Mosaic Of Jesus

Posted with artist's permission                          

Suffering Servant
by Marcella Pallekara


















Today's craft is one of my favorites for many reasons. First, it was inspired by the above mosaic, which I totally love. When I contacted the artist, Marcella Pallekara, to ask for permission to post her work, she was so gracious and kind that I couldn't help but be intrigued by her. Naturally, that prompted a visit to her blog, Paint Paste Pray. I have to say, I am in complete awe of her many talents. Her blog has inspired me both artistically & spiritually. 

The second reason I love today's craft is because it compliments every single Bible lesson. Yes, every... single... one. 

And the third reason, well, it's fun!

So, what is the craft you undoubtedly are asking by now? We are going to make our own mosaics of Jesus, of course. How can you look at Marcella's masterpiece above and not want to give it a try?

Materials needed:

Magazine pages (tear out ahead of time)
Glue/Glue sticks

Construction paper
Optional items:

    Coloring pencils

    Magic markers

    Crayons

    Paint

Instructions:

Keep in mind that kids may initially feel overwhelmed by the task. Explain to them that the artist actually combined drawing with the glueing of paper scraps. Suggest they draw at least an outline of the face on their construction paper to serve as a guideline. Then show them how to look at the magazine pages not necessarily for the objects on the page, but for the colors and textures it contains. For example, I used Marcella Pallekara's piece to point out Jesus' brown hair. Then I located a page that contained a lovely brown burled wood coffee table. I tore the picture into several small pieces and demonstrated how to orient them to look like hair. Once they saw how to do this, they became excited and dove right in. I think being told to draw/paint/color some features took the pressure off of searching for the perfect piece.

We spent the entire Sunday school hour working on our projects and still didn't quite finish. The kids really embraced the experience. Many of them asked to take their picture home with a handful of magazine pages to complete later. I was impressed they weren't ready to quit. Here are the ones that finished in class and left their work to be displayed in the classroom:  

NOTE:  All images, text and printables contained herein are copyright protected. This material is for your personal use only. I encourage you to print or pin from this site whenever you would like as long as it is credited and linked back to EasyBreezySundaySchool.blogspot.com. Failure to link back and credit my site constitutes a copyright violation.  Thanks so much!