Magazine Color Collage

Collage is a French word which means “glue.” The term was coined by Braque and Picasso in the beginning of the 20th century, when collage became a distinctive part of modern art.

1. I've found this to be a really good project for kinders and 1st graders. They enjoy the hunt for images, and benefit from some simple guidelines. Each student needs a couple of magazines, white paper, scissors and glue stick. They are to choose one color, and then collect as many different objects or swatches in that color as possible.
3. All of the images are glued onto the white paper, with the goal of overlapping and filling it up. This is really simple, but the fact that each picture will have a theme really unifies the images and can create some stunning artwork. Plus, everyone is getting lots of scissors cutting practice, without really thinking about it!
CA Visual Art Standard: Creative Expression, Kindergarten
2.3 Make a collage with cut or torn paper shapes/forms.

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Recycled Magazine Bowls

In honor of Earth Day, I’m having a Recycle Art Week at my school. These bowls are fun to make and truly about reusing that which just ends up in the trash.

1. Every student needs a 1" wide x 12" cardboard stick, scotch tape (preferably in a dispenser) and a magazine. To begin, students are to tear out magazine pages, taking care to choose those with the most color. The students then place the stick at a corner of a page and wrap the paper around it as shown in the diagram. Careful folding and creasing helps. When the page is completely wrapped around the stick, pull the stick out from one side. Tape the rolled paper corner down so it doesn't unwrap.

2. The first strip needs to be rolled up tightly, much like a tape measure is rolled. When finished, tape the end to itself so it doesn't come apart.

3. To continue, each new strip is attached with tape where the last one ended and wrapped to the growing roll until it is the size that is desired. When complete, hold the flat roll and shape it into a bowl. Apply a generous coat of Mod Podge on one side and let dry. Repeat for the remaining side.

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CD Case Diorama

Here’s one more recycle project – using a CD case, cardboard boxes, and dried beans.

1. Collect clean cardboard packages, such as those used for cereal, crackers, pencils and markers. Open them up and cut out simple vehicle shapes, along with mountains, trees and sun.

2. Glue a small amount of dried beans to the inside of a clear CD case with white glue.

3. I prefer double-stick tape to attach the cardboard to the CD as it keeps the shapes lying flat.

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Recycled Mini Books

This is good for Earth Day or anytime you wish to make a recycling project. I’ve started to save cereal and pasta boxes all year round so that I have a good stash whenever I need one.
1. For a kindergarten class, I took clean cardboard boxes (like cereal or pasta) opened them up to lie flat, and cut them on the fold to a 3.5" wide x 5" tall rectangle using a paper cutter. Cut on an edge that already folds flat so that the “book” opens to a 7" x 5" size.
2. Take any old leftover paper blank paper, fold it and cut to the same dimension as the cardboard.
3. Place the blank paper inside the cardboard and staple at least twice on the outside of the spine so that the sharp points of the staples are hidden on the inside.
4. NOW, you can give these to kids and have them do any number of activities, including making "nonsense" collage drawings as shown. Older student such as 3rd to 5th could staple the books together. And if you are able to get one of those extended staplers, you can make books that are much larger.

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Grocery Bag Paper Chain

Paper chain art seems to be most commonly associated with gum wrappers, as was popular in the 1960s. I’ve found that the process of folding and linking paper chains to be extremely successful and satisfying for students as young as 2nd graders. The sample shown here is made from a Trader Joe’s grocery bag, cut into 1" x 9" strips. To see the folding and linking technique, see my post HERE. The finished chain could be a bookmark, garland, or serve any multitude of uses. Let me know if you’d like to share yours.

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Recycled Turkey on a Stick

This ingenious idea for making turkeys from old food boxes comes from My Plum Pudding. It’s a really great use of those colorful coated boxes that I can never seen to throw away.
This turkey is made entirely from cut up boxes that are attached to a 1/4" wooden dowel. They’re cheap, about 20¢ each at Michael’s. This bird may look fairly simple, but I learned that the proportion of all the circles were important so I made a visual diagram for those interested in making their own. Click here to view the jpeg file. Have fun!

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Collage Name Card

Lately I’ve been inspired by scrapbook artists and the layered-looking collages they often create. I plan to start the school year with this Collage Name Card to let the students express their personalities, while making colorful artwork that can adorn their classrooms.

SESSION ONE
1. Cut enough 9" x 12" drawing paper into fourths measuring 4.5" x 6" to furnish each student with one page for each letter in their name. Also, pass out old magazines and have the students find pictures depicting things that they like such as favorite foods, colors, animals, etc. Demonstrate how the magazine paper, when torn vertically, can produce fairly even strips. They will then trim the lengths into pieces to form the letters of their names. Each strip is glued to the drawing paper with a glue stick being careful to leave no raised edges.

2. The students will use peeled crayons and a textured surface to make crayon rubbings around the letters, each with a different color. I use plastic mesh onion bags that I secure to chipboard.
SESSION TWO
3. I'll be using Crayola’s Watercolor Mixing Set. They have a new bright palette that works well for a watercolor resist painting. Each page is painted with a different color around each letter. Students should avoid mixing to keep the colors sharp and true. These paintings dry pretty quickly but dabbing with a paper towel can speed things up.
4. Once dry, the students will use small peeled crayons to rub around the edges of each page using a different color for each.
5. The students will need pieces of drawing paper cut 24"x 6" on which to mount the name pages. Each is glued to the drawing paper using a glue stick, working from left to right. Add paper for longer names and trim off any excess. Press under a stack of books to flatten.

6. When complete, the names can be hung on a wall or made to stand with a “Z” fold as pictured.

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Recycled Mosaic Picture Frame

I love the look of stone mosaic art, but it is expensive and not really practical for young kids. I thought I’d try a variation of this idea I saw online using old plastic cards instead. Between gift cards, rebate cards, and club cards, it’s pretty easy to collect these without really even trying.

1. I started with 8 jumbo popsicle sticks, and glued them together with white glue as shown. Let dry.
2. Cut several plastic cards with a scissors into strips that are just a bit thinner than the width of the stick. Cut across the strips to make the most even and equal-sided squares that you can. Glue these onto the frame with white glue, leaving a small amount of space on either side.
3. If you like the frame with the round ends showing, stop and find or make some art for the center. I wanted a more modern look so after the squares were dry, I used a large scissors to cut the ends off flush.
4. Fill your frame with a photo, drawing, or your favorite quote. To hang, apply a stick-on hanger (available at most craft stores) on the back.

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Recycle Mosaic Faces

I was wishing for some pretty colored paper to collage with when I realized my stash of recycled food boxes would do the trick. I save these boxes for their bright colors and enjoy finding new ways to recycle them.

1. I started with a black piece of paper, where I lightly sketched the outline of a head and neck.
2. My boxes came from food that held cereal, crackers, granola bars...anything that is clean and has lots of color to it. I began by choosing the eye shapes, then lips and nose. Then I found a skin color box and cut it into little “tiles”. All these shapes are glued down using a thick layer of glue stick glue. Any extra glue blobs are OK as they dry clear. More is better in this case to keep corners from popping up.
3. Finish the portrait with some interesting clothes and hair. It took some patience to try to fill in as many small pieces as I could, so I plan to encourage students to not rush through this project. The more detailed shapes they include, the more interesting their artwork will become.

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