Art at Hosmer: Family Traditions Mixed Media Collage, Inspired by Carmen Lomas Garza

This winter, 1st grade artists finished their mixed media collage artworks that tell the story of a family memory or tradition. This project took us a few weeks! We began by looking at two paintings by the Mexican American artist, Carmen Lomas Garza. Students were asked to look at the artwork carefully and then think about what is happening and what supports their thinking.

Carmen Lomas Garza, Barbacoa Para Cumpleaños (1993)

Students noticed that there is a girl hitting a piñata, a cake on a table, and many people of different ages gathered together, so it might be a birthday party, a backyard BBQ or a family reunion. A few students noticed the papel picado or cut paper flags hanging between the trees as decoration and made connections to their Mexican heritage or what they already knew about Mexican holidays, such as Day of the Dead. Our observations helped us to "read" the painting and understand the story visually, without words. We noticed that the artist paints the story, using a lot of details to help us understand what is happening. Carmen Lomas Garza is a Mexican American artist who was born in Texas. She paints about her experiences as a Mexican American and her paintings feature her family.

Students thought about a time they have spent with their family and family traditions they have experienced. They tried to remember who was there, where it took place, and what people were doing. Then they made their own sketches and drawings of this memory. For many students, it was a family tradition or annual event such as Christmas, Hanukkah, or Thanksgiving. For others, they remembered their birthday or a sibling's birthday. Some students drew about a family summer vacation to the beach or a long roadtrip, while others drew about playing in the park, weekend picnics, and building snowmen.

The following week, students used their sketches and created a painted background for their artwork. Removing the details, students painted paper with solid colors for their background, whether it was yellow sand, blue sky or white snow. We let the painted paper dry and the next class, students began adding the people and details in their foreground using a variety of different materials.

Students cut and tore shapes from colored paper, tissue paper, fabric, felt, and yarn and put them together to created a mixed media collage of their family memory. Students thought carefully about how the colors, patterns and textures of the materials would help tell their visual story. They tried to make the setting clear, whether it was indoors or outdoors, daytime or nighttime.

Students worked very hard on these mixed media collages, and wrote a sentence on the back about their work, describing the memory or tradition. We participated in our first gallery walk, which is when we walk around the room to observe everyone's artwork. During a gallery walk we make sure not to touch the artwork, just like at a museum. We also did our first turn and talk, where we picked a partner and shared our artwork with them. Students took turns talking about their work and asking questions, considering what their work was about, what they were proudest of in their work, and what was the most challenging part of creating it. Below are some examples of our work, with a description written by the student.