A Room with a View

Find a window in your home and arrange a few objects you enjoy on the windowsill. A cup, a plant, something you’ve collected. Take a moment to look.

Start with the largest shapes. Think about the light coming through the window as one large shape of color. Maybe you begin with that. Or maybe it’s the wall surrounding the window.

Now look at what interrupts those larger shapes. The window frame, the blinds, the branches of a tree outside. What medium and small shapes can you layer on top? Where do things overlap? What spaces appear between them?

Build your collage from the largest shapes to the smallest, letting each new piece change the arrangement.

Let your palette lead. Your colors are not going to match what you see. You’re not trying to reproduce the view. You’re finding a new way to describe it through unexpected color and shape.

A few tips

• Cover the white paper completely to create a world of color and shape.

• Begin with the largest shapes before adding details.

• Move your pieces around before gluing them down.

• Remember, your colors don't have to match the original.