Textured Collage Journal Response

When I walked into the art room, there was a beautiful diverse display of fabric squares, transparent papers, opaque papers, origami, glue, and cardboard. The variety, I have to say, although lush, was slightly overwhelming. There were just so many unique options and I had no idea what I was going to do.

We watched a very inspiring PowerPoint showing a variety of children’s work that gave me a lot of ideas of projects I could personally do as well as ones I could do with children. I specifically liked the idea of having a collage box. This would allow kids to work together, share space, and even collaborate on ideas. Also, using a box that would normally be recycled would be a very cost effective and environmentally friendly art project. Also, having a full class collage without glue could be a fun lesson in turn taking. Having the class sit in a circle, each student being given a certain amount of cloth and/or paper pieces, and each student taking turns in adding to a picture in the middle of the circle.

In addition to the PowerPoint, we also looked at some of Matisse’s collage work, as well as Romare Bearden. Matisse was particularly inspiring especially in regards to keeping special needs children in mind. He was in a wheelchair, and would arrange his work and have someone else paste the pieces down for him. This would also be an interesting project for slightly older children, focusing on verbal and nonverbal communication. One student could arrange their collage pieces and once their finished; their partner could glue the pieces down for them. Then switch roles and have the original designer become the gluer.

I personally did a cloth and paper collage of a deserted tropical island. It was relaxing and fun to work with materials that were each so different texturally and color wise. Looking around at my classmates, I saw so many diverse pieces of art. Each beautiful in it’s own way. Some were more abstract and focused primarily on a color or a texture, while others had more of an identifiable shape. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the dried finished products of my classmates.