Create a collage using bold lines, patterns and fabric like artist Sadie Sheldon.
Download Activity
Sadie Sheldon, In Each New Room You Find Your Harmonious Role, 2022, Found fabric, thread, 60 x 60 inches, Collection of the artist
Sadie Sheldon is a multidisciplinary artist based in New Orleans, LA. Her work is made from found materials, harvested from unwanted piles and reimagined for a greater purpose: storytelling and reshaping the way we experience the stuff of our world. She holds an MFA in Sculpture from Tulane University. Sheldon has been awarded a total of 13 residencies at various institutions around the world. She is a member of The Aquarium Collective and Majaks Theater.
Supplies
Color/Pattern Paper, Scissors, Fabric Glue, Markers, Cardstock, and Pipe cleaners.
Instructions
Step 1: Look at Sadie Sheldon’s artwork. What do you notice about it? What do you like the most about this piece? Sheldon used different fabrics, lines and shapes to create this unique 3D collage. Notice that the collage is asymmetrical and colorful.
Step 2: Use any color cardstock as your background.
Step 3: Pick various fabric scraps that you like.
Step 4: Pre-cut collage pieces or cut them out as you go. Use scissors to cut out any shapes that you may want to use. Use Sheldon’s artwork to inspire you. What geometric shapes do you see in the artwork? Try to incorporate some of the same elements that Sheldon used in your collage.
Step 5: Take a moment to arrange the elements of your collage. What scene will you depict with your work? Will the pieces overlap? Will you place similar shapes together?
Step 6: Adhere the collage pieces to the background paper using fabric glue. Put glue on the back of the pieces and also on the background paper. Press them down. When complete, let dry for a few minutes.
Step 7 (Optional): Use two pipe cleaners intertwined to add a 3D frame to your fabric collage.
Vocabulary
Collage — a technique using cut or torn fabric or paper and glue
Asymmetrical – Artwork has symmetry when it looks exactly the same on one side as the other. Asymmetric is when it looks different on each side.
Geometric – including lines and shapes
SEE SADIE SHELDON’S IN EACH NEW ROOM YOU FIND YOUR HARMONIOUS ROLE IN LOUISIANA CONTEMPORARY 2022 PRESENTED BY THE HELIS FOUNDATION.
