This virtual tour and art project are intended for elementary school-age children. We recommend starting with our tour video of Re-materialize, and then enjoy the “Ode to Autumn” art activity.
My name is Sarah Bloom and I’m a Philadelphia based educator. In this project, I’ll walk you through making a collage inspired by Jackie Milad’s piece titled Little Building and Little Walls. A collage is a form of visual art that is made up of many different art making materials assembled together. In Milad’s collage, she uses her children’s artwork, different papers, and even drawing materials. I used cut paper, autumn leaves, painted paper, pastels, and watercolors to make my mine. You can try these same materials or whatever you have on hand at home! Whatever you choose to use for your collage, I recommend going for a walk in your neighborhood to collect a few special leaves. Materials List:

1. Paper as a base
2. Collected fall leaves (2-3 for varying size/shape)
3. Cut paper – try to put together a “palette” that you like. For example, I picked colors that reminded me of leaves I see in the You can also try newsprint, painted paper, or even old
4. drawings (just like Milad!)
5. Glue stick
6. Pastels or crayons
7. Watercolors
8. Paintbrush

  To begin, I started arranging my cut paper pieces on my paper. I did this before gluing to make sure I liked the placement of each piece of paper. I even ripped some of the papers to change their shape and add texture.   When I was happy with the paper layout, I glued everything down with my glue stick. Don’t be afraid to overlap them! Next, I chose some leaves from my last autumn outing. I chose 2 maple leaves, one big and one small, and one longer and more angular leaf. I laid my leaf on top of my glued paper and started tracing with my pastels. I chose red, orange, and yellow, again to emphasize the autumn color palette. I traced all the leaves at least 3 times and purposefully overlapped the outlines to create new and interesting shapes. Additionally, I used watercolors to add some interest. I chose blue because blue and orange are opposites on the color wheel, making them contrasting colors. I painted in some of the new shapes where the leaves overlapped. I also added some more color to the edges and other white spots of my paper. Lastly, I glued two of my favorite leaves to finish the collage! I hope you have as much fun as I did trying out a collage and picking some autumn leaves. I can’t wait to see what everyone makes! Happy collaging, Sarah Bloom