Fabric Collage!

  

   In second grade at Suffield, we just completed these awesome fabric collages.  Over the years I have accumulated quite the collection of donated fabric and I decided that it was time to find a purpose for it!  We looked at the amazing works of three contemporary fabric collage artists: Laura Breitman, Lynette Williams, and Karin Olah (who is a fellow Maryland Institute College of Art alum!).  We looked at many of their pieces with the use of our digital projector and marveled at the intricate work done with fabric.  The students were so excited to use a very different art media than we usually use and some students even brought some of their own fabric from home. 

     We started by creating watercolor washes on white paper to act as a base for the collages.  Next, I demonstrated a few techniques to use with the fabric.  I showed them how to create a stencil on manila paper and to then use it as a guide when cutting the fabric.  I also showed them how to layer the fabric, starting with the biggest shapes first.  I made also made yarn available toward the end of the project.
     The students were free to choose whatever subject matter they wanted.  Some students created abstract collages, some were representational, and some had both representational and abstract elements.  I love projects that result in differing and unique artworks.  Planning those lessons can be tricky for me, but I was really happy with this attempt!  We had collages of jelly fish, Spiderman, landscapes, portraits, sports, and all sorts of other things including some wonderful abstract compositions.