Art Lesson w/ Ms. Jennifer: Romare Bearden
Let’s express ourselves by creating a collage in the style of Romare Bearden.
About the Artist
Romare Bearden was born in 1912 into a family with African, Native American, and Italian ancestry. Due to racial discrimination, segregation and violence, his family moved from Charlotte, North Carolina to PIttsburgh then New York City. There, he became inspired by Jazz music and the Harlem Renaissance period of artists, musicians, and writers.
Romare Bearden’s signature art medium was collage. Snippets from magazine photographs, painted papers, foil, posters, and art reproductions were among his materials. They were his “paints.”
The above work titled “Bessie, Duke, and Louis,” gives the feeling of being in a club hearing and seeing jazz musicians making music. In the work below, “Pittsburgh Memories,” Bearden reflects on time spent with his family in that city.
This collage “Time for Bass” depicts a lone musician on a colorful background.
Watch this short biographical video and reading of the book “My Hands Sing the Blues”
Materials:
Thick paper or cardboard for a background
Scraps of newspaper, magazine, construction paper, or painted papers
Scissors
Crayons, markers, or Sharpies
White school glue
Old paint brush
Old applesauce cup or yogurt container lid to pour glue into
Watch Ms. Jennifer create her collage here:
Instructions:
Decide on the setting for your collage. Do you want to recreate a musician in concert, the mountain landscape, an ocean scene, a cityscape, or a highway? What colors, shapes and patterns will best give you the feeling of that place and time?
Cut from magazines, newspapers, computer printouts, cards, posters, and other reproductions. Find the colors and textures that best represent your subject.
Begin to arrange your elements on a background piece of cardboard. Experiment and move them around BEFORE committing to glue.
Carefully glue each piece in place. Brush white glue onto the back of the pieces, then smooth in place.
Once your collage is dry, you may add more details with crayon, marker or paint.
For Doodlebugs Ages 2-5:
Materials:
Paper in various colors - cut some in 1” strips
Glue and old paintbrush, or gluestick
Instructions:
Practice cutting with your Doodlebug by giving them 1” wide strips of scrap paper to cut into small pieces.
Allow them to arrange and glue pieces onto a larger sheet of paper to create a collage.
Music by Louis Armstrong, Mahogany Hall Stomp and Satchel Mouth Swing, public domain