How to Make an Abstract Collage!

Have fun, expand your art-making practice and spark your curiosity as you follow along with our Education Manager, Liv Scully, in making a weird, wacky, wonderful collage!

Here, we show you how to create something new with materials and tools that you may already have at home.

If you’re local to Tampa Bay and would like collage materials, contact us at education@fairgrounds.art and say “Yes! I’d like a FREE collage kit!” and we can coordinate so you can pick up your free collage making kit(*this free kit is one-per person and only available until April 9th, or until supplies last!)

At Fairgrounds St. Pete, education is about opening a world of possibilities. We want to inspire YOU to expand your repertoire of what you know and can do!

To get started, you’ll need:

Something sticky – like glue or tape!

Scissors or an x-acto knife

Collage materials, i.e. books, magazines, or photographs 

A piece of paper, used cardboard box, canvas, or a sketchbook!

Optional: download and print your own Fairgrounds coloring sheet here to use our characters in your collage!

WATCH THE VIDEO OR FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW!

To get started, gather your materials and set up your space. A big part of the creative process is giving yourself room to grow your practice! It doesn’t need to be fancy, or even all that big: some counter space, or a cleared off desk is a great place to start. Throw on your favorite music or podcast to set the tone of the space and for an added boost of inspiration!  

Spend some time with your collage materials: go through and take note of anything that sparks your curiosity! Pay attention to textures and colors that pop out at you! Take a look around your space to see if you have anything you already love that you could use to add to your work! 

To set the tone of your collage, try to find or create something to use as a background! You could layer multiple images, draw or paint a shape, add on top of something that already exists or just leave it blank! 

When you find some elements you like, play around with the composition! The composition is how the elements of art interact with each other. Try turning your collage from horizontal to vertical, and moving around different elements before starting to glue! Use your collage materials to layer images, fill up the space and manipulate the background.  There is no wrong way to collage! 

Once you’ve got your elements where you want them, go ahead and start to glue the individual pieces down, starting with the background! Get creative with your placement and gluing – it’s okay to extend off the canvas and layer pieces to highlight different parts of the composition. Pro-tip: if using liquid glue, try to use as little as possible! Too much glue can cause paper to wrinkle. 

Voila! A weird, wacky, wonderful collage. Now, to find a place to display your masterpiece!