Creating with Scraps

I’m an art supply hoarder, also known as, keeping any item that seems like maybe someday, I might be able to make something with it, which is basically every piece of paper and cardboard. In an effort to stay organized and not overtake my home with scraps of paper, I’ve designated a few boxes to capture all of the wonderful scraps of paper I find and create. I’ve been creating a lot of painted paper and doing collage work for some upcoming children’s books, which means that the lids no longer close, and so it felt like it was time to do something with the overflowing scraps of paper.

EXPERIMENT

So often we don’t create because we’re afraid that it won’t be any good, or we can’t think of what to make, working with discarded scraps is a great way to overcome both. Start by getting a cheap sketchbook or notebook and a glue stick. Next, start taking items from your collection of paper scraps and gluing them into the sketchbook. Don’t think about making things look good or even finished, this should be something that you continue to add to over time.

CHALLENGE

If you already have a stash of scrap papers, find a sketchbook, set a timer for 30 minutes, and start gluing all of your scrap pieces of paper to pages.

If you don’t have a stash of scrap paper because you tend to through it out as you go, start collecting scraps of paper and gluing them into your experimentation notebook. You might even take old works of art that you don’t like, cut them apart and start turning them into something new.

INVESTIGATION

If you’re taking AP 2D Design or thinking about taking it, this can be a great way to inform your sustained investigation OR, it could BE your sustained investigation. For example; I could say that for my sustained investigation, I want to explore creating compositions through collage, using only found and recycled materials.