Accessible Abstract Art - Mondrian Collage

One week of bed rest for almost an entire family at home has definitely inspired me to search (hunt down like there's no tomorrow) for ideas that are fresh, creative and thought-provoking for the kids and me!  This Mondrian Collage inspired by a fantastic art teacher and her blog is a fresh approach to some of the common materials we have in our home.  We used black construction paper cut in various-sized strips, white construction paper for our canvas, glue sticks, and crayons (didn't have the oil pastels) in primary colors and grays.

And, oh what loveliness was made!  My eldest child - ever the organized one - created a star and colored right on the black strips.  Normally I have a plethora of art supplies at the ready, but I think he appreciated the limitations of this project, continuing to slowly add to it for some time.

My younger kid on the other hand, prefers to get things done.  She enjoys the process, but doesn't want it to be too, too long.  Hence the three long strips because she's "thwee" years old.  Despite basically having only four colors to work with, she  was still inspired by the "rainbow" pallette.

 

Here's the Bear baby creating his own composition on clear adhesive contact paper.  I never used to be one of those "but the baby will feel sad if he doesn't get to do it too" moms, but it's actually true with this little guy.  He cried for me to put him in his high chair so he could create a little bit of loveliness of his own!

The kids were so proud of their artwork, they immediately ran to the fridge to "frame" it.  After displaying his piece, my son exclaimed, "That was a lot of work. This was a good project, Mommy!"  Music to a sick mama's ears!

 

I had a little fun with Mondrian myself!  One of the interesting aspects of this project was how the bold construction strips and limited palette inspired them (us!) to design and color.  Here's to simple, thoughtful, accessible, abstract art!