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Found Objects Collage

April 18, 2016 by Barbara Rucci 4 Comments

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Children collect small things from their homes to make a collage.

I love these collages because they are so personal. Each child took home their painted “small things collectors” (egg cartons) and collected for a week. When they came back to art class seven days later, they had so many stories to tell! One child collected leaves and flowers from her garden with her grandmother. She remembered the name of each flora and fauna. Another child brought in some old jewelry from her mom and we cut the string and she glued the beads onto her collage. And then the twins each brought in an extra bag of “stuff” because their collectors couldn’t fit it all. They brought in little dolls, shoes, seashells from the “real” beach, and lots of old ribbon. (I think their mom was happy to clean out the toy area!)

These “found object” collages can be done at home or in the classroom. The cereal boxes are not hard to prep. Read on to find out all the details…

Children collect small things from their homes to make a collage.

Children collect small things from their homes to make a collage.

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Supplies needed:

~ Cereal box

~ Scissors

~ Colored duct tape

~ Collage papers (scrapbooking, colored, old art)

~ Other collage materials like pom-poms and straws (optional)

~ White school glue

~ Collected small objects from home and/or from nature

Children collect small things from their homes to make a collage.

The process:

~ Cut the front (or back) off of a cereal box. Tape the sides with colored duct tape.

~ Gather lots of collage papers, like scrapbooking papers, old art, or colored paper. Let the children use their scissors and their glue to cover the bottom of the cereal box.

~ Now just let them glue on their found objects. Anything goes! I brought out a few extra goodies, like straws and pom-poms.

Children collect small things from their homes to make a collage.

Children collect small things from their homes to make a collage.

Children collect small things from their homes to make a collage.

Children collect small things from their homes to make a collage.

Children collect small things from their homes to make a collage.

I love that they look like shadow-boxes. And that they each have a story to tell.

xo, Bar

PS: Here is my Beginner Art Supply list, and my Favorite Craft Supply list, if you need help knowing what to buy to fill your kids’ art area.

PSS: Follow me on Instagram to see what I’m up to at the moment, and Facebook for tons more creative and artsy ideas.

 

Filed Under: Process Art, Recycled, Art for Toddlers Tagged With: cereal box, collage, collected, found objects, small things

Previous Post: « Sock Caterpillars
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Danielle

    April 19, 2016 at 12:55 pm

    I love how this can encourage a child to enjoy colors and shapes. Beauty seen through the eyes of a little one is always worth remembering.

    Reply
    • Barbara Rucci

      April 23, 2016 at 4:50 pm

      i love the way you said that! so true. thank you Danielle! xo Bar

      Reply
  2. Lorinda

    June 4, 2016 at 3:42 pm

    Makes me happy to browse your site. I love love love art with children. It is a beautiful thing, and messy and lovely. Thanks for a wealth of great ideas. Glad it found this!

    Reply
    • Barbara Rucci

      June 9, 2016 at 10:43 am

      You are so welcome, Lorinda. I’m really happy you found my blog, and thank you for leaving a comment! Art with children really is a beautiful thing. xo Bar

      Reply

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I have been thinking lately about so many big idea I have been thinking lately about so many big ideas. They seem to be stuck, though, in the cogs of my brain. I need to articulate and connect these ideas together, but I can’t find the right words, or medium. It feels like trudging through thick mud, and then making the choice to set up camp in the muddy place. Maybe this is always what motherhood + living a creative life will be. And I am ok with that, too. Life is mucky, and even though I crave clarity, I am also acutely aware that this is why I also crave art. Music, books, museums, film, gardens… these are the mediums humans turn to when they need to find connection and, if we are lucky, clarity. But I feel more protective of my human-centered ideas these days and less willing to share them in spaces like this where they are open source. I don’t even know what is real sometimes. And how am I contributing to this landscape of creative and intellectual robbery. I think I am headed in a different direction but I don’t know what that is yet. Meanwhile, I am camping in the mud and looking for beauty where I am. 

Some moments new and old, lately…

1. Painting at my easel, age 4 when we lived in England before moving to the US. 
2. I tried making a video of motherhood on mother’s day inspired by this song 🌙 but never finished. 
3. Planting dahlias 🌸
4. Year 2 of my veggie garden. It is not going well. 
5. We diagnosed our garden problem as not enough sun so cut down a tree to give the sun a little path but then the sun moved. Also failing at science 😳
6. When you see your habits in your children ❤️ 
7. My mom’s caretaker gave me a cake and now I am a whole year younger 🙏🏼
8. Thank you James for the treats, mom dreams of traveling to visit your bakery but this was the next best thing 🥐
9. Finding 50 bucks in jeans from 20 years ago 👏🏼 Always check the pockets!
10. The newly graduated makeup artist with her kit off to a job 💋 
11. When the birthday kid isn’t home it’s too sad. must make art. 
12. When I am so dumb and share it on the internet 🙃
13. My heart, my clarity ❤️
14. Another round of silkscreening! Things are happening. 
15. MUA by Ava, and hanging out with the help 😍
16. Reminder.
Happy Earth Day! Can we agree that every day is Happy Earth Day! 

Can we agree that every day is Earth Day? The older I get, the more I change my habits to be kinder to this beautiful planet. Lately, seeing the photos from Artemis II of Earth from space has really moved me to make even more planet-friendly choices. Here are some things we do at home, and of course, we could always be better, but I also think small changes are more doable and sustainable, and if millions of us did just one of these things, it would make a difference.

Ok, here goes! My hope is that someone reads one of these actions and thinks, I can do this! We cannot reverse the melting ice caps, but we can stop further global warming… humans can do this if we work together. It starts small and is community-driven, so share this with friends!

1. Eating less meat, eating more veggies (this is also called eating low on the food chain). A vegetarian or vegan diet is a low-carbon diet. Did you know switching to 2/3 vegan reduces your carbon footprint by 60%? 
2. Grow our own veggies. Save on emissions and packaging, and find joy in gardening.
3. Less food waste. Eat leftovers, clear the fridge.
4. Buy less. Buy local.
5. Repurpose, fix, mend, thrift.
6. Make homemade gifts.
7. Drive less, fly less. (This one is harder, but being conscious of it is really important.)
8. Moderate, steady thermostat settings can save so much energy. Try 67/68 F in the winter and 72/73 in the summer and don’t touch it.
9. No pesticides on our lawn. It may not be pretty, but we have never had a beautiful lawn, and I’m fine with that. We also live on a river so the thought of polluting that water so I can have a perfect lawn is crazy.
10. Using non-toxic cleaning products or making our own from vinegar.
11. This year, we will do “no-mow May” to promote biodiversity, help the soil, and reduce emissions.
12. Vote for candidates who take climate change seriously!

Add some things you are doing in the comments. This is a judgment-free zone, so no preaching! But for real, we all can do a little bit better. 

The blog post about these signs is on artbarblog.com, link in bio!
New blog post! It’s about time I share my favorite New blog post! It’s about time I share my favorite materials that I bring to the library. Read the post for links and tips for how to pair these materials to foster deep engagement. Children have always needed time in childhood to use their hands to make things and play, but now more than ever, the skills they develop through these experiences are imperative for their future well-being and success. I’ve been reading everywhere about children’s “lost skills” in this new ed tech world where screens have replaced so much hands-on learning in the classroom, even as young as preschool 😞 Communication skills, flexible thinking, regulating emotions, building empathy for others, innovating, even core strength and pencil grips are a struggle. Offering time and materials for making things and playing with ideas should not be a challenge; it should be as essential as filling bodies with fresh air and food. Play is how children learn! Anyway, I hope this post will inspire you to collect some things for making and maybe even join our Materials Matter course over on @the.creativityproject so that you, too, can become an expert at cultivating creative thinking through art making!
It’s almost impossible to concentrate or sleep or It’s almost impossible to concentrate or sleep or work or enjoy anything these days. I know joy is resistance, art is resistance, kindness and empathy are resistance, and I try and practice all of these things every day, and also boycotting and shopping local and volunteering and making calls and checking on my neighbors and bartering and keeping our big tree lit for the community. And still, it doesn’t feel like nearly enough. I know we probably all feel this way. And maybe the collective small things really do add up to bigger movements, I don’t know. It’s Sunday and my mom is in the hospital again and I miss my one at college and I had such a bad dream last night. My headspace is not in cheerleader mode which is my usual default. And yet… going through my camera roll to find photos of things I made did actually help today. And I have made a plan for future things to make. When I wake up in the middle of the night, the way I get myself back to sleep is by envisioning this one big installation idea I’ve had for years, it takes place in a forest and involves textiles. So maybe 2026 is the year for me to bring this to life, or begin the process. I think about this quote, and it helps, too: When you make art, you rebel against a world that fears vulnerability. Ok, I’m better. Thank you for listening 🤪❤️

Ps: It weighs on me that Meta should be part of the boycotts. If anyone has any ideas for building community and sharing somehow somewhere else let’s discuss.
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