Visual Art at PS 307: Making hand painted paper to use in collages

Many children are familiar with Eric Carle's children's books and his distinctive illustrations. Today the children learned that Eric Carle's illustrations are collages and that the paper he uses to make his collages is paper that he hand paints himself. So his first step is to create an interesting and nuanced selection of hand painted paper in various colors and shades with a lot of brush strokes and textures visible. He then uses this paper to cut out shapes to form his illustrations.

So today, as part of our collage unit, students began creating hand painted paper themselves which they will use later in collages. Using tempera paint in only the primary colors - red, blue and green, students discovered through exploration how to mix rich colors and shades they had never mixed before. They also learned how to create distinctive texture through use of brushstroke and through makeshift texture making tools such as plastic forks and pieces of cardboard with wedges cut out of one end which they used to scrape away top layers of paint, creating various lines and textures.

above: 3rd graders working at the Frida Kahlo table. (each table in the art room is named after a famous artist with a picture of one of their artworks attached to the table with clear tape)