inspirational collage

Today, I made an inspirational collage. I really liked the way the orange stood out against the black, so I decided to do something with it! Here's what you need:

black paper                                                            bright paper
glue                                                                       white crayon

Glue the bright paper in the middle of the black, and make a shape out of it. It could be a heart, a star, or an animal--anything that has to do with an inspirational message that you can think of! Write the message down on the black paper with a black crayon, and you are done!

Other Ideas
This kind of collage looks best when it is sort of simple, so don't make your decorations stand out more than the thing in the middle does! You can make your middle object stand out even more, though, by putting glitter on it or using crayons to make it look as though beams of light are shooting from it. You create something crazy, you choose something outrageous!

earth collages

   friday, april 20  

 
 saturday, april 21

sunday, april 22--earth day!

monday, april 23

tuesday, april 24

















Over 5 days, I made 5 earth collages. I chose to make these collages on Earth Day and the 4 days around it, and they were all made from recycled paper! Here is what you need:

recycled construction paper                                              full sheet of paper
glue                                                                                  scissors

Just cut out the shapes and make an outrageous, random collage out of them! You could do one that isn't completely crazy, too, like the one I did on the 20th.

Other Ideas
I can't really think of any other Ideas for this, but I can give advice: never do the same kind of collage over and over--it gets boring after a while. Also, it is your choice to enjoy doing art and be happy with it or not!

message collage

Today, I made a message collage. The pictures were all from what remained of the Hana Hou magazines in the previous collage. Here's what you need:

magazine                                                    pencil
paper

Think up an inspiring or meaningful phrase to put on your collage. It should have a couple nouns in it, so that you can glue on pictures describing your message. Once you write down the message on a piece of paper, you can cut out pictures from magazines and glue them on next to the nouns they describe.

Other Ideas
The simplicity of this collage depends on the phrase you choose and the magazine your pictures are from. All collages look good with a border, but remember that if the collage is simple, make an outrageous, elaborate border, and that eye-popping ones need a simpler, lighter one. Also, remember that Van Gogh  made up his own ideas; why can't you?

vacation thank-you

Today, I painted another small fraction of the outrageous amount of Hawaiian art I have done-a vacation thank-you. A vacation thank-you thanks someone who hosted you on a vacation, with a picture painted on the front of something that the place you went to is known for. I invented that, of course. Here is what you need:

blank white card                                                 paints
pencil                                                                

Sketch what you are going to paint on another piece of paper if you want to be extra prepared. Then, start painting! I did a volcano, because that's how Hawaii was formed, But if you went to Florida, you should probably do something like an orange, or maybe a boot! Don't forget the message on the inside, though.

Other Ideas
Remember, an easy way to add glitter to a painting is to just shake it on while the paint is still drying. If you want to make one thing in the painting stand out, you can add glitter to just that spot. If I had done that, I would probably have done it on the lava, but yours will probably be different. If Leonardo got to decide all the details of his artwork, you can, too!

natural pearls

Today, I made a natural pearl necklace. It was made from berries from the tree in my backyard! Here is what you need:

needle                                                        thread
seedless berries(not outrageously mushy)

Tie a knot in the thread and string it through the eye of the needle. One by one, push the needle through a berry and slide it down to the knot until the thread is full. Tie the ends of the thread together to form a necklace.

Other Ideas
If you are a perfectionist, experiment with different types of berries to find the longest lasting and best looking one. If you are more daring, though, mix different colors of berries and create a cool pattern with it. Your choices depend on the kind of person you are!

broken sign

Today, I made a broken sign for the oven. The dishwasher has broken an outrageous number of times, but never the oven! Here is what you need:

paper                                                      colored pencils
broken appliance                                    pencil

Think up a funny thing to say on your sign, like Hello, I'm Broken, who are you? or My name is Bob, but people call me Broken. Add some color to it with your colored pencils and you're ready to put it on the broken kitchen appliance!

Other Ideas
A broken sign doesn't really need to be too detailed or eye-catching. Make it your goal to change that! Add pizzaz with glitter or the edges cut in a wavy, jagged, or scalloped edge. You create, you decide!

themed collage

Today, I made a themed collage out of the Hawaiian Airlines magazine, Hana Hou. It took a lot of work and a lot of time, but it turned out outrageously cool in the end. Here's what you need:

magazine with one main theme                                            poster paper
glue                                                                                   scissors

Use the scissors to cut out pictures from the magazine and glue them to the poster paper. I just realized how little writing this would take!

Other Ideas
If you do not have enough pictures to fill your paper, cut out scraps of construction paper to fill in the blank spots. Also, you can add something special to make your collage more unique! I looked through my magazines and cut out the word Hawaii every time it was mentioned, then glued it on my collage. You can add anything-tissue paper, feathers, string, glitter, beads, a border-you get to choose!

ti leaf rose

Today, I made some ti leaf roses! I learned how in a lei making class in Hawaii, and I find it so amazing that you can make a beautiful rose like the ones in the picture out of a leaf! Here's what you need:

ti leaves or newspaper strips                                               string, yarn, or raffia

If you are using ti leaves, freeze them for two days and let them thaw before working with them.

Fold a ti leaf into thirds the long way.

Crease it so that it has a right angle.

Do the same thing on the other side so that you have a long tail and a short tail.

Roll along the crease nearest the short tail.











Fold the long tail behind itself.

Roll along the crease you just made. Keep repeating this until the long tail is about the same length as the short tail.

Tie the two tails together with yarn or string.

Make some more!








Other Ideas
You can make this kind of art out of lots of different materials. I've seen it done with not only ti leaves and newspaper, but also tissue paper, construction paper, and magazines. You can make bouquets out of flowers of an outrageous variation of materials and colors. I did 3 different colors in the bouquet above, and it looks really great! The choice is yours!

computer art

Today, I did some outrageous computer art. It is comical art, which makes it very entertaining. Here is what you need:

drawing software (I used Beautiful Dorena) on a computer

First, explore all the different things you can do with your software. I discovered that I could type on Beautiful Dorena, so I used that in my art. As soon as you know what your software is capable of doing, you can think about what you want to create. You can make it comical, inspiring, meaningful, or all of the above.

Other Ideas
You can print your art and add on something 3D, or email it to somebody else. You could explore the world of computer software and find out how to make animated movies too!  That's art also. Remember, since there are so many different things to do with art software, you get to choose which path to follow!