I love tissue paper and the broad spectrum of colors that is available for creating gorgeous eye-popping art. Tissue paper comes in bleeding and colorfast varieties. The paper I am using in these pieces is of the bleeding (staining) variety- the colors run when they get wet. Sometimes I use tissue paper as a collage background for a snowman, underwater, or garden/jungle scene, Other times I cut the tissue into 2-inch squares and crumple each piece to use for the fall foliage of a tree, in portrayals of forsythia and other flowers, or any other type of mosaic I’m inspired to make.
Crumpling bits of tissue paper is tedious and time-consuming, but once three or four-year-olds
become involved in this particular activity it is likely to keep them occupied for quite some time, with the added benefit of developing small motor skills. (Note: Show children how to separate the pieces of tissue paper and crumple each singly.)
Working with wet tissue paper and glue requires sturdy paper upon which to work. I like using heavy watercolor paper. I mix Elmer’s glue with enough water to make it runny enough to apply with a paintbrush to the base paper. Coating an area of several square inches at a time, kids can set torn bits of tissue paper to overlap on the wet glue. The paper adheres readily to the watered-down glue on the page. You can coax and flatten the bits of tissue with the wet brush, and gently coat the whole page with watered-down glue when it is covered.
Another approach to tissue paper art is to create pages for the purpose of being cut up and used in collage art. The papers below have been cut for daffodils, tulips, and greenery, glued onto a colorfast tissue background, and embellished with crumpled tissue.
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| Papers for collage |
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| Collage |
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| Bleeding tissue paper with liquid watercolor and acrylic |
