mythological beauty

She, she, & she walks her dogs down the street,
she, she, & she is so lovely to meet,
long, shapely legs of quartz-like stone,
two arms to hold you tight when you are all alone,
all her eyes are warm and cheerful,
but if you find yourself just a little too close,
I would be, just a little fearful.

magazines, scissors, glue stick, watercolor paper,
sharpies, liquid watercolors, images of bearden's work,
mythological creature facts (cerebus, medusa, scylla, echidna)

First project for "wild creatures" art class. We looked at the book by Sara Fanelli, Mythological Monsters of Ancient Greece, (a great kid collage book) and images of Romare Bearden's collages. His work was our inspiration to create a one of a kind collage monster. Have the kids cut out heads and give them permission to draw fangs, horns, fire breath or mustaches on their faces (something they never get to do). Catalogs are great for finding arms, legs, and bodies. Mixing it up is so much fun, wheels for feet, shoes for horns, or a washing machine for a body, oh the possibilities! Bodies can have many legs or arms, spikes, scales, or even wings. I encourage a story to happen in the background, "does their monster live in the sky or on a mountain, does it fly, does it live underground and eat worms, does it live in the ocean.......the stories are endless." The kids are in a constant state of chatter during this entire project so I think, most of the fun will be when the students share their monsters with others and the tales they will weave. Let their imaginations go wild!