As an art instructor, I make a lot of stuff. If you’ve poked around on my website you’ve probably seen my paintings and maybe even my ceramics, but I also make a lot of examples for art projects. Sometimes these examples are just silly things that I use to get the creativity flowing in my students. But other times, I work on them for quite a while. With smaller groups, I’ve found that working on the same project as the kids are working on inspires all of us and keeps us productive.
Yesterday, after a conversation with a fellow instructor, I decided to make 3-D collages with my students (a.k.a. pop-ups). I brought in a bunch of colorful scraps and invited them to make either a card or a flat picture by collaging the materials. The only requirement was that something had to be 3-D. I got a lot of varied results. Personally, I went for the snowflakes because who doesn’t love making a couple of ornate snowflakes? One kid decided to do chaos, based on our previous projects focusing on Ancient Greece. Some kept to the holiday theme and did snowflakes or christmas trees but I also had one boy retell the entire story of Snow White and the Huntsman after being inspired by a piece of shiny silver paper that looked like a mirror.
Another of my favorites was a little girl who sat down quietly and got right to work. I didn’t interrupt her because I love to see children, and adults for that matter, as intent as she was on her piece. At the end I asked her what she had made and she told me that it was Diagon Alley. She then proceeded to explain which part all of it was with a big grin on her face. I’m always amazed by what kids can come up with if you just put a bag of supplies in front of them and some simply instructions.
I took my piece with me and was debating what to do with it. I liked it enough that I didn’t want to just throw it out so I carried it around with me for the rest of the day. This morning I pulled it out of my supply bag and was debating whether to keep it to add something festive to my apartment (which is already covered in all sorts of art) or give it away. A friend of mine who works in a much more traditional office setting was just starting her traditional 9-5 day so I decided that she would probably appreciate it more than I would.
It was a short walk over to her office and I walked in with the collage behind my back, pulling it out and crying “Merry Christmas!” once I got to her. Thankfully, she was happy instead of rolling her eyes at yet another craft piece that I’ve pawned off of someone else. The snowflakes are now happily dangling on her desk, right next to her light so that they’ll shine. I got to walk away knowing that I had thought of a good project, made a good piece, and brought a smile to a friend of mine who looked like she needed it.
Not bad for a few thrown together ideas.
