Still Life Collage

Overview

Students will plan and create a still life collage by combining visual conventions (such as composition, colour, tone, and texture) with visual arts processes and materials to communicate meaning. The lesson builds understanding of how artists select materials and arrange images to create perspective, mood, and focus.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• plan a still life collage by choosing objects, viewpoint, and a clear composition
• explore how colour, tone, shape, and texture can be manipulated to show a mood or idea
• create a collage using selected materials and visual arts processes (cutting, layering, overlapping, and finishing)
• explain choices made in their artwork using simple visual arts language

Success criteria

Students can:

• create a collage that shows a deliberate composition (clear focal point, balanced layout, and overlapping for depth)
• use a range of materials and techniques to suggest texture and tone
• use planning notes to guide decisions about what to include and why
• describe how at least two visual conventions support the meaning or mood of their still life

Curriculum links

• VC2AVA6C01: Plan and create artworks using visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials to communicate ideas, perspectives and meaning
• VC2AVA6D01: Experiment with visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials to improve visual arts skills
• VC2AVA6E01: Explore how visual conventions and materials communicate ideas and meaning through different choices and viewpoints

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook (still life moment). Teacher displays a simple still life arrangement (e.g., bowl + fruit + cloth) and asks students to notice the biggest shapes, colours, and where their eye goes first. Students record 2 observations in their art journals.

2. 5–12 min · Direct teach: “Frames and focus.” Teacher demonstrates how a collage can “contain” space using a boundary (paper edges), how overlapping suggests depth, and how a focal point can be created through scale/contrast. Students turn and talk: “What would be the focal object in a collage of this still life?”

3. 12–18 min · Planning: thumbnail + material test. Teacher models a quick thumbnail sketch (very small) showing the main objects and approximate placement. Students create a thumbnail plan and choose a viewpoint (top view / side view / slightly above). Students also test two material effects on scrap (e.g., tissue for translucency, textured paper for roughness, markers for tone).

4. 18–32 min · Create: collage construction. Teacher sets up stations with materials and explains safe handling (scissors, glue, workspace). Students begin building the collage:

• sketch lightly (optional) for layout
• cut shapes (aim for larger shapes first)
• layer and overlap to create depth
• add texture/tone using chosen materials and tools Teacher circulates and asks guiding questions: “What choice helps your artwork feel calm/energetic?” “How will you show which object is closest?”

5. 32–40 min · Reflection check-in (mid-lesson review). Teacher pauses the class. Students compare their work against the success criteria and add one adjustment note (e.g., “add contrast around the focal object” or “increase overlap between shapes”). Students make one improvement during this time.

6. 40–48 min · Finish + clean edges. Teacher demonstrates finishing steps: refining the focal area, adding details sparingly, and improving edges (neatening cut lines, reinforcing important shapes). Students finalise their collage and tidy their area.

7. 48–50 min · Exit ticket: “I chose because…” Students write a short response: name their focal point and explain how one visual convention (colour/shape/texture/composition) helped communicate mood or meaning.

Resources

• A3 or A4 collage paper (or card) for each student
• Scissors, glue sticks, liquid glue where appropriate, glue brushes
• Coloured paper, magazine images, tissue paper, patterned paper, fabric scraps
• Cardboard/offcuts for texture rubbing or stamp marks
• Black marker or fine-liner for tone outlines (optional)
• Scrap paper for testing and practice
• Art journals or planning sheets with thumbnail sections
• Printed still life reference images or real objects on tables
• Rubbish bins and wipes for glue cleanup

Assessment

• Teacher observation during creation using a simple checklist: composition planning visible, use of overlapping for depth, evidence of material experimentation, purposeful focal point
• Formative questioning while conferencing (“What are you trying to show? What makes the focal object stand out?”)
• Exit ticket: identifies focal point and gives one reason linked to a visual convention

Differentiation

• Support: provide a model thumbnail and a composition guide with three boxes (background, main shapes, foreground) to help students plan quickly
• Support: sentence starters for artists: “I chose __ because…”, “My focal point is…”, “I used __ texture to show…”
• Extension: challenge students to add a “mood layer” by limiting the palette (only warm colours or only cool colours) and explaining the effect in the exit ticket
• EAL/SEN considerations: allow drawing-based planning; encourage pointing to areas of the collage when explaining choices; reduce material choice initially, then add options once students are confident