In the world of art, there are rarely any boundaries and mixed media portraits definitely prove it. That’s why doing a mixed media portrait activity with your students is a must. Not only do they get to express their ideas while developing important skills, but you also get to help them create new artistic ideas and work.

The Benefits of Mixed Media Portraits

From an academic standpoint, mixed media portraits give students the ability to work on foundational skills that will be used far beyond their years in school. Many of these skills include:

• Verbal skills

• Visual skills

• Technical skills

• Problem-solving skills

• Fine motor skills

To be able to cross several developmental domains is a win-win for any activity, no matter the subject.

How to Do a Mixed Media Portrait Activity

If you’re looking to do this activity in your classroom, you’ll be surprised to know that it doesn't take very much planning or effort from your end. Because you’re using mixed media, you can literally pull materials from any and everything. If you’re not already keeping a scrap box in your classroom, now’s the time to start doing it. It will make it much easier to round up supplies.

I put out a giant tub of random found objects, knickknacks, and reusable materials that they could use. They also had access to construction paper, scrapbook paper, and duct tape sheets. I recommend using anything that will help your students think outside the box. There are a number of things you can use:

• Old magazines

• Newspapers

• Photographs

• Printer paper

• Brown paper bags

• And so on!

Once you have all of your materials collected for the student to use, start with creating a face. My students created the face with a sheet of scrapbook paper and a sheet of duct tape sheets. They started getting really creative with their work. One student used white and black polka-dotted scrapbook paper and a lime green sheet of duct tape paper. Another student used packing paper (the brown paper cut into slivers) to create hair.

This lesson really made them think outside the box because the materials were uncommon to them. Working with duct tape paper was good for their fine motor skills because it had a different feel while cutting than regular paper. Plus, they had to manipulate it to get it to stick to their paper without letting it get stuck together or wrinkling.

This activity does take a lot of focus (another good skill), and I modeled how to do it many times. Having the students model me also helped with their listening skills. 

Final Thoughs

As you can see, incorporating a mixed media art activity is a must in every art classroom. It doesn’t take very much time but also keeps the students engaged. Use it in your classroom, art camp, homeschool, or co-op!