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Nature Collage Card Inspired by the Art of Haiti

By Cheryl Trowbridge 5 Comments

Make a Nature Collage Card Inspired by the Art of Haiti

You can learn a lot about a culture from its art! When I visited Haiti, I learned that the Haitian people are both resilient and resourceful. Their resourcefulness is very evident in their art. One example of Haitian resourcefulness is the nature collage cards they make and sell. They gather local organic materials which they use to create simple scenes of everyday … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Animals, Birds, Collage, Cutting, Earth Day, Gluing, Greeting Cards, Haiti, Leaves, Lessons, Mixed Media, Multicultural, Nature, Ocean / Seascapes, Trees Tagged With: cards, collage, Haiti, leaves, nature

Surrealistic Collage Inspired by Rene Magritte

By Cheryl Trowbridge 2 Comments

An example of a Surrealistic Collage by Judith Ann Nilsen

  Maybe you've seen the famous painting of a man dressed in a suit and bowler hat, with a green apple in front of his face. Or the painting of an apple with the French words, "Ceci n'est pas une pomme" written in calligraphy above it ("This is not an apple".... meaning it's not a real apple, but a painting of an apple!) Or the painting where it appears to be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Famous Artists, Collage, Cutting, Gluing, Imagination, Magritte, Rene, Mixed Media, photorealism, Recycling with Art, Surrealism Tagged With: photography, photos

“Collage Who You Are” Self-Portrait

By Cheryl Trowbridge Leave a Comment

Collage Who You Are Self-Portrait

For centuries, artists have created self-portraits to give others a glimpse into who they are. Since our likes and dislikes, personalities, hobbies, and skills all contribute to making us interesting and unique, why not include those in a self-portrait, too? And what could be a more fun approach to this than a mixed media collage??! For this project we used a bit of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Markers / Pen and Ink, Collage, Cutting, Gluing, Inspiration, Mixed Media, Paper, Photography, Portraits / Self-Portraits, Tempera

Mix ‘n Match Faces

By Cheryl Trowbridge Leave a Comment

Mix 'n Match Faces Project for Kids

Each month brings a new challenge with the Children’s Museum of the Arts (CMA) CIVIC KIDS campaign! Their theme for November is “Equity”…. perfect for election month, don’t you think?! equity noun 1 the equity of society: fairness, justness, impartiality, egalitarianism; objectivity, balance, open-mindedness." The challenge is open to kids everywhere… you don’t need to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Lessons, Animals, Art Challenges, Bookmaking, Books, Crayon, Creatures / Monsters, Cutting, Drawing, Faces, Folding, Markers / Pen and Ink, Math with Art, Middle School Art, Paper Folding, Pencil, People Tagged With: #cmacivickids, Booklets, books, Bridgett Spicer, Equity, silly

Easy Sugar Skull Kirigami for Day of the Dead

By Cheryl Trowbridge Leave a Comment

Easy Sugar Skull Kirigami

This easy sugar skull art project is sure to be a hit with students in grades 3 and up. Sugar skulls are a popular icon representing the Day of the Dead holiday. Day of the Dead (or Dia De Los Muertos) is a festive two day celebration (November 1st & 2nd) honoring the lives of loved ones who have died. This colorful holiday from the Hispanic cultures of Mexico, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday / Event, Abstract (Representational), Cutting, Day of the Dead / Dia de los Muertos, Drawing, Folding, Kirigami, Markers / Pen and Ink, Mexico, Multicultural, Paper, Sugar Skulls Tagged With: Day of the Dead / Dia de los Muertos, kirigami

Sunset Cityscapes

By Cheryl Trowbridge Leave a Comment

Sunset Cityscapes

The examples in this post were done by 1st graders, but older kids will enjoy this, too. "No Rulers Allowed!".... if you want results that are charming and almost "Seuss-like"! For a typical class that meets for one hour or less, you'll want to do this project over 2 class periods. Materials: 9x12 watercolor paper (or heavyweight construction paper) watercolor set … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cityscape, Colored Pencil, Cutting, Drawing, Mixed Media, Painting, Sunsets, Watercolor

Basic Japanese Notan Designs for 1st Grade & Up

By Cheryl Trowbridge 1 Comment

Basic Japanese Notan Design for Grades 1 and Up - great for practicing cutting and gluing!

Are you looking for an easy project that will give your youngest students more practice with scissors? This very basic Japanese Notan lesson is perfect for working on cutting and gluing skills, and kids will love the striking designs they create! Notan is a type of Japanese art that uses the contrast of light and dark to make an eye-catching composition. (Pronounce it just like … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Abstract (Non-representational), Collage, Cutting, Japan, Multicultural, Paper Tagged With: contrast, Notan, positive/negative shapes, scissors

How to Make a Japanese Notan-Inspired Ornament

By Cheryl Trowbridge 1 Comment

Notan Ornament back

My 5th graders loved making these Japanese Notan-inspired ornaments. "Notan" is a Japanese word meaning "dark/light". It represents the design concept of arranging dark and light (2D) shapes together in a harmonious way. The Japanese Notan effect is easy to achieve with cut-paper. It tends to look more complicated than it really is, and students are fascinated with the finished … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christmas, Collage, Cutting, Holiday / Event, Japan, Medium, Multicultural, Op Art, Paper, Process, Style Tagged With: 5th grade, contrast, Notan, ornaments

Basic Collage with Positive and Negative Shapes

By Cheryl Trowbridge 9 Comments

Colorful Collage with Positive and Negative Shapes

I do this project with my first graders every year to help them understand the concept of positive and negative shapes.  This project also teaches symmetry and offers important practice in cutting on a fold and applying glue.  First graders are often surprised by the shapes they see when they unfold their papers - they are some pretty cute kids! Materials: 9x12 black (or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Abstract Design, Collage, Cutting, Mixed Media, Paper, Tips for Teaching Art Tagged With: collage, paper, positive/negative space, scissors, symmetry, teaching tips

Mexican Papel Picado

By Cheryl Trowbridge 5 Comments

Photo of homemade Mexican Papel Picado

"Papel Picado", or "cut paper", is a colorful decoration found at most Mexican celebrations. The “secret” of success for making your own papel picado is to sandwich the thin tissue paper inside a folded, heavier weight paper before cutting it. This makes it easier to work with, less likely to tear, and gives you a surface for drawing a design you can follow as you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Abstract Design, Cutting, Day of the Dead / Dia de los Muertos, Holiday / Event, Lessons, Mexico, Multicultural, Paper Tagged With: Day of the Dead / Dia de los Muertos, Mexico, multicultural art

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