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Painted paper collages in the Style of Eric Carle

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Painted paper collages in the Style of Eric Carle

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This exploration is for all ages, as the colored smilies show. You can do painted collage art with your whole family together (I loved this one as much as my 6-year-old did!).

1st thru 4th grades

5th thru 8th grades

9th thru 12th grades

Unit 2-1: Byzantines, Turkey, Climate & Seasons, Byzantine Art

This painted collage art project is a great companion to Unit 2-1, all about Byzantine art. Byzantine artists applied gold leafing in an early collage-style, small pieces at a time. Layers of Learning has hands-on art projects in every unit of this family-friendly curriculum. Learn more about Layers of Learning.

The word " collage" comes from the French word , which means "to glue." Collages are works of art where pieces are cut and then glued on to the artwork. The pieces that are glued on can be all sorts of things, not just paper. Some kinds of collage began in Japan when calligraphers adhered their beautiful writings to surfaces. Later, gold leafing and other precious metals and gems were applied to paintings, like by Byzantine artists and in the Gothic cathedrals of 15th century Europe. Modernly, many artists have used collage in many forms to create art by adhering bits of things to create finished pieces.

Step 1: Library Research

Before you begin the art project, read a book or two with collages. Here are some suggestions, but if you can't find these, look for books at your library about collage art. The colored smilies above each book tell you what age level they're recommended for.
As Amazon affiliates, the recommended books and products below kick back a tiny percentage of your purchase to us. It doesn't affect your cost and it helps us run our website. We thank you!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

by Eric Carle

Eric Carle is a master of painted collage art. This is the technique he uses for the illustrations within many of his books. You can pick up any of his books from the library and see beautiful examples of collage illustrations.

Collage Workshop For Kids

by Shannon Merenstein

Teachers from the Eric Carle Museum contributed fun collage ideas for kids to try out in this project-based book.

Painted Paper Art Workshop

by Elizabeth St. Hilaire

This book is a treasure trove of interesting methods for creating painted collage art.

Step 2: Painted Collage Art Exploration

For this project, you'll need bright paints, thick art paper, paintbrushes in lots of shapes and sizes, some scissors, and some rubber cement (school glue will work too, but we really liked the no-wrinkle rubber cement).

Painting

Paint lots of papers in a variety of interesting ways - swirls, zigzags, dots, blurs, and layered colors.

Make more papers than you think you will need to create your pictures later. We all shared our painted pages, so we just collectively made a big variety of colors and patterns. Use solid colors as well as mixtures of colors on a single design. Use sponge brushes as well as normal paintbrushes in a variety of shapes and sizes. As you paint, make sure to vary your lines, shapes, and textures to create interesting patterns.

Let your painted papers dry thoroughly.

Cutting

Once dry, freehand cut the painted papers to create interesting shapes for your pictures. Don't worry too much about perfect shapes or sizes. That's what give collage pictures their charm.

Isabel was inspired by the red, white, and blue papers she painted and decided to create an American flag.

Pasting

Glue the design down to art paper. We used our art sketchbooks. Some of the pictures had the solid white backgrounds of our sketchbooks, but we also hand cut and pieced some of the backgrounds too. This water scene was made with lots of different colored stripes that were cut from various painted pages and then pieced together.

We played with and moved the pieces around quite a bit before actually pasting them in place.

The imperfections and variety are what make collage art truly unique and special.

Step 3: Show What You Know

Make another collage in a different style in your art sketchbook. You can use magazine or newspaper clippings, scrapbook paper, wallpaper, or fabric. Piece together your elements and then show off all of the collage art you created while you describe the lines, colors, shapes, and textures you used. You can also tell something else you learned about collage art or a famous collage artist.

Additional Layers

Additional Layers are extra activities you can do or tangents you can take off on. You will find them in the sidebars of each Layers of Learning unit. They are optional, so just choose what interests you.

Writer's Notebook

Create a word cloud, which is like a collage of words. You can use a word cloud generator online or artistically create one in your sketchbook. Think of a theme and then add words that center around the theme.

Famous Folks

The collage style we typically think of really began with Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. The two began cutting out wallpapers, cloth, and paper and adhering it to their paintings. It wasn't long before artists were cutting their own paintings apart and piecing them back together in new ways too.

Fruit Dish and Glass by Georges Braque.

Watch this short video about Picasso's collage exhibit in Philadelphia's Museum of Art.

Expedition

Go visit Eric Carle's official website. You can see his storybooks, find out about his life, and watch how he creates his art. He uses tissue paper and waters down his paint, so the process is actually a bit different than ours. It would be fun to try it both ways.

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How To Create Painted Collage Art With Your Kids - Layers of Learning

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This exploration is for all ages, as the colored smilies show. You can do painted collage art with your whole family together (I loved this one as much as my 6-year-old did!). This painted collage art project is a great companion to Unit 2-1, all about Byzantine art.

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Find out who is Henri Matisse with this art homework guide, includes facts for kids, learn about fauvism and Matisse collage.

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This is a classic Surrealism collage art lesson- I give it a slight twist by using

a circular composition. This is a perfect project for Grades 6-8 because I find they are so imaginative and funny at that age :)

You need alot of magazines for this project; a variety of different types of magazines helps too- some nature ones, fashion, travel, current events, cooking, etc. This way, students will be able to find a wide assortment of images to mix together. I try to send out a letter at the beginning of each school year asking parents to donate any old magazines; I usually get quite a few this way.

I start this lesson off by showing students a slideshow of famous Surrealism paintings- mainly examples from Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte. Have the students point out the things they notice.Talk about the fantasty, dream-like effect of the paintings, the sense of depth, as well as the high realism.

There is a fantastic scene in one of my favourite movies, " Midnight in Paris", where the main character (Owen Wilson) meets Salvador Dali, along with Man Ray and Luis Buñuel, in a Paris cafe. It really showcases Dali's famous wacky public persona:

Anyway, back to the project... using magazines, students are going to look for strange and interesting images to juxtapoze and put together. Unrelated objects and images.

Think weird and dream-like.

They should look for a large background first- something simple and uncluttered, like a big sky, landscape, seascape, etc. I tell students to cut out a whole bunch of images and then spend time placing them and re-arranging them on the background to see what

really works the best.

So here's an example of a good background: simple, uncluttered.

Use a lid to trace a circle onto the magazine page, then cut it out.

I used to do this project collaged onto a CD. Some of you might remember back in the 90's when AOL used to send tons of free CD's in the mail? Seriously, how much money did that cost them?! Well, I used to save those, and that's what we used as a base for our collages. Then we strung them with yarn and beads so they could be hung as seen below:

I emphasize that everything needs to be cut out really precisely so it looks polished and very realistic. Make sure your scissors are clean and sharp for this project, in particular. Once all the images are chosen and arranged how they want, they are glued on using a glue stick. Students can add embellishments, if they wish, such as glitter, for extra 'dazzle'.

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This is a classic Surrealism collage art lesson- I give it a slight twist by using a circular composition. This is a perfect project for Grades 6-8 because I find they are so imaginative and funny at that age :) You need alot of magazines for this project; a variety of different types of magazines helps too- some nature ones, fashion, travel, current events, cooking, etc.

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Surrealism is an art topic that I was hesitant to offer to my high schooler and to our homeschool art class. I was not feeling confident that I even understood what surrealism was enough to share it with my kids. After some online research and some deep breaths, the plans came together and we had a great time exploring this topic together. You can scroll down on this webpage and find a definition of Surrealism: All About Art - Surrealism.

At the beginning of the class, we viewed the artwork of Salvador Dali, Thomas Barbey, and Rene Magritte online and we viewed an art calendars featuring Thomas Barbey's work.

I loved seeing and hearing the reactions to each piece of artwork.

Weird

Funny

Crazy

Amazing

Our Surrealist Project - Rene Magritte

After viewing the artwork, I told the students we were going to make our own surrealist art by making a sort of collage using magazine images along with an actual photo of themselves!

I had the children choose a pose - sitting, standing, laying down - whatever they wanted. I took a photo with my digital camera with the child filling the frame as much as possible.

I printed the photos out on 4″ by 6″ photo paper and distributed them to each child.

They took scissors and cut out their image to place in the collage of magazine images. I did make a "no blood and guts and no violence rule". I also made a rule that they had to cover the entire page (no white space).

They were to make a surrealist inspired collage with the magazine images and their own photo.

Tips for the Surrealist Project:

Don't hand out the glue until they have their collage all arranged on their paper.

Cut as much of the background away from the magazine images as possible.

If they want to add words to their image, they need to cut the letters or words from the magazines...no pens or markers.

Mr. B wanted me to print his image smaller and to give him several copies. I used regular paper and printed his image in thumbnail size.

Links For More Surrealist Project Ideas:

Modern Art Plans - Work in Progress

I will be gathering all of our art ideas from our study of Modern Art into one set of plans to share. I am hoping to get it done next month and have it all ready for you to download and print for future reference. I think we have all learned a lot about this period of art and have come to appreciate how fun it can be to create our own versions.

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Surrealism Project: Rene Magritte - Harmony Fine Arts

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Surrealism is an art topic that I was hesitant to offer to my high schooler and to our homeschool art class. I was not feeling confident that I even understood what surrealism was enough to share it with my kids. After some online research and some deep breaths, the plans came together and we ...

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"I know my gift as an artist is inspired by a lifetime of rich experiences with remarkable women. However, the event which propelled me into the limitless creative possibilities of working with handmade paper and paper pulp is deeply etched in my soul."

Years ago, I was unemployed for six months. It felt like an eternity. I wandered about in a fog of confusion searching for my purpose in life. Family and friends tried unsuccessfully to help. My faith led me to search for answers in God's Word. I poured through my Bible, I watched televised sermons and I listened to Christian radio. After Hours of abject loneliness, heart wrenching crying, futile worrying and aimless wandering, I surrendered to God and was at peace with my time of unemployment.

My days of depression and sleepless nights gave way to a quietness in my spirit allowing God to speak to me. He led me to experiment with paper as a medium to express my emotions. I used my hands to create artwork which brought a smile to my face and peace to my restless mind. With each new work, a different image with its own voice was created. I was in awe that new life could come from pieces of paper.

I am no longer unemployed. However, After Hours of working each day, I go home and find that creative and peaceful place inside myself. I hope my art creates a warm dialogue between you and the woman on the paper. As you view my work, do you feel the intricate paper image dancing through your mind's eye stirring memories of the wonderful women who imprinted themselves upon your life? Mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, best girlfriends, teachers or even an image of yourself can all be found in my work. I invite you to honor them all.

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"I know my gift as an artist is inspired by a lifetime of rich experiences with remarkable women. However, the event which propelled me into the limitless creative possibilities of working with handmade paper and paper pulp is deeply etched in my soul." Years ago, I was unemployed for six months.

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Torn paper people in the Style of Melba Lee

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Torn paper people in the Style of Melba Lee

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Collage for Kids: Using a Glue Stick and Artist Medium

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How To Draw 3D Letters: Bubble Letters and Block Letters

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Drawing for Kids: How to copy images with Graphite Transfer

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Art Challenge for May 18, 2020   Creative Cards

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The idea

Tony Cragg is a British-born sculptor who was known in his early career for creating colourful collages from ordinary construction materials and household objects that had been thrown away. He found these objects on the streets and in rubbish dumps in West London.

In this artwork Tony Cragg has arranged the picture in a special way to make two shapes. One shape is the artist himself. Can you see what the other shape is? (You may have to tilt your head to the left to see properly). Can you recognise some of the materials Tony has used for his collage?

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Make a Collage - Cut and Paste | Tate Kids

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Tony Cragg is a British-born sculptor who was known in his early career for creating colourful collages from ordinary construction materials and household objects that had been thrown away. He found these objects on the streets and in rubbish dumps in West London.

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We read the book Emily's Blue Period, which is about a girl whose parents are divorcing and now she has two homes.
Emily was learning about Pablo Picasso, his Blue Period and his collages in her art class. She goes through her own "blue period" of sadness. Her art teacher asks the class to make personal collages about their homes. She doesn't know what to do because she has two homes now. She ends up making a beautiful meaningful collage about all the parts of her life that are dear to her heart. I love this book and the illustrations in it.

My students brought in items from home such as photographs, ticket stubs, photocopies of ribbons, candy or food wrappers and pictures of old artwork. I also had some scrapbooking paper, magazines, stickers and embellishments they could choose to use. The children made personal collages with items that were meaningful to them and told about their lives and interests.

As a launching point for collage techniques I used parts of this Autobiographical Sketchbook Collage powerpoint that I bought from The Interdisciplinary Visual Arts shop at TPT.

It is so important to teach art projects that allow kids to express themselves and to make art that is meaningful to them with their own ideas!

The kids LOVE this project and they love talking about their life with their classmates. Many of the students brought in lots of personal family photos for this project. If there are any faces on these collages, they have been covered with a colored shape for privacy.

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"Emily's Blue Period" Art Project: Personal Collages

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We read the book Emily's Blue Period, which is about a girl whose parents are divorcing and now she has two homes. Emily was learning about Pablo Picasso, his Blue Period and his collages in her art class. She goes through her own "blue period" of sadness.

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Japanese Notan inspired cut paper collage

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Japanese Notan inspired cut paper collage

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Art lesson online: Make outstanding art with positive & negative space! Great at home or in school.

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"Drawing with Scissors" collage project from Faber-Castell

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"Drawing with Scissors" collage project from Faber-Castell

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Posted on April 29 2020

"From the moment I held the box of colors in my hands, I knew this was my life. I threw myself into it like a beast that plunges towards the thing it loves."

- Henri Matisse 1869-1954

Grade Level: 3rd - 5th grade

Time Required: 2 45-min. class periods

Objective:

Students will learn about the life and art of Henri Matisse, and create a cut out collage inspired by his work.

Vocabulary:

Compose Organic Stylized Geometric Tints/Shades Complimentary Balance

National Core Arts Standards:

Creating: #1, 2, 3
Presenting/Producing: #5, 6
Responding: #8, 9
Connecting: #11

Materials:
Faber-Castell Construction Paper
Other colored paper

Scissors

Glue

Drawing with Scissors

by Keesia Johnson and Jane O'Connor, illustrated by Jessie Hartland

Drawing With Scissors is an interesting and creatively written story of the life of one of the art world's greatest masters, Henri Matisse, and his wonderful artistic contribution that had made our culture rich.

After sharing and discussing several examples of Matisse's famous cut-out collages, students learn his process of "drawing with scissors," and create their own playful cut-out collage in the same manner.

1. Begin by having students decide on a theme for their project. They can create a simple scene, (this artwork inspired by Matisse's Garden) or an abstract piece of art. Have them choose a background color and palette of 4 colors along their with tints and shades.

2. Next, demonstrate how Matisse would cut directly into the paper using his "scissors as his pencil." Show how to cut simple fluid, curvy shapes and spirals, as well as geo- metric and stylized shapes. Remember, no pencils allowed!

3. Students then arrange their cut pieces onto their background. Demonstrate how to loosely compose their art, overlapping shapes, and being mindful of complimentary color choices. Show how to create an overall visual balance.

4. When compositions are final, glue pieces in place. Show students how to apply glue to the back of the pieces rather than the background. Finally, students trim excess pieces from the edges and give a creative title to their artwork.

Download the complete lesson here!

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Drawing with Scissors - Collage Art Lesson for Kids

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A collage art lesson inspired by Henri Matisse. "Students will learn about the life and art of Henri Matisse, and create a cut out collage inspired by his work.Drawing With Scissors is an interesting and creatively written story of the life of one of the art world's greatest masters, Henri Matisse, and his wonderful artistic contribution that had made our culture rich.

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Kids change so fast. This fun art project is a great way to capture not only what they look like but what they like and/or who they want to be.

Start with a piece of construction paper taped to a wall. Have the child sit on a chair with a light on the other side of them pointing towards the paper. Trace their silhouette lightly with pencil.

Cut out the silhouette and save the outside of the cut.

Have your kid cut out images from old magazines. Encourage them to find things they like, things they want to be, or things they want to learn.

Glue the cut out images (allowing them to overlap a bit if you can) to another sheet of paper. A heavier cardstock works great.

Glue the silhouette outline over the top of the collage and you have a fun, personalized piece of art.

Thanks to Splish Splash Splatter Art for the inspiration!
Allison Waken is a kids' activity and craft guru always ready to try something new. See more on her blog, All for the Boys, where she features activities and crafts that inspire creativity, play and interaction.

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Kids change so fast. This fun art project is a great way to capture not only what they look like but what they like and/or who they want to be. Start with a piece of construction paper taped to a wall.

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Collage Art from Magazines and Newspapers

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Collage Art from Magazines and Newspapers