Art Explorer # 6: Collaging with Scissors

Element of Art: Texture



humor.gunaxin.com

Texture  according to Schirmacher & Fox (2009) "refers to the surface quality of a work of art" (p.144). Some terms that are associated with the word texture, are as followed:

• rough, bumpy; or smooth 
• hard or soft 
• rubbery 
• sharp 
• wet, sticky, or dry 
• flat or layered 
• slippery, slick
• raised or lowered (p.144)



Young children adore texture and sensory rich activities because they able to touch, feel, and  manipulate. Reflecting on my placement experiences thus far, the sand and water table, as well as the Play-Doh table would always be filled with children. This goes to show how crucial it is to incorporate these kind of activties and materials in the classroom. Remember! The question to keep in mind is: "How does it feel?" This can generate meaningful learning opportunities, for both the child and educator. 

hertshildrencentres.org.uk    

www.nga.gov

 For this week's GO Blog, we were asked to generate an art activity that communicates personal identity and understanding of the world. I mustered up an activity that I believe would be appropriate so here it is:

Materials:

• Picture of each child
• Plain Paper/ Bristol Board (white or black) 
• Construction Paper
• Different Texture Fabrics
• Pipe Cleaners/Sponges  
• Large Buttons/Bottle Caps 
• Glue
• Tape
• Pasta 
• Scissors
• Paper Clips
• Markers/Pencil Crayons/Crayons
• Cotton Balls
• Pencil Crayons
• Ribbon





Seek and Find! Scope your surroundings for collage material. This can be any of the items mentioned above, or other materials you might find laying around.

Frame Time! Place each child's photo in the center of a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of construction paper. Trace around it. Cut this middle section out, leaving at least a  2 inch gap from the traced line.

Ready to Collage! This is the time were children create personal frames, that reflect their creativity and identity. Children can draw using different writing materials as shown above. They can glue down buttons, paper clips, cotton balls, ribbon. The aspect teachers must  remember is to cease from interrupting the child, unless necessary. This activity is aimed to allow children to be as creative and expressive as they choose to be.

Picture to Frame! Once all the children are completed, place the frames aside and allow them to completely dry. When they are finish drying, careful mount the photos to each child's frame.





Stitch! After you have finished the previous step, its not time to assemble all the frames together. Tape each frame side by side, to resemble a quilt pictured below.

Example
droped-stitch.com

 This activity is very meaningful to children. For one, there are creatively expressing themselves. Secondly, they are communicating their sense of personal identity in a creative fashion. Thirdly, the children are gathering knowledge and information about each other, and about the world that encompasses them. It also  reflects cultural diversity, and the quilt like formation portrays a sense of belonging and unity. Teachers can question children about the art materials they have chosen to place on their frames, the reason why they place certain items someplace and so forth. Great discussion can be made surrounding diversity, which in all, as previously mentioned helps children better understand the world they are living in !

Reference:

Schirrmacher, R. , & Fox, J. E. (2009). Art & creative development for young children. Belmont, California: Delmar Cengage Learning.