Washington Heights Branch Library

Collage and Beginning Drawing classes

Maps are tools that help to guide and give direction, and Life Maps can show us where we have been and where we might like to go, in the form of a personal geography. By examining the appearance of maps through the lenses of line, texture, color, and point-of-view, students were introduced to the elements of design and the art of collage.

I included a variety of historical and present day maps with relevance to New York City (cycling maps, bus and subway maps, walking tour maps, etc.). We considered each of these for both their functional aspects as well as their metaphorical qualities. Students then integrated maps for collage making while also drawing upon their life experiences and memories to inspire their work.

I use a disciplined-based art education approach so as to include related activities in the realm of art history, art criticism, and aesthetics, as well as a studio component. Students studied how artists like Romare Bearden and Mark Bradford drew upon city life as a source of inspiration, using collage to express their experience of urban living.