01 October - Balanced Collage

In this lesson, students will produce a collage using a visually balanced composition.

Supplies:

12 x 18" construction paper in various colors, scissors, glue, 6 x 9" construction paper in various colors, paper scraps (optional), crayons / oil pastels (optional)

Instruction:

Explain visual balance = visual balance can be seen but not measured on a scale. It is measured by which object your eye sees first. Differences in color, shape and contour affect visual weight. Bright colors have more visual weight than dull colors. Large shapes have more visual shapes than small shapes. A busy contour, or border, has more visual weight than a smooth contour.

1. Have students choose 2 pieces of construction paper one big one small - in two different colors.

2. Ask them to hold their smaller paper horizontally. Starting at the bottom of the piece, demonstrate how to cut an interesting abstract shape, eventually returning to the bottom of the piece. This should result in a "cutout" (or "positive") shape, and a "leftover" (or "negative") shape, both of which are in one piece.

3. Have students glue one of their negative shapes in a top corner of their background paper, lining up the edges neatly.

4. Ask them to reposition the positive shape within the negative shape ("fit it together like a puzzle"), then FLIP the positive shape down beneath the negative one and glue it into place, creating a mirror-image effect. (This is easier shown than explained, so try it first!)

5. Students are now free to add other shapes, particularly ones which repeat. I take this time to discuss how repeated shapes help "pull the picture together", or unify it. Students can use small repeating shapes to create a pathway for our eyes.

6. Students may wish to find recognizable objects within their pictures and continue along that theme, or they may wish to keep it nonobjective. I allow both as long as they are "not exactly like real life" (you may wish to discuss the difference between abstraction and nonobjective in-depth with older students).

7. Monitor to ensure that students are creating visually balanced compositions; some get carried away!

8. Towards the end of this project, I allow students to use my paper-scrap box for additional pieces, and crayons for lines.

Closure: Review key terms and concepts. Students can classify each other's work as abstract or nonobjective; tell the class how they used patterns to unify their collage. Display some pictures, as they will get many compliments!