Lesson #2 | cut & paste collage
We are going to teach the participants how to compose an image using magazines and newspapers with colors, patterns and symbols to create a composition that relies on the sorting of magazine and newspaper scraps. Participants can identify commonalities (theme, color, content) in their scraps to create a dynamic composition.
Essential Understandings:
Objective/Outcomes:
Students will be able to...
Skills:
To see the lesson plan, click here.
Essential Understandings:
- Understand how artists and designers create compositions can be made from a variety of different mediums and elements.
- Understand how artists and designers create new, unique art from sourcing images that already exist.
- Understand how artists and designers use separate and rearrange images to create a new composition.
Objective/Outcomes:
Students will be able to...
- Describe what composition means.
- Identify what visual elements make up a dynamic composition.
- Explore newspaper and magazines as a material to create a collage composition Explain/discuss their process
- I can identify different parts of a composition.
- I can discuss elements of my composition
- Use the collage to express personal interests. I can use collage materials to express my interests.
- Investigate the expressive qualities of art. I can use my art to express myself.
- Explore collage techniques to see what they can and cannot accomplish with them. I can build my knowledge about art materials and talk about the outcomes.
- Focus on either/all color, imagery, content, pattern, and/or theme.
- Process a prompt and respond to it. I can explore a prompt.
- See connections between individuals that make up a larger group. I can see my unique role in a group.
Skills:
- Create creative compositions
- Scanning everyday objects for inspiring or interesting elements
- Creative thinking
- Mechanical skills
To see the lesson plan, click here.
Reflection
What worked well for this art experience? Why?
This art experience seemed to fit each student incredibly well. We had many interpretations of the project, reflecting the flexibility of collage. The fact that we had every type of collage displayed at the end of the day was a perfect learning experience for the students. They were able to look around and see the diversity of collage-making, how there are many ways to complete the project. Collages of many varieties were depicted--whether that was theme, color, interest, or object based! Every student successfully assembled a collage of some style, was engaged during the project making, and presented their work at the end. Two students collaborated, one assisting the other to make a collage (due to lack of pasting capability) This was very exciting to see. They were communicating back and forth about the logistics of making the collage and how it should look. The end results successfully fulfilled the project guidelines--and both students were pleased with the end result.
I was also incredibly happy with the way discussion went--as not a single student didn’t share. They were all eager to talk about their work, even the students who are typically quiet or shy! I felt this was a huge step forward and the students are already showing social growth when it comes to talking about their work.
What didn’t work well for this art experience? Why?
The presence of more magazines (you can never have too many) would have made students happier--as some got a little frustrated with the lack of photos in certain magazines. Many were looking for specific photos or themes, so more options would have helped.
The watered down Mod Podge ended up wrinkling some collages terribly--even with thin coats. I believe the water in the mix counteracts the way the sealant is supposed to work--so students felt they were doing something wrong when really that was on us for not testing.
Clean up has begun to seem like the teachers are doing a lot of the work, and students are learning to ask more of us (which can be good or bad depending on the case). They are very smart and know how to get you to do things for them, so we must encourage more teamwork and individual responsibility in the studio.
What would you do differently? Why?
I think mentioning more specifically (besides the use of newspaper) how text could be incorporated in an interesting way would have pushed students to go beyond photo pasting, resulting in more intrigue and less frustration if they couldn’t find a specific photo.
Testing our materials beforehand would have avoided some mess and frustration with the Mod Podge--so if we are in question or have a new material we will test it before class (with enough time to make revisions, if need be).
I believe we were too eager to help students initially so we need to dial that back and get them more engaged in clean-up. Students need to understand when or when not to ask for help. When it comes to responsibilities like cleaning up after a project, that should be a task they complete in order to develop proper studio etiquette. As a group we have discussed writing the time schedule for class on the whiteboard so students are visually aware of what is going on and when (many are very schedule based and like to know exactly when ‘things’ are happening). This will help us when it comes to clean up so that students know “Okay! At 5:40 we need to wrap up, and 5:45 start cleaning so we have time for discussion!”. This is great for productivity in class and for students to practice time management and again, studio etiquette.
-AP