Making a Culture Collage
Step by Step Instructions
Activities by Arizona art teacher Laurie Eldridge, Ph.D.with Mary Erickson, Ph.D.
From the exhibition
Outsiders Within:
Contemporary Work from Regional Latina/o and Native American Artists
Materials Needed:
•Newspaper
•Recycled magazines
•Cardstock paper for base
•Scissors
•Glue
•Black marker
•Scrap booking/collage papers orrecycled paper in a variety of colorsand patterns
Set Up
•Clear a workspace ona table.
•Spread out thenewspaper to protectyour work surface.
•Get all your materialstogether.
Step One
•Select a piece of paperthat will serve as the basefor the collage.
•Add another piece ofpaper on top of yourbase. This will be your“anchor strip.”
Step Two
•Look through a fewmagazines.
•Find three or morepictures that reflect yourcultural groups.
Step Three
•Carefully cut out thepictures you chose.
•Cut close to the edge ofthe main image.
•Example: This cactusshould be cut closer tothe edge.
Now the cactus has beentrimmed better.
Step Four
Once you have several pictures cut and carefully trimmed,try arranging the images in different ways.
Try moving things around, adding new things andsubtracting some others.
TIPLet pictures touch the “anchor strip” oranother picture. This helps create unity.
Step Five
When you are happy with the image, glue the pieces down.
TIPLook for pictures that have some of the same colors.Then, add one bright pop of color.
Last Step
•Draw accent lines witha black marker to unifythe design.
•Draw around some shapes.
•Look for a line that you likeand draw it againsomewhere on your paper.
•Use a variety of lines.
Here are some samples ofstudent-made Culture Collages.
Here’s an example from the teacher.
Remember
Think about the cultural groups to which you belong.
Find three or more pictures that reflectyour cultural groups.
Trim pictures carefully.
Try arranging the images in different ways.
Use a variety of accent lines to unify the image.
Be creative!