Scrappers

Published on November 5, 2009

Here is a peek into a series of paintings I have started working on.

They are each painted on wood!

AND…..each painting sits on a foundation of what I lovingly call scrappers..and, I must add, none of these paintings are finished yet!

Here is my own personal box of scrappers!

And, for those Lovelies that attended the Creative Dig Workshop this past September, they got to create some Art Journal LOVE with some scrappers I brought for them.

What is this thing you call “scrappers”, you ask?

Well, as you most likely know, I teach K-8 art…and sometimes I have kiddos that are unhappy with their art work…so, first we discuss what it is they don’t like–and how they could change and grow from this in the future. Then instead of throwing it away or giving it to their great, great aunt Hattie–we put it in a box lovingly called “Scrappers”. This is a place students are encouraged to go through regularly to use pieces and parts of pieces for collage, multi media, and any kind of paper sculpture we may create. The fun part too is that there are many times I will hear a student exclaim in pure glee “I can’t believe someone put THIS in the scrappers!!!” –and instead of turning the bad art into a piece of their own—they actually keep it and take it home.

I love scrappers….for me, I take alot of the kids scrappers and cut them into squares. I’ve started attaching them to board and using them as a foundation for my layered paintings. I’ve even started creating some paper quilts as well!

So…once again…..bad art shows us that it can really be a good thing!