Today we practiced composition, math, and painting skills. It's so important for beginning artists to learn how to make interesting compositions, and their collages were the perfect place to start since they are full of interesting colors, textures, and shapes! The students created what I call abstract(ish) paintings, since they combine abstract and realistic techniques.
Example painting, collage, and viewfinder (white and black square, top left)
They started out by making small paper "viewfinders" to take a closer look at their collages, similar to how we look through a camera. They then picked an interesting miniature composition from that- most of them were around 1" x 1". They then took the miniature composition and created a much larger version of it, using painting techniques we discussed today and math skills.
Student examples
I loved this project! I think it teaches important skills, is fun, and has beautiful and/or interesting results. It is a great beginning project for teaching painting, as it shows the students' painting styles and can easily lead to more intensive paintings. In the future, I will give students more time for this project. Students all work at different speeds, and incorporating math heightens that difference.