Collage in the Classroom | Megan Coyle: Artist & Illustrator

December 2, 2017December 2, 2017

Still Life Collages from Pennsylvania

Lauren, a teacher at a high school in Pennsylvania, shared some of her students’ work with me. Her 9th grade students in an introductory art course created collages inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s flowers and skulls, and my collage work and technique.

The students focused on color and separated their subjects and background by warm and cool colors.

It was wonderful getting a chance to look through their colorful compositions.

You can see that some of the students used more rectangular strips of paper for their compositions, which is similar to a lot of the shapes I use for backgrounds or more minimalist pieces I’ve made in the past.

Other students incorporated bits of texture and patterns in the magazine strips they used, as you can see above.

While others had more of a balance of solid colors and textures in the paper they used.

Yet again, I enjoyed seeing more student art. Keep up the great work!

November 21, 2017November 28, 2017

Collages from Columbia, Maryland

Kristin’s students from Columbia Academy in Columbia, Maryland made their own collages after studying my work. The students are 7th and 8th graders, and it was wonderful seeing their painting with paper works of art!

Several of the students had a great way of incorporating text into their collages, like this owl collage.

While others focused on using different textures along with a few solid colors.

I liked how this particular piece made use of type along with the composition of a cardinal.

Overall, I was really impressed with Kristin’s class. As always, it brightens my day when I have a chance to see student work inspired by my art.

And to all the other student artists out there – keep up the great work! I am always impressed by what you are creating!

June 20, 2017

Collages from Durham, New Hampshire

Coyle inspired collage made by a student from New Hampshire — Collage by Hannah

Kim’s 8th grade class from Durham, New Hampshire, recently created their own collages. It was great getting to see what they came up with while using my “painting with paper” technique.

Their work is pretty impressive. Back when I was in 8th grade, I remember the collages I used to make were more like what you traditionally think of when you think of collage. So seeing what these students made, while only using paper for the shadows and highlights for each composition, was wonderful.

I enjoyed seeing how each student used a mixture of solid colors and textures.

Some pieces, like the one above, used a lot of variation in the shapes cut from the paper.

While other student artwork, like the two pieces above, had more rectangular magazine strips.

It was absolutely wonderful seeing images of what the students made. I hope these young artists continue to make art.

June 3, 2017

Collages from London, England

Jennifer, a teacher from London, England, sent along images of her students’ artwork. The students are Year 1 at a London Primary School, and are five and six years old.

The class learned about my artwork and then made their own collages.

It was a lot of fun seeing what the kids made. And it’s wonderful to hear that at such a young age, they are learning all about how to paint with paper.

May 24, 2017May 29, 2017

Animal Collages from Japan

Coyle-inspired collage made by a student in Japan — Collage by Bella

Erica’s Grade 3 class from Japan made their own animal collages after using one of my online collage lesson plans. It was wonderful getting to see images of their work – I like how several of the students incorporated magazine cutouts that had bits and pieces of text.

I always enjoy hearing from students and teachers who study my work in school, and I enjoy it even more when I get to see what the students have made. It’s a lot of fun seeing how each artist has their own unique style and adds their own bit of personality to their art.

I hope these students continue to make artwork. Their work is already very impressive, just imagine what they could accomplish in a few years!

February 26, 2017February 26, 2017

Animal Collages from Lake Charles, Louisiana

Coyle-inspired student artwork from Louisiana — Collage by Simon R

Marcie, a teacher from Barbe High in Lake Charles, Louisiana, recently contacted me about her class that completed a collage project. She sent along these impressive images of the student artwork, which were completed by high school Art 1 students in grades 9 – 12.

The class looked at my animal collage art and also saw my time lapse videos of how I piece together my collages. Then they used magazines to create a paper collage wheel – which helped the students look at magazine pages for specific colors instead of fragments of photographs.

Next the students selected an animal to focus on for their project. They researched the animal and created posters that included facts on the animals as well as a drawing of the animal in color.

A local interior designer donated old wallpaper books to the class, and Marcie also added scrapbook paper to the materials the students worked with.

Students sketched their animals on black poster board with white charcoal. They used liquid glue to complete the background first so that their animals would sit on top of the background paper.

It was exciting to see each colorful and expressive work of art that was created by this class. I think the class could easily put together illustrations for their own children’s book.

It really is wonderful seeing the work of budding artists. My favorite part of being an artist is seeing how I can inspire or teach other artists. And it was truly wonderful to see the work that the students in Marcie’s class came up with. Hopefully this project will inspire the class to make even more collages in the future.

January 31, 2017February 5, 2017

British School Caracas, Venezuela

Today I received an email from a teacher at the British School Caracas in Venezuela. Her class of 7 year students studied my work and made their own collages.

The teacher was kind enough to send along images of the student artwork. It was a lot of fun seeing what they created – and how each piece has its own style.

There’s no better feeling than hearing that your work has inspired others.

And here’s to hoping that this budding group of artists keeps making art!

March 26, 2016February 5, 2017

Animal Collages from Canada

A class of six graders from Canada studied endangered animals, selected an animal to write a story about, and then created collages of the animals after taking a look at my artwork. Their 12″x18″ collages are for sale online at Kids Art for a Cause, where the proceeds from their sales will be donated to the World Wildlife Fund.

It was great getting to see what these students made and that all proceeds are going to a good cause.

March 20, 2016February 10, 2017

Scape Collages from Frederick, Maryland

The other day I received images of student collage work from a teacher, Andrea, who teaches at a high school in Frederick, Maryland.

Andrea’s students learned about my work and then created their own landscape/cityscape collages while using my “painting with paper” technique.

As always, I really enjoyed seeing what the students came up with on their own – and how they mixed textures with solid colors.

This is still one of my favorite parts of being an artist – being able to inspire others to make art. I hope the students enjoyed tackling collage, and it was truly wonderful seeing their creations.

March 10, 2016February 5, 2017

Landscape Collages from England

A couple of weeks ago I received a sweet email from a teacher, Karen, who lives in England. She told me that she decided to link a class art topic to collage landscapes, and found my work online.

Her students, who are seven and eight year-olds, studied my work and applied the same techniques to their own collages of the school grounds.

As always, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing what the students came up on their own. And it’s always wonderful to see the work of budding artists.