Blog - The Art Pantry

July 31, 2010 by Megan Schiller

Liquid Watercolor and Whipped Cream

We began this week with liquid watercolors, a new medium for many of the kids! Starting off with a simple painting experience, each child was first given watercolor paper, cups of paint, and brushes. Soon they began to ask for cars or other familiar tools as well.

Many of the children began to pour the watercolor- which is usually what toddlers want to do with a cup of liquid! Sometimes they would pour the paint into different cups, but mostly they poured it onto their paper (after the first class I realized it was a good idea to use trays!)

After a little while, I offered the children coffee filters to paint on in addition to their paper. Coffee filters soak up the watercolor in a different way and are fun to experiment with.

Eye droppers are great tools to use with the liquid watercolor. They’re unique and fun for the kids, but they’re also excellent for developing fine motor skills (specifically the pincer grasp, used for writing).

After a lot of painting and pouring, I moved the paper to dry and brought out whipped cream! With the aluminum foil on the table, I gave each child a scoop of whipped cream and encouraged them to use it in their exploration. Some kids immediately wanted to rub their hands in it, while others used tools to move it around. Painting the liquid watercolor on the whipped cream offers a unique sensory experience and a new way of seeing the vibrant colors.

The easels were set up with jars of liquid watercolors to continue the watercolor experience.

I recently replaced some of the containers on the shelf to entice the children to visit it more often. I think it’s working.
Finally, I brought out the watercolor spray bottles to use on the easels and at the table. I can never go wrong with the spray bottles!

0 comments

July 24, 2010 by Megan Schiller

Salt Dough and Colored Glue

This week we started off making salt dough. Salt dough is similar to playdough, but it is meant to be baked and decorated like clay. If you’re interested in trying this at home, click here for a simple recipe (or here, for a gluten-free recipe) To make the dough each child was given a bowl and spoon for mixing and a cup to scoop out the dry ingredients. After mixing the flour and salt, I offered them a squeeze bottle of water (with only a little water) to add to the bowl. We added more flour and water when needed, then mixed and mixed until the dough was just right!

Once the dough was the right consistency, the kids dumped it out onto their mats to begin their work. They used cookie cutters, pizza cutters, plastic knives, and clay tools to mold their dough. I also brought out some spray bottles and more flour to keep the dough moist and pliable.

Sometimes the dough was too sticky so we had to add more flour!

After a while of working with the dough, the children began to check out the shelves for new materials and tools.

For the children who were ready to move on, I put their dough creations on the shelf to dry and brought out some paper, colored glue, and plastic lids.
The children then squeezed the glue into the plastic lid, which is used as a mold. Once the glue dries, you can pop it out of the lid to create a transparent window hanging (this fun idea came from a great blog called Darling Clementine- check it out here).
But of course the best part of this activity is the squeezing!

Where there is glue, there is almost always glitter and collage materials!

This week instead of the usual paint, I put markers at the easels. Some kids really enjoyed the change!

0 comments

July 19, 2010 by Megan Schiller

New Session- Finger/Texture Painting

It’s a new session with some new faces, so I decided to revisit the basics… toddler painting 101. We started off scooping paint with a spoon and using our hands to smear it around the paper. Then I brought out a variety of tools and objects to paint with- such as toy cars, necklaces, and combs. This is a great way to introduce tempera paint (the texture, colors, and movement) as well as the concept of process-oriented art. The kids learn that the studio is a place for messy exploration and creative fun!

After a while, the children began collecting different materials from the shelf. Interesting brushes, rollers, and glitter made their way back to the table- along with our new squeeze paint bottles.

The children eventually wandered over to the easels which were set up with brushes, whisks, and scrubbers.

After lots of messy work, each class moved outside to continue their exploration of squeezing, scooping and pouring.

See you next week!

1 comments

July 13, 2010 by Megan Schiller

Finger Painting with Grandma!

Over the weekend, I held a special art class for tots and their grandmothers. Karuna’s Grandma (my mom) organized this class with some of her friends so they could enjoy a messy art experience with their grandchildren.
Here, Karuna and Grandma wait outside for the others to arrive.

As an introduction to the studio, I started the kids off with finger painting as I do with all new students.

Eero was a little reluctant at first to get his fingers in there.

Ofelio, on the other hand, just dove right in!

After a little experimentation with our fingers, I brought out some toy cars, necklaces, and brushes to use with the paint.

Pretty soon, the kids discovered the easels and began to move around the studio.

Beatrice learned how to make a monoprint of her painting on the acrylic easel.

Anna got exited about printmaking too!

Clean-up time becomes a whole new activity when you add squirt bottles and cups!

We ended the morning with yummy snacks under the shade…

and of course a little more playing around the yard.

Bye-Bye!

2 comments

July 11, 2010 by Megan Schiller

Our School

Last week, Liam (from the older group) brought a large piece of cardboard to class. I asked him what we should do with it, and he said we could cut it and make things out of it. We didn’t end up using it that day with our clay work, so I decided to bring it out this week to see what we could do. I also happened to have a few more large boxes lying around, so I created a simple (doorway-like) structure as a starting point for the kids.
Here, Karuna checks out the structure before the others arrive.

I propped up more cardboard against the easel for additional construction and placed ribbon, yarn, tape, and recycled materials on the table.

When the kids arrived they immediately began adding more panels to the structure, as they discussed what they were building. They eventually agreed that it would be a school. I asked them if they wanted me to use my box cutter to make windows and they showed me where they should go.

They decided that the school needed things in it, so they began to bring materials from the shelf into the structure. When it got crowded with baskets and containers, they moved to the table to make decorations for the walls.

Anna found some cardboard rolls and decided to make binoculars. She wanted them to go in the window, so I helped her figure out how to hang them with yarn.

The spray bottles have been in high demand lately!

When the next group of kids arrived, they began to explore the school.

After a little bit of exploration, I offered them paint to help decorate the school.

To expand on our clay leaf printing from last week, I showed them how to make a similar leaf print with paint. The kids then experimented with this technique in their decorations for the school.

For the third class, I decided to put the yarn, tape, and other decorative items on a side table so it didn’t crowd their work. I also moved the “school” to the back of the studio to give the kids a little more space around the table. When the children came in to class, they sat right down to paint and didn’t even notice the structure. Instead they went to the shelf to get some of their favorite materials… cars and glue.

Once they began to take interest in the structure, I showed them what the other classes had made, and offered them a plate of paint and rollers to use on the walls.