Elementary

Artwork by Ada.

The Essential Question
What is mixed media? Why might an artist use mixed media in a work of art?

Objective
Students will create an experimental still life that incorporates a variety of surface areas and mixed media.

Materials
sketchbooks, color media, various types of paper (e.g., vintage book pages, music sheets, construction paper), still-life objects

Procedures

1. Show students artworks created on different surfaces such as book pages, music sheets, and textured paper.
2. Students choose various media and analyze how they respond to different surfaces.
3. After the activities above, student choose three to five objects to arrange in a still life, taking into consideration size variation and the placement of objects. Students then choose various types of paper to collage in a sketchbook page. They glue down the papers, filling up all the white space of the page, and let the page dry.
4. On a separate sheet of paper, students develop at least three ideas for illustrating their still-life arrangement. Challenge students to consider composition and mixed media for their final designs.
5. Students take suggestions from peers before converting their final design onto their collaged sketchbook page. Students illustrate their design first using pencil and then with their media of choice. Encourage good composition (items going off the page, overlapping, and size variation).
6. Students post their designs on the school’s virtual platform for their peers to provide feedback.

Leigh Drake is an art teacher at Old Donation School in Virginia Beach, Virginia.