Designed to encourage creative exploration and experimentation, this activity will walk you through building a still life using the bounty of summer produce. Then, let your imagination take over as you create a stunning still life collage.
Follow along using the video demonstration above or instructions below. You can also download the lesson plan.
Materials
• Colorful summer fruits and vegetables, dishes, vases, or tea towels
• Paper to work on (sketchpad paper, construction paper, cardstock, or a piece of wrapping paper)
• Paper to collage with (paper bags, magazine pages, newspapers, old greeting cards, etc.)
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Markers
Activity Instructions
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Find a few items from around your home—such as fruits or vegetables, a favorite cup or bowl, and maybe a colorful napkin or dish towel. Tip: Look for objects with simple shapes and appealing colors or textures.
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Arrange these objects on a flat surface to create an interesting composition. Make sure you can easily view this composition from your desk, table, or wherever you will be doing your art-making. You can also work as a team to create the still life.
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Gather the rest of your materials together. Cut papers you will be using for the collage into manageable sizes. Tip: No need to use the scissors if you prefer to tear the paper instead.
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Place a smaller sheet of paper on top of the paper you will be working on to create a frame, if you’d like. Don’t worry about gluing the paper down yet.
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With your art partner, take a close look at the still life you created. What shapes do you see? What colors do you see? How does it make you feel? Pick one of the papers you are going to collage with and cut or tear it into a shape that is inspired by your still life. Tip: If one person wants to cut or tear shapes, the other person can arrange. Likewise, if one person would like to compose the collage, the other person could create the shapes.
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Place the cut or torn shape on top of the paper you’re working, finding a place that feels right, but don’t glue it down yet.
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Continue to look at the still life for inspiration. Then, create a new shape and place it on the paper. Repeat this process until you have a collage that feels complete.
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Glue all of the pieces down with your art partner. One person can hold down the pieces while the other person glues.
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Take a moment to discuss the collage with your art partner. What do you see when you hold your still life collage at a short distance from you? Does what you see change as you rotate the artwork in your hands?
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Continue working on the collage by embellishing it with markers to create detail, texture, or whatever else you might imagine.
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Once you feel like your artwork is complete, share a few thoughts with your art partner. What are you noticing about the artwork? What did you think about creating your own still life and then trying to capture it using collage? Now, sign your artwork and enjoy it!