Henri Matisse was a French artist who loved bold colors. When, as an old man in the early '50s, he developed arthritis and could no longer paint, he began creating paper collages, known as cutouts. Using large scissors, he cut stunning paper shapes and arranged them into dynamic designs. Although made when Matisse was well into his 80s, the cutouts are among the strongest works of his career.

Before your child begins creating her design, look together at the shapes in the Matisse collages. Notice how he used geometric and organic (those found in nature) shapes in his compositions. Geometric shapes, such as triangles, circles and squares, are symmetrical. This is not the case with many organic shapes, which include squiggles or blobs.

MATERIALS

Colored paper
Scissors
White or black paper
Glue or paste

Set out the colored paper and a pair of scissors, and let your child begin cutting out shapes (younger kids may need help with the scissor work). You don't need to give her much direction in this activity, but if you like, you might encourage her to vary sizes and colors. Resist the urge to "tidy up" your child's cutouts. Her stars may not be perfectly symmetrical, but they will look beautiful when joined with the other shapes in the final collage.

Once she has amassed a collection of shapes, she can arrange them on a sheet of white or black paper. When she has settled on an arrangement, she can glue the cutouts in place. If the collage was done on white paper, mount the work onto black or dark blue construction paper to create a striking contrast, or mount it against a dominant color within the collage.

(Ages six and up)