Celebrating Collage and Color with Wearable Art
Materials
For this project we gave guests a large strip of construction paper as the base. On the tables we had a variety of collage papers, scissors, glue sticks and stickers. Providing different types of adhesives gives more options for problem-solving, and helps to make the project friendly for all ages.
Paper engineering techniques
Here are some ways that team members and guests used these materials to create volume, structure, and dimension in their wearable art:
Paper looped or rolled can become a hat, crown, bracelet, sash, and more! Guests used these techniques to create both the structure of their wearable art and the details. Here, looped strips of paper became hats and crowns, and rolled paper became the beads of a necklace.
By folding paper guests created wearable art with dimension and a variety of shapes. A cut paper fringe was folded downward to give a hat extra dimension, paper was folded to create the arms of glasses, and paper folded into a zig-zag pattern gave a mask interesting contours.
Paper can be braided or woven together to create the structure of wearable art, it can serve as embellishment, or it can do both at the same time! The braided band of a crown creates a very stable structure and looks beautiful. A woven arm-band has striking pops of color, and a woven helmet has lots of visual interest.
A guest used stickers to attach papers together to create the volume of a bag and secure the handles in place. Another guest used stickers to attach long strips of curled paper to the inside of a headband to create hair with lots of movement. Stickers create a strong, immediate attachment whereas glue takes a bit longer to dry, but is equally secure once it does.
Here’s how the display wall looked when we were done, ready to fill up with wearable art creations! The paper pegs were strong enough to hold any of the wearable art created. They were also very easy to replace which is an important feature in a space like ours where we want to make sure that everything is either very secure, or can be easily and quickly repaired. Paper structures are generally very easy to replace or repair so we frequently use these techniques in our displays.
Sharing Our Wearable Art
We love to think about how artwork is viewed and shared with others in the Art Studio, this feels especially important when it comes to wearable art projects.
By looking in a mirror, sharing a photo, or exploring what others have made on the display wall, we inspire one another, build on ideas, and help fuel the creative process! Check out more wearable art ideas and projects that use paper in sculptural ways in the Explore Further section below.