This was lesson #2 for my high school graphic design students.  After learning basic functions of Adobe Illustrator, they were introduced to the PEN TOOL!  They took it pretty well and dove right in after going outside to observe and find inspiration from nature.  I am attaching the project description as well.  

 

Above is my solution.  The organic shape was inspired by a soft shadow cast by a tree on the sidewalk, and the squares came from some experimenting with stencils in my sketchbook.