Cardboard Relief Sculpture Wall Art

Cardboard — you need several layers for cutting shapes

Scissors or a box cutter (adult use for thick cardboard)

Hot glue gun or strong white glue

Acrylic paint in a single color

Wide paintbrush

Cut a flat piece of cardboard as the base — about 12 by 12 inches. This is the background for the sculpture.

Cut various shapes from additional cardboard. Mix geometric shapes (circles, squares, triangles) with organic flowing forms. Different sizes add visual interest.

Arrange the shapes on the base before gluing. Play with the composition — overlap some shapes, leave gaps between others, stack layers.

Glue each shape down with hot glue (adult supervised) or strong white glue. Build from the base up — first layer down first, then layer on top.

Go three or four layers deep in some areas. The more layers, the more dramatic the shadows and depth.

When the glue is set, paint the entire sculpture — base and all shapes — one single color. White, metallic gold, or deep blue all look stunning.

Hang the finished piece on a wall. The single color unifies everything, and the natural shadows between layers create the visual drama.

The one-color paint trick is what makes this look like real gallery art. When everything is the same color, the eye focuses on shape and shadow instead of color.

Let your child design the composition. The arrangement of shapes is the creative decision here — there is no right or wrong layout.

Corrugated cardboard gives interesting texture. Mix smooth and corrugated pieces for variety.

Use a hair dryer to speed up drying between gluing and painting.

Professional artist Louise Nevelson is famous for this exact technique — monochrome relief sculpture from found objects. Show your child her work for inspiration.