Collage and painting with the kids

We had Monday off from school and work last week.  I spent the day in the studio with Kara and her friend Sydney.  They love to create.  We spontaneously decided to make collages on canvas board from all of my scrap paper.  I then had the idea to share Kelly Rae Robert's book with them. Kelly is a mixed media artist that creates beautiful paintings which typically start with a paper collage. She paints with everything from her finger to bubble wrap. I thought her paint techniques would be fun for the girls to experiment with on their collages. They loved the idea.

You do not have to run to your local craft store for this project. Dig out your scrap paper! If you don't have scrapbook paper then get creative. What about all those subscription cards from magazines, clothing tags, old school work, junk mail (think envelopes), catalogs....are you getting the picture? We made our collages on canvas board that I keep around for projects. We could have just as easily glued our paper onto cardboard cut from cereal boxes. You just need a lightweight chipboard cut to size.  The glue of choice is Mod Podge. You'll need some inexpensive paint brushes to apply the Mod Podge. It does ruin the brush so keep that in mind.

 Sydney's paper collage

Kara's paper collage

The girls picked out their paper and cut and placed pieces until they were happy with their composition. I took pictures of each collage to help us remember the placement.  Then, we glued on each piece by first applying Mod Podge to canvas then back of paper.  Use a very thin layer of glue and press down hard to remove air bubbles. Any remaining air bubbles or wrinkles will disappear as it dries...trust me!  

I even played a bit with some other materials to create a quick collage.  I was looking forward to painting with the girls. Which will explain the lack of pictures during the painting process. Sorry!  After the Mod Podge dried for 15-20 minutes, we applied coordinating paint with a brayer (rolled in paint) in various spots on the pieces.  I then gave the girls bubble wrap. They applied paint directly to the bubble wrap and then "stamped" it onto their canvas.  We also found a piece of mesh cotton that made a fun pattern and a gift card that made lines when dipped in paint.  The girls used their fingers too and applied paint around the edges of their canvas, like distress ink.  They really had fun. There is no wrong answer here.  You can paint with anything!

Didn't these turn out great?  I love to watch these little artists experiment with all kinds of mediums. Mixed media art is such a gift because there are no boundaries and no one technique to be mastered that defines whether you are an artist.  I only realized that a few years ago. I'm glad I can share this with my daughter at such a young age so that she can soar.  I'm looking forward to our next day off from school!

Speaking of Kara...We will be joining her for the district spelling bee on Friday. She won her school spelling bee last month! We are so proud of our little fourth grader. Will you do me a favor and say a little prayer that she has a great day?  We want her to be confident and feel proud of what she has accomplished. Of course, we'd be thrilled if she did well. She is one of the youngest so it will be a challenge. Have a great week! xoxo