Collecting for Collages

Children are natural collectors. A parent from one of my classes approached me the other day to tell me her daughter is forever saving bits and containers. "I am going to make something with that!" she announces when asked if it can be thrown away. In a time when we so often worry about consumerism in our society, it is worth encouraging this inventiveness in our children. It is also a great way to reuse and recycle. The challenge for parents and young artists is to find a way to encourage this collecting and creating and at the same time to help focus and contain the vast array of materials it brings into our homes.

I encourage parents to invest in some containers and make a place in the home for art. For collage, containers can be bins or plastic zip lock bags, recycled containers work well too and further reinforce our theme of recycling.

In collecting supplies for collage with your child, it can help to discuss a focus or area of interest. Texture collages can be fun with young children because they combine tactile sensations with visual interest. With some materials children will even discover that the textured material will make a sound. Color makes another good theme and interesting papers can be collected and sorted according to the colors of the rainbow.  Collage is also a great way to build on interests and themes that are important to children. A child who loves horses may enjoy cutting out pictures of horses from a magazine or catalog. Some catalogs just seem too pretty to throw away. The seed catalog that arrived at our home the other day is full of beautiful pictures of flowers just waiting to be enjoyed again in a collage. With magazines and catalogs, it can be helpful to go through and tear or cut out pages with images to create a picture file. Depending on the interests in your family, the picture file may focus on plants, animals, artwork, holidays or many other themes. Other good sources for collage images include old greeting cards, calendars and postage stamps.

An  focused on getting started with collage. With your collection of materials, set a time for family creating on a chosen theme.  In addition to your collected materials, you will want to provide paper for a base, glue and drawing materials to encourage some mixed media work.  Working alongside your children is a great way to encourage and enjoy their process and creation.  It is also a good chance to have fun creating some playful images to use as greeting cards or even as a decoration at home.

One of the best parts of collage for children and adults is the playfulness involved.  Have fun playing with pieces, looking for unlikely combinations and inventing new images from recycled bits and pieces.