Make a Paper Collage Lunette

In this Junior Artists at Home, we look at a Turkish tile lunette from more than 400 years ago. Then a Museum educator teaches us how to make our own paper collage lunette, step by step! With a grown-up’s help and using materials you can find at home, you can make a beautiful, patterned lunette to display in a window or wherever you'd like. Follow along with the video and download the art-making instructions or read them below. Have fun, and explore more Islamic art in the Museum's collection when you're done.

Instructions

Materials

You will need:

  • Colored markers, pencils, or crayons
  • Scissors (Please be careful.)
  • Glue stick or liquid glue
  • Colored paper scraps
  • A paper grocery bag
  • Pencil

Step 1

various art supplies laid out on top of paper grocery bag
Gather your materials.

Step 2

large half circle cut from paper bag
Using your scissors, carefully cut the folded bottom part off the grocery bag. If your bag has handles, remove the handles. Then cut out a large half circle from the top part of the bag. This will be the base of your paper collage lunette.

Step 3

pieces of colors paper on top of cut paper bag
Gather your colored paper.

Step 4

colored papers cut to various shapes laid on top of paper bag
First, draw shapes on your colored paper. Then carefully cut out the shapes with your scissors. Take time with this step and cut out a lot of shapes, so you can make patterns in your tiles!

Step 5

colored paper cut-outs arranged and glued onto paper bag
Collage your lunette tile by gluing the colored paper shapes onto the bag. If you want, you can make your lunette symmetrical, which means that it looks the same on both sides.

Step 6

person drawing on colored paper with marker
Using markers, crayons, or colored pencils, add to your pattern, using shapes and lines that repeat. Once you’ve finished, you can display your lunette over a window or door.

Sponsors

Support provided by Norman and Heewon Cerk.

Tags
Junior Artists at Home

Art Activity Instructions

Detail of Junior Artists at Home: Make a Paper Collage Lunette activity sheet
Detail of Junior Artists at Home: Make a Paper Collage Lunette activity sheet

Download and print out the instructions to follow along at home.

View Activity Sheet (PDF)