Kid's Collage / Mixed Media / Weaving

Collage, weaving, and mixed media are mediums kids love to work with. Be prepared for the mess you will make in the classroom using these ideas though, and allow time to complete projects! School art rooms and recycling bins are full of cheap materials to create masterpieces from. Don't limit yourself or your learners by always providing the same art experiences!

DECOUPAGED STONES

With a holiday art group, we painted plain paper in vibrant colours and patterns. Once dry, the paper was cut and torn into strips and decoupaged onto the rocks. One simple black design was drawn and glued on the final layer prior to varnishing. Cool little paperweights!

CHALK PASTEL AND PLACK PAPER WEAVE

For this art project, children first experimented with blending chalk pastel on a plain sheet of paper. This was varnished prior to the weaving process (hairspray works fine). The coloured paper was cut using even thicknesses, while the weft lines were irregular...cut in swirling koru patterns. A project best done with older pupils. 

NEWSPAPER / MAGAZINE WEAVE

These weaving samples were done with 12-13 year olds. Study the warp and weft lines and experiment with varying the thickness of these lines. For the magazine weave...miss sections when weaving so that the base illustration stands out. I have also done this with photographs which works equally as well.

HOMEMADE PAPER WEAVE

For these weavings we first made recycled paper as part of an inquiry unit. The finished paper was then used to create a piece of art. Again, allow children to experiment with varying the thickness and shape of the warp and weft lines. Let them be creative! It's amazing what they'll come up with!

NATIVE BIRD COLLAGES                                          

These were done with a year 2-4 class (6-9 years old). In groups children drew large outlines of birds. As a collaborative project they then collaged them...cutting the bird outline as the final step.

Rather than using pre-coloured paper...I always like to use scrap recycled paper and get children to colour it first. A great 'textural' effect is gained by rubbing crayon over paper on the rough concrete, then dying over the top.

POHUTUKAWA WOOL ART

The first examples were done by year 6 students for a school display. The background sky and leaves were painted and wool was glued for the Pohutukawa...tipped with gold glitter glue. The second last samples were done by year 4 students. As a class we painted small pieces of hessian, then stitched the Pohutukawa on top.

MIXED MEDIA WEAVES

Children were given a box of different materials for these weavings, including plastic film, ribbon, cellophane, foil, card and fabric. Do not try this until you have taught children the basics of weaving.

Children found it difficult not to tear some of the more flimsy materials, but they were fun mediums to experiment with.