Create a poetic artwork using the shapes of letters and numbers. Use the letters of your name or someone close to you to make a personal collage. Twist them around, cut them in half and disguise them to create a fun and abstract composition. Maybe you can include a secret message!

Look at the work Metropolis by Rosalie Gascoigne from the Art Gallery of NSW collection.

Describe what you see in this image. Notice the colours and shapes. Can you guess what materials the artist has used? Does anything in the work remind you of something you’ve seen before?

Looking carefully at the image, notice how the words make your eyes move around the work. Which sections stand out to you? What do the words say? Do the words create a sentence? Does it make sense? Why do you think the artist has jumbled up the words? Try looking at the artwork upside down. How does it look now?

How many colours can you see in this artwork? It's mostly in different shades of yellow, with black for the words. When an artwork only uses a few colours, we call it a limited palette. Using different shades of the same colour, or colours close together on the colour wheel, can often create harmony. Do you get this feeling form this artwork?

You may have already guessed that this artwork is made from old disused road signs. Can you recognise any of them? Road signs help us to drive safely and navigate our way around. These signs are meaningful to people when they are out and about driving or walking. They now have a different meaning. What do they mean now that they are cut up and scrambled and turned into an artwork?

Imagine this artwork was a computer game, would it make noises? What kind?

Rosalie Gascoigne didn’t take up art until later in her life when she moved to Australia from New Zealand with her husband, an astronomer. They lived in relative isolation on the stony terrain of Mount Stromlo Observatory near Canberra. Rosalie says that being in isolation was important to her development as an artist. Wow, Rosalie lived in isolation just like we all are at the moment!

What type of new art making skills would you like to experiment with during this unusual time?

Rosalie loved to collect found objects. She spent lots of time walking around her local environment collecting bits and pieces. Do you like collecting things too?

Rosalie said this about her artwork; “I am not making pictures, I make feelings.” What feelings would you like to express in your own artwork?

Time to make your own artwork inspired by Rosalie Gascoigne and her work Metropolis

Materials you will need:
• Recycled newspapers, magazines, old cards, wrapping paper
• Coloured paper
• Coloured markers or crayons
• Scissors and a glue stick
• An A3 sheet of blank paper

Like Rosalie, we are going to make our artwork from recycled materials.

1. Cut out square and rectangle shapes in different sizes from your recycled paper. Put these aside.
2. Using crayons or coloured markers, write your name or someone close to you, initials, words numbers and patterns all over the rest of the recycled papers and also on unpatterned plain coloured sheets of paper. Be creative with your letters by using interesting shapes and making them bold. Include some phrases and some headlines from the newspapers as well.
3. Cut these into different sized squares and rectangles and add to the pile you have already cut. Make as many as you like, the more the better. Cut out some squares from plain coloured squares. Cut out some letters as well.
4. Take your blank sheet of paper and start arranging your shapes onto the page. Play around with them, move them, overlap them, put them upside down and on their sides, until you are happy with your arrangement. Try and cover the whole sheet of white paper with your collage shapes.
5. Once you are happy with your composition, carefully start gluing your collage together. You can add more letters or write more words. When you have finished, add a little secret hidden message.
6. Try making another collage with a different colour scheme and see how different it looks. It’s great to limit your colours. You can also experiment with this idea using different types of materials other than the ones have suggested. What can you find at home?
7. Have fun!

Take a look at some other works from the Gallery’s collection which you might like:

Did you enjoy using limited palette? How would it have changed the final artwork if you had used lots of different colours? How could you extend the project? Would it look different if we had just written the letters in colour rather than used collage? Was it fun making an abstract work, rather than drawing something realistic?

We’d love to see your work! Take a photograph of your finished work and tag us on Instagram @agnswmembers

You can also email it to us – info@artgallerysociety.org.au