This week I wanted to teach the boys about art, particularly mosaic art, so they can learn and realize the value of using small things put together, to create a larger, more beautiful output.
Mosaic art is typically defined as a picture or pattern produced by arranging together small colored pieces of mediums such as hard material, such as stone, tile, or glass. With this lesson, I opted to use paper as our medium, since it was readily on hand and perfect for little six-year-old to create with.
Before starting the lesson, I first created my mosaic art so the boys could see an example of what a mosaic is. Then, using a simple template, I let the boys take over and create their own mosaic art.
Below are our finished mosaics, and I think they turned out beautifully. This project was an extensive project, taking 3-4 hours to finish, but the boys loved the option to work on this project throughout the day, using this time as quiet time between activities.
My mosaic art flower.
K’s spinosaurus dinosaur, walking across a bridge over water.
L’s dalmatian, walking on the grass, under a smiling sun.
Supplies Used:
Various colors of heavy weight construction paper
Elmer’s Glue Stick
Scissors
Optional: Printed template for children to follow on 8 1/2 by 11 white paper.
Instructions:
Tip: We opted to use a template printed from Google to help the craft progress a little faster. Even with a template, this craft still took 3-4 hours for my boys to complete. We completed this mosaic art craft in three small sessions, throughout one day.
The night before, cut various colors of construction paper into small geometric shapes. The smaller the shapes you cut, the longer the craft will take, as you will need more pieces to cover your page. Keep cut pieces separated by color.
(Tip: This is a great project to do while watching your favorite evening shows.)
Choose the theme of your mosaic art. This can be anything from an animal, a plant, a cartoon character, food, or a favorite toy. The possibilities are endless.
(Tip: If you plan on mounting your finished mosaic art craft on a larger sheet of construction paper, typically found in a 9 x 12 size, create your mosaic art craft a minimum of 1/2″ smaller than your larger sheet of construction paper, which will allow a 1/4″ space around each edge.)
Give your child the template (if you’re using one) and let them start covering the template with the cut pieces of geometric shapes, gluing the pieces down as they work.
When finished, mount the mosaic art craft on a 9×12 sheet of heavy construction paper and frame or hang on the wall.
Tips:
To help the focus of your mosaic art craft pop and stand out more, use one or more different color geometric cuttings (different from the color of your focused object) to fill in the white space around your object. This will help your main object ‘pop’ off the page.
Encourage little ones to use their imaginations and add details as they want. Let their creativity bring the mosaic art craft to life.
Have children practice their cutting skills, and allow them to trim pieces if needed to fit into tight spots.
This is also a great craft for young children to practice their colors and patterns.
About Stacy Molter
Nice Blog I found for Paper Craft.. Keep Posting!