Contact Paper Collage

This may have been one of my favorite projects all year.  It is a really good one day project with little to no mess or clean up and a great way to use scrap and tissue paper.  The subject of these sculptural collages was Spring, though it could go in so many other directions.  Students got pieces of contact paper that I precut into 8 1/2in by 22in (more or less) sheets.  They were told to fold a crease in the middle and lay the paper open with the sticky side up.  They then peeled away the protective sheet to the crease and were given little pieces of tape to secure each corner to their tables.  At this point, half of the sticky paper is exposed and half is still protected.  On the sticky side, students arranged scraps of tissue paper to create Spring landscapes.  When they were finished, they removed the other half of the protective paper and folded this half over to cover the exposed tissue paper collage.  The finished pieces were kind of magical; students were surprised and amazed that they had created art that they could see through and enjoy from both sides.  Also great was that they had to help each other manipulate and fold the sheets of contact paper.  These would be beautiful hanging from a mobile or in front of windows.  

Brooklyn Post Cards + Pen Pals

My mom teaches 3rd grade in San Francisco so when I met my 3rd graders for the first time I knew I wanted to do a Pen Pal project.  Who doesn't love getting a personal, hand made card in the mail?  I also thought it would be a neat way for the kids to teach each other about their cities.  We looked at images of Brooklyn cityscapes and urban landmarks and thought of special places in our own neighborhoods.  To create the cards, Students then watercolored a background on postcard sized watercolor paper that I found at a craft store.  To make the cityscapes even more "New York" they cut out buildings and city elements from the New York Times.  They finished off their collages with sharpies.  On the back they wrote letters to their Pen Pals in San Francisco, telling them about their favorite places in Brooklyn.  The most exciting part was getting wonderful cards back from San Francisco.  

Art Room Rules

I am a huge fan of illustrator and guerrilla artist Keri Smith.  I found this list of Art Department Rules on her blog and had to share.  If I ever get an art room of my own (fingers and toes and eyes crossed) this will be up on my wall.