At least once a year, I try do do a mixed media collage.  I think there is a lot of value in having students see how they can combine several small projects into one final piece.  This project took three weeks to complete, but I think it was well worth it.  There is a whole lot of learning packed into this collage.

We started out by drawing a bear and a fox on brown craft paper.  Then we drew trees.  Both of these were colored with construction paper crayons, which I love!  Next we created some painted paper with crayons and watercolor for bushes, grasses, and leaves.  The next week, we drew out landscapes with construction paper crayons.  Students learned how to create the illusion of space by drawing shapes smaller as they move up the page and farther away from the viewer.  Students could be creative with their landscapes.  I just provided the general guidelines and let them make it their own.  On the last class, we assembled all the parts into one amazing collage.  The final step was using acrylic paint pens to add stars and an accent of color and contrast where needed.

Along with learning about drawing animals, shading, and creating space in a landscape, students also learned the value of sticking with a long term project.  These took a lot of time and effort, but I think they all appreciated the results.  They were really proud of themselves when they saw it all come together.

Thank you, Patty at DSS for this project idea.