Paste: Make itt: Cutout Collage. Key concepts: abstraction, shape, color, composition. Materials: construction or origami paper, patterned or painted paper (optional), scissors, large sheet of white paper, glue stick. 1. Spend some time studying the large-scale cut paper works that Henri Matisse created late in life. We read two great children’s books: Henri’s Scissors by J. Winter is colorful and beautifully done--it’s wonderful for learning about his life and later artistic process. Blue & Other Colors with Henri Matisse (pub. Phaidon) is a very simple book showing his use of shape and color. We spent a while looking at the abstract shapes and discussing what they reminded us of--mermaids, alligators, leaves, men with funny chins! It’s a great book to use to start training a young mind to see abstractly. 2. Start cutting that paper! I brought in some fern leaves and jackson vine for some shape inspiration. // My girls were pretty self-motivated during this part; Farris was cutting all kinds of shapes and naming them different representational things. Charlotte was not too fond of this project at first, as she is more drawn to realism (she says, although her art says otherwise), but after a while of discussing the freedom that comes with a project based on discovery instead of having to perfectly produce something fixed in her brain, she came around and started enjoying layering the shapes to create compositions. I also told her that using scissors instead of “line” tools like pen and pencil is a great exercise to help us to think about shapes. At a few points along the way, we discussed how certain objects in the room could be cut out of paper if we simplified them into shapes (for example, a desk = one big rectangle and four thin rectangles). You can also discuss organic lines vs. geometric lines (edges of your shapes). // 3. Once you have plenty of shapes cut, begin moving them around on the paper to create compositions. Don’t forget that you can use the “leftover paper” (negative space) from where a shape has been cut out! 4. Once you’re satisfied with the composition, glue them down!