Easels and Brushes
Our first group was back today for some more fun with paint. This week, I started them off at the easels to experiment with some different brushes. We first used thick round brushes dipped in the paint cups.
Then I added paint trays with rollers.
And finally, I offered them sponge brushes to dip in the paint trays.
Pretty soon the kids began to wander over to the table, looking for something else to work on. So I set out paper and a few more brushes (this time, small flat brushes) for them to use.
Kate wasn’t in class last week, so she was just as hesitant as the others on their first day. I thought she might like to start off with the toy cars and necklaces from our texture painting- and maybe even a little shaker of glitter :)
Kirsten wandered over to the shelf and began to pick out some very interesting objects to work with… wow, colored pom-poms, Styrofoam peanuts, and feathers!
And of course everyone else wanted to work with the colored pom-poms.
Here, Karuna is painting the pom-pom
Time to clean up- What great helpers!
My favorite painting of my daughter’s is madecwith pom poms. Pom poms rock. Even my 9 month old likes to play with them. Just foundvyou blog through the Artful Parent. I am reading through you posts and following along as you start band run your studio. It is something that maybe I’ll do one day. But first I will try to startba home art group. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Megan!
Thanks for this great blog! We are currently re-doing out “junk room” into an art room in our small house. I had a lot of the same visionary ideas, but your blog has allowed me to manifest them more easily and confirm that indeed they would work (it’s hard to be self assured when you’ve never done something like this before!) So, thanks for that!
I have a question about easel painting:
For a while we have a wall easel that was outside- it was so great! BUT the issue was that despite having a catch for paint, paint still got allllllllll over the ground, thus was walked on by little feet, thus was brought into the house and furniture and carpet…and…..
I’m not one to boast a clean house at all (hahaha!) but the pain issue became too much. I’d like to create a wall easel in the new art/play room but again, am concerned about this one issue. It seems to stay more contained when painting is done on a table like surface, but…there’s just something about an easel, isn’t there? (; Do you have suggestions as to how one might contain paint and protect a floor from being destroyed? (We have a wood floor in that room, so it’s not hard to wipe up- it’s more an issue of spreading throughout the rest of the house.
I’d love some ideas!
Thank you so much!!!
PS Where did you get those plastic “cookie jar” storage containers? Fun!
Hi Amanda,
It’s fun to look back at these old posts! Thanks for your comment. The plastic “cookie jars” were from The Container Store, but I’m not sure if they still carry them. You can get something similar at Discount School Supply (in a pack of 4) or just google “plastic cookie jar” and some options come up.
You make a good point about tracking paint around the house. Since you have a separate room where your easel will be, you can try to be diligent about not letting your kids run out of the room without cleaning their feet. We have the same issue, and I when I catch my 3 year old running out, I just swoop her up to the sink. Then I quickly wipe up any paint tracks on the floor. It’s not an issue with my 6 year old. You can also leave a wet rag by the door whenever your kids are painting and ask them to wipe their feet (or remove socks/shoes) when they leave.
Under the easel, you can put a plastic mat to protect from any major spills.
I’d love to hear how it goes!