As I think about how to teach certain aspects of collage, I've been breaking down my methods so I can explain them to others. This works best when I'm starting with a beginner's mind. One class that was especially fun to design was for a spritely 80-year-old who wanted to learn how to make a dragon. I realized that I didn't know the first thing about dragons, so I started by looking at pictures. The request was for sweet and friendly dragons, and I figured the dragons in the kid's book Dragons Love Tacos would fit the bill. So, I printed off a couple of pages that I found online, and I went about drawing them in my own way. Once I got a sense of the features that made up these dragons, and how I wanted my own dragon to look, I started selecting some "dragon-like" papers and colors to use. Then, I cut and tore the papers into shapes that I felt would be good body and head shapes. Once I put those together, I added the appendages, and details of spikes, wings, and teeth. Finally, I added the eyeball to finish it off, and she became a sheepish dragon who just needed a hug (as we all do right now). When I added the word bubble and adjusted her smile, she made me smile! That's when I know I'm done. When I've gotten to that point in making when my creation makes me smile.