Channel the artistic spirit of Romare Bearden by making a mixed media collage to express different moods. This is a great art history craft to get kids in tune with their emotions and learn about this prominent African American artist. Much of Bearden's work reflected his memories of growing up, so encourage your child to illustrate a meaningful experience in his own piece.
What You Need:
- Thick paper or poster board
- Old magazines or catalogs
- Acrylic paint
- Glue stick
What You Do:
- Have your child draw out the setting of his collage on the poster board. This could be in a kitchen, in a city or at school.
- Next, he can paint in the simple shapes in the environment, like trees, buildings or people.
- Have him cut out relevant photos from magazines and catalogs that go with his emotion. This is a great time to experiment and use parts from different photos to make up a whole.
- Once the background painting is dry, begin placing the photos onto the picture. Because they are not yet glued down, move them around until the composition is just right.
- Glue the photos down, and use markers to add some more details on top of the photos to make the piece really pop!