Charlotte Mason- Watercolor Collage Project

"Children have 'Art' in them.––With art, as with so many other
things in a child, we must believe that it is there, or we shall never find it....Therefore we set twig or growing flower before a child and let him deal with it as he chooses. He will find his own way to form and colour, and our help may very well be limited at first to such technical matters as the mixing of colours and the like. In order that we may not impede the child's freedom or hinder the deliverance of the art that is in him, we must be careful not to offer any aids in the way of guiding lines, points, and such other crutches; and, also, he should work in the easiest medium, that is, with paint brush or with charcoal, and not with a black-lead pencil. Boxes of cheap colours are to be avoided. Children are worthy of the best, and some half-dozen tubes of really good colours will last a long time, and will satisfy the eye of the little artists."

---Charlotte Mason- Volume 1 Page 313

For this project you will need:

1. watercolor paper
2. watercolors (We liked these ones the best.)
3. watercolor brush
4. scissors
5. glue or double-sided tape
6. salt (optional)
7. rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs (optional)

Step 1: You can start by cutting your watercolor paper into different sizes, if you have an idea in mind and know about how much of each color you will need. Or you can watercolor whole or half sheets of paper each a different color so you can have a lot of options when it comes time to make your collage.

Step 2: Watercolor each piece of watercolor paper a different mix of colors (i.e. red and purple or green and blue).

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Step 3: You can add texture to your watercolor by sprinkling salt on it while it is still wet or by dripping on rubbing alcohol with a cotton swab. You can also splatter different colored paint on top of a color wash to add texture.

Adding rubbing alcohol makes a bubbly texture.

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Adding salt makes another interesting texture.

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Step 4: Let your papers dry completely.

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Step 5: Cut shapes out of the watercolored papers to create a collage. Try to keep your shapes fairly large so you won't lose them and will be able to glue or tape them down.

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If you and your children use this idea, I would love to see photos of your completed projects. It is so much fun to see what you all come up with. Feel free to email me photos or leave me a link in the comments.

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***I am also thinking about putting together some watercoloring tutorials this summer, if people are interested. If that is something you would like to know more about, when I decide what exactly I have in mind, feel free to email me and I will put you on a mailing list.

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This project was inspired by the look of Eric Carle's book illustrations.