Campla shows us how to create a Sonia Delaunay-inspired cape that will make for a lovely stage costume!

7. Sonia Delaunay Art Lesson

As Cubism gained popularity in Paris, Sonia and her husband Robert began to experiment with color, calling it simultanéisme. This is based on color theory, where designs placed next to each other appear to affect their neighbors. Later, when she started her own business, simultané became her registered trademark. You’ll find instances of this simultaneous contrast in these Sonia Delaunay art projects for kids, including this one from Leah Newton Art.

8. Delaunay Abstract Design with Markers

Little Sonia was orphaned at the age of five and was adopted by her maternal uncle and his wife in Russia. Sonia’s new family was quite rich, and as a result, they travelled extensively in Europe, where Sonia was able to visit several art museums and galleries. Try out your own gallery-worthy art project with the instructions from Teach Kids Art.

9. Handprint Prisms Art Project Inspired by Sonia Delaunay

When Sonia Delaunay was in high school in St. Petersburg, her teacher noted her impressive drawing skills and suggested she continue her education at the famous Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe, Germany. Let your kids practice their own art skills with these Sonia Delaunay art projects for kids, including this fun handprint art project from Woo Jr.!

10. Introduction to Sonia Delaunay’s Art

When Sonia Delaunay enrolled at the Académie de La Palette in Montparnasse, Paris, she realized that she didn’t really like their teaching style. So instead of spending time in class, she preferred to roam around Paris! At the many galleries she visited, she studied the work of the masters like Van Gogh, Gauguin, Henri Rousseau and Matisse. Party in the Art Room uses a few techniques of these artists in this art project.

11. Sonia Delaunay Art Project

As you go through these Sonia Delaunay art projects for kids, you’ll notice that not only was Sonia Delaunay inspired by other artists, but there were painters who were inspired by her, too! Sonia created an illustration for a poem by Blaise Cendrars, which was a 2 metre-long accordion-pleated book. Paul Klee was so inspired that he used some of her techniques in his own work. You have a chance to get inspired by Sonia too, using this tutorial from Tatateach!

12. Sonia Delaunay Color Blocking Watercolor Tutorial

Sonia Delaunay loved color, and she believed that much more research needed to be done with regard to color research. She said that it was up to coming generations to unravel the mysteries of color, and you can do your bit by trying out this colorful art project from Duncan House Creative!

13. Geometric Shape Painting Inspired by Sonia Delaunay

Sonia Delaunay didn’t just design movie costumes or home decor; she even designed a car! She created a pattern for the Matra 530, where she designed it in a way that featured special optical effects that wouldn’t distract other drivers. Try out this tutorial from Art with Trista and think about fun ways you can apply this design on a vehicle!

14. Shapes and Colors with Sonia Delaunay

Sonia Delaunay was quite passionate about fashion, often talking about the importance of color in fashion as well as the need for more comfortable fashion for women. She loved creating geometric patterns on clothes, and you can experiment with your own patterns in this tutorial from Learn Play Read.

15. Delaunay-Inspired Collage Necklaces

Sonia’s love of color was inspired by her Ukrainian roots. In her memoir, she talked about her memories of Ukraine, where peasant women dressed in brightly colored dresses decorated with ribbons. These influences can be seen in the range of textiles and jewellery she designed with Artcurial, a leading French auction house in Paris. Now you can design your own Sonia Delaunay-inspired jewellery, thanks to this tutorial from Allise Nicole!

16. Sonia Delaunay Paper Dolls

We can’t have a list of Sonia Delaunay art projects for kids without featuring a project about fashion, like this one from The Making Table! She had a fashion studio with Jacques Heim, and they designed for celebrities, including actresses, socialites and writers. The duo also hosted a pavilion at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, called boutique simultané. 

17. Sonia Delaunay-Inspired Orphic Cubism Collage

These Sonia Delaunay art projects for kids show us that the artist worked with multiple media and created a wide array of designs spanning various industries. Scribbles for Littles encourages kids to use different materials to create their own Delaunay-inspired art!

18. Recycled Concentric Circles Art

In 1975, Sonia Delaunay was named an officer of the French Legion of Honor. In 2004, the French Post Office and the United Kingdom’s Royal Mail jointly released a postage stamp featuring Delaunay’s painting Coccinelle. Let’s honor the artist in our own way – by making this concentric circles art project from Little City Tales.

19. Delaunay-Inspired Colorful Collage House

We think this project from Hoopla Mag celebrates the spirit of Orphism, the art movement started by Sonia Delaunay and her husband Robert. Orphism is essentially a study of the interaction between color and movement, and we love how the colors here add character to the collage house.

20. Sonia Delaunay Printable Activity Sheets

Mini Mad Things has a full set of printables that features fact sheets, paper dolls and much more that help us learn and celebrate the life and work of Sonia Delaunay!

We hope these Sonia Delaunay art projects for kids encourage them to explore color in their own way. Show them pictures of her work and tell them the story of how a mother created art in a patchwork quilt for her son. It’s a wonderful example that you’ll find art everywhere and can create art anywhere!

Here are some more posts about France & French Artists:

• 10 Fantastic France Crafts for Kids
• 10 Regal Renoir Art Projects for Kids
• 10 Henri Rousseau Art Projects for Kids
• 10 Enchanting Eiffel Tower Crafts for Kids
• 10 Paul Cezanne Art Projects for Kids
• 10 Marc Chagall Art Projects for Kids