Collage is a Big Hit!

I have been volunteering at the local Assisted Living Center for their art sessions on Tuesday afternoons. At first we worked in pastels and some people really loved this, but we wanted something that more people would enjoy - an idea popped into my head. I always loved to work with cut and torn paper and so I decided to give that a try. It's so much easier to do this now with glue sticks available - no messy dishes of glue or acrylic medium to deal with.

This past week we did a pot of flowers starting with a line drawing that I had drawn on the computer and printed out. To expedite the process, I cut leaf and flower shapes from colored tissue paper, textured paper and plain colored paper and gave each person the parts. Of course, as soon as they got engrossed in the process they were asking me to cut out special shapes and colors they needed to make their flower pot complete. I loved that! They were thinking about what they were doing and getting lost in the moment.

Everyone started with this drawing plus flower and leaf shapes cut from paper.

 The best results were the comments about how addictive and fun this activity was and the fact that people got totally lost in the process. They were so interested in what they were doing that they forgot their troubles for awhile. They were proud of their work too.

Here are some of the masterpieces:

Some had orange pots with plain stripes.

 People started adding
their own touches.

"I always wanted to be an artist"

Handles on the pot!

Petals dropping from the pot!

This one was done by the first guy
to have the courage to attend.