Packaging Portraits

Y’all now know I love to hoard and collect things. High on my collecting list is cereal box card. I don’t keep EVERY box that works its way into our kitchen (did I mention I have 5 hungry children?) – coz that would be weird, and a tad over the top. I do however gather and store the odd bunch in a box at the studio, that we can access for projects.

I love this card, as it is ‘thick-ish’, which means its easy for little hands to cut up, but not too thin that it is too floppy like paper. I love the bright colours, and the text and images that are on it also.  It means it is the perfect cheap upcycle resource for art projects.

For this project I gathered a bunch of cereal boxes together and cut up a range of shapes, and had my mini makers help with the cutting – we did a few larger oval shapes, and then a series of smaller circles, ovals, thin strips, rectangles, triangles. It was fun to just get cutting and through happenstance see what colours appeared on each piece of card once cut out.

We then had some fun playing and arranging the shapes – trying to create as many different faces we could. Check out some of the creations………..

I love how creative and quirky these faces are. A bit funny, a bit futuristic, a bit silly, a bit tribal…….whichever way you want to go. Glue them down on a bright background – and voila – packaging portraits!

It is also cool how you can flip sides – you can use the printed side, or the plain side of the card – you could even use markers to decorate. 

I really enjoyed this whole process – from cutting up the box, cutting all the shapes, playing and arranging, and the final gluing down.

Why not try this with your crew/ class/ kids?? Its cheap, it is creative, and most importantly – it allows a wide scope of possibilities! Faces/ monsters/ masks/ gardens/ nature/geometric shapes. 

Be sure to check out the awesome Australian artist Elizabeth Gower and her FABULOUS packaging inspired pieces. LOVE!!!!

Another item to throw on your art tray….happy creating!

Let us know what you think of our ideas……comment below!

Yours in Art,

Tracy x