Exploring Collage with Children

Collage is often a favorite activity for young children and can involve a wide variety of materials.  This art form is also a great opportunity for recycling as you can use most any glue-able material to form a design.

The word collage (from the french, coller "to glue") was coined at the beginning of the 20th century by modern artists who explored adding cut paper and texture to paintings and drawings.  The roots of the art form go back many hundreds of years with origins in the decoration of books and manuscripts with bits of cut paper.

The main art ingredient for collage is the glue.  Simple white school glue or a glue stick will work.  Other materials can be collected from around the house - bits of colored paper, ribbon, cellophane and tissue wrappings, fabric and even small flat pieces of plastic.

For a backing, use paper or cardboard - the side of a cereal box works well for a firm surface and you can glue a sheet of paper over it to offer a fresh clean surface.   The heavier your collection of materials, the heavier the backing paper you will need.

I often have children begin with just exploring and arranging a collection of materials; sort of a dress rehearsal before adding glue.  It gives kids an opportunity to explore the tactile as well as the visual qualities and to play with different arrangements of materials.

For young children, glue is a fascinating material all by itself.  Kids will want to feel the glue and get a sense of it as they learn about applying it to paper.  I find the easiest way to use glue is to pour some into a small covered plastic container and let kids apply the glue with a small brush or a Q-tip.  Having a warm wet washcloth on hand can help for those bothered by sticky fingers.  Another helpful tip is to add a drop of food coloring or watercolor to the glue.  It helps young children see where they are placing the glue and will allow the translucent colored painted glue to become a part of the final design.

Encourage kids to put down glue on the backing and stick their paper and objects to the glue.  This is a great opportunity to explore layering, texture, shapes and designs.  Beginning collages will likely be more abstract while older children will begin to plan and place pieces to create designs and images.

What about scissors?  For young children, prepare your pieces ahead of time so minimal cutting is required.  Tearing is also a beautiful way to create a soft edge and is good for young children's fine motor development.  I often find that with the youngest artists, the cutting and tearing can be a whole separate activity - one art session to cut and tear and another to do the gluing.

With older children, offer scissors as well as hole punches and other tools to shape the paper pieces.  Demonstrate how a torn edge has a different look than a cut edge and encourage artistic thinking about how the different effects might be used.

Be sure to invite invention from children too.  In collage sessions, I have enjoyed seeing children invent paper sculptures as well as trying weaving and layering techniques.  Others are particularly intrigued by the sounds of the materials and invent sound collages or musical instruments using the glued materials.  Some will also enjoy applying glue over top of images.  It will dry clear and add a sheen, sealing the materials beneath it.

Have fun, and please share your creations here.