Blog - The Art Pantry

October 20, 2010 by Megan Schiller

Clay and Halloween Ball Paintings

This week the new 2s class and the 1s class both experimented with clay. Each child was first given a slab of moist red clay and a few simple tools (a rolling pin and a pizza cutter). After the initial introduction, I began to slowly bring out a variety of new modeling tools and familiar items to use with the clay. The children cut, poked, and squished their clay, enjoying the cool sensory experience on these hot days.

When the children began moving to the easels to paint, I encouraged them to bring the paints back to the table to use on their clay. The unexpected mix of paint and wet clay was exciting! The kids then began going to the shelf to choose new materials to work with as well (such as sticks, necklaces, and glitter).

The 1s class especially enjoyed squeezing water onto their clay.

After working with the clay for a while, I brought out a new golf ball painting project for the 2s class. In the spirit of Halloween, I gave them black paper and orange paint to use with their golf ball and tray. They then shook the tray around to create interesting lines on the paper.

This soon turned into mixing and scooping the balls and using them with the other materials.

For the 1s class, I placed a bucket of warm soapy water in the corner of the room in case they needed to wash the clay off of their hands before going outside. This was much more exciting than I had anticipated! They hung out here for a while, dumping items into the water, giggling, and using wet chalk to draw on the chalk wall.

At the end of both classes, we moved outside and experimented with a larger version of the golf ball painting… another Halloween inspired piece!

But of course pouring water is the most fun of all!

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October 19, 2010 by Megan Schiller

Halloween Inspired Art

In honor of Halloween and pumpkin season, I decided to try an ambitious project with the 2s and 3s this week… paper mache pumpkins! I used small balloons as a base for the paper mache, ripped newsprint strips, and a simple paste mixed with orange paint to make it a little more interesting. I also had to create a stand out of tagboard (similar to poster board) and masking tape to hold the balloons in place.

I knew this was a difficult undertaking, so I asked the parents if they would help their children with this project (for the 2s class only). I usually encourage children to explore on their own, but this collaboration proved to be necessary to get the balloons fully covered- putting such an emphasis on the finished product is not something I do often, but I think the kids still really enjoyed the idea of making a pumpkin!

Some kids meticulously used paint brushes to apply the paste, while others were happy to dunk their hands in!

The 3s class was really into this project and managed to cover their balloons without much help.

I knew this project was a stretch for my 2.5 year old class, but was curious to see how my class of young 2s responded to paper mache… It turned out that they were not interested in it at all! First they were thrown off by the balloon being taped to the tray and immediately wanted to get it off so they could play with it. They also were not into the idea of painting gooey paste on their beautiful, clean balloons.

Luckily, I knew this aversion to paper mache was a possibility so I had a back-up plan!

I brought out a large bin, some black and orange paint, and a variety of balls to create a rolling ball painting. The kids mixed the balls in the paint, put them into the bin, then rocked the bin side to side to create rolled lines on the paper. I even convinced them to put the balloons in as well.

When the children moved back to the table I offered them collage materials, glue, and paint. This was much more their style!

Once the paper mache pumpkins were finished in the other classes, the children found various painting projects to work on.

For the final activity of the day, I brought the kids outside to try out the rolling ball painting that we did in the young 2s class. This project is of course exciting to kids because it involves paint and rolling balls, but it’s also a great collaborative experience. In order to move the balls around, the children need to work together and communicate with each other.

Some of the finished paintings… very web-like and fun for Halloween decorations.

In the young 2s class, we ended with a painting dance party and jumped around to a Kidz Bop version of “Can’t Buy Me Love”- at their request!

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October 14, 2010 by Megan Schiller

1s Paint, Sand, and Water

This week the 1s class continued to explore the tempera paint with their hands and various tools. In addition to the paint, I offered each child a bowl of colored sand (play sand mixed with powdered tempera paint) as an added textural experience. The children were fascinated as they mixed, scooped, and rubbed the sand onto their paints.

Electra was very interested in water and wanted to be at the sink, so I brought out some extra bowls, squeeze bottles of water, and liquid water color.

Aly and Electra share a sweet moment of connection!

Mia spent some time at the easel, working with a brush and roller.

More water please…

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October 12, 2010 by Megan Schiller

Oil Pastel Drawings and Making Our Own Paint

As leaves and petals begin to fall this time of year, I realized that they would make great materials for this week’s art exploration… making our own natural paint! We began first with oil pastels and water color paper to create a base for our plant paintings. The oil pastels will resist (and show through) the paint to create a multimedia work of art.

For the older class, I placed jars of flowers on the table and invited them to draw a still life of a flower. I asked them to pick one or all of the flowers to look at, focusing on the shapes, lines, and colors. Although some representations were more abstract than others, all the children worked hard at observing the flowers.

Once the kids had some time to draw, I brought out the materials to make our own plant paint. Each child was given a bowl, spoon, and a bottle of water. Then they chose flower petals and leaves to crush with water in their bowl.

To crush the plants well, it’s best to use a mortar and pestle, which the children took turns using.

In other classes, I used a blender to crush some red rose petals to get a stronger color.

After the initial experience of making our own paint, I offered watercolors to the children which was a little more interesting than painting with very diluted flower colors.

Eventually the children wanted to add glitter and jewels to their bowls, making a sparkling potion-type of paint!

Around the studio, the children found some interesting materials to work with!

A bowl of sparkly flower paint!

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October 10, 2010 by Megan Schiller

New 2s class and Fingerpainting

I’m excited to have added a new 2s class this session! We began last week with sensory-based finger and texture painting as I do with all of my classes. For this project we started with glossy fingerpaint paper, bowls of tempera paint, and spoons. The children scooped the paint onto their paper and began their painting process. Some children dunked their fingers right in, and others preferred to use the spoon to initially move the paint around.

After a few minutes of finger and spoon painting, I offered the children a variety of tools. Before introducing brushes, I like to offer household items such as combs, necklaces, or toy cars. For young children, this is a more intrinsic way to begin paint exploration and it also creates interesting textures and marks on the paper.