November 14, 2010  by

Colored Glue Collage and Sand!

This week in the 1s class we worked on colored glue collages. Electra and Aly worked hard trying to squeeze the glue out of the bottle- which is great for fine motor development! I also offered them a tray of small collage materials like foam shapes, beads, and jewels.The children first experimented with swirling the glue around their paper and mixing the colors, then began to chose items from the tray to stick into their glue.
After a little while, I brought out bowls of colored sand to the table. The kids scooped the sand onto their glue and rubbed it around with their hands, feeling the grainy sand mix with the sticky glue.
Because young toddlers love to scoop, I always keep a large bin of collage materials like dried pasta and beans to use with glue. The kids use small cups to scoop out the materials and dump them onto their paper.
Aly moved around the studio and was excited to use the markers set out on the easels.
Electra was happy to stay at her seat and explore all the interesting items that she collected onto her paper.

Towards the end of class, we brought some materials outside to try out the splat paintings that we did in the older classes. The girls enjoyed squeezing the water onto the plate of paint and pom-poms and then throwing the pom-poms at the easel!I then set up the tray on top of the water table and brought out the colored sand, colored water, plate of paint, and other fun mixing tools… so much fun!




See you next time!

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November 9, 2010  by

Tissue Paper Sculptures and Various Painting Projects

As daylight begins to shorten this time of year, I thought about offering projects that can incorporate the darkness of winter. This week I decided to focus on tissue paper collage sculptures that are fun to play with in the dark! (thanks to The Artful Parent for this great idea) First I created a circlular frame out of wire, then placed it on a sheet of clear contact paper (sticky side up). The children were offered bits of colored tissue paper to create a collage.




The children also decided to add glitter and sequins to their collage!


When the collages were finished, I helped the kids fold over the sides of the contact paper to seal it up, then showed them how they can bend and sculpt the wire into various shapes. I happen to have a flashlight handy in one class, so I showed the kids how to illuminate the sculpture by shining the flashlight through- which is especially fun in the dark!
For the rest of class, the children re-visited their scrap sculptures from the previous week to add paint and more details.









As the children finished up their sculptures, they worked on various projects around the studio.





We even took advantage of the warm weather to finish up class outside.


While we were outside, I introduced “splat paintings.” First we soaked pom-poms in watered down paint on a tray…
then we threw them at the easel to create a “splat!”

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November 7, 2010  by

Veggie Prints and Collage

This week the 1s class experimented with veggie print making. I cut a variety of vegetables (and an apple) in half to create a flat surface. The children were each given a plate of paint and a large paper to stamp out their veggie prints. The veggies were an interesting addition to tempera painting for the kids, but they were soon looking for something else to work with. I decided to try out the colored glue to give them a chance at squeezing. This proved to be very exciting, especially when I added bits of collage materials to the table!

Mia’s older sister, Sasha, joined us for class and worked on her sculpture project from the 3s class.
Electra and Mia worked with the glue and collage materials for a while. Scooping the small collage bits out of the large bin was very exciting.
Towards the end of class I brought out some trays and golf balls to paint with. The kids each smothered a golf ball in paint, scooped it into their tray, then rolled it around by moving the tray side to side.

The kids are really starting to collaborate more, sharing materials and working together!

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October 28, 2010  by

Collage and Marbles

This week the newer 2s class explored colored glue and collage bits. I offered the children their clay work from last week as well as a large piece of tag board to use as a base. Although the collage materials are intriguing, the act of squeezing glue is always the best part! And when you add color to the glue… even better!



The children remained focused for a while on their collages- sometimes moving to the easels for a break and then returning to the table to continue their work.
Towards the end of class, I brought out trays, paint, and marbles to expand on the ball paintings (golf and large balls) from last week. After doing this project in other classes, I noticed that the children really enjoy the difference of having lots of small balls rather than one or two large balls. Or maybe it’s the clanking noise that the glass marbles make! Scooping and pouring the marbles is also very exciting!



So much orange- just in time for Halloween!

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October 4, 2010  by

Colored Glue Collage and Garden Art

This week we focused on gluing and collage. In addition to gluing on paper, I brought out the children’s dried clay work from the previous class for them to re-visit. I offered them colored glue and trays of collage material such as buttons, beads, sequins, pasta shells, and cotton balls.




Some of the kids experimented with the glue, rubbing it over their hands like finger paint. Although it may look like paint, they soon found out that it didn’t quite feel like paint!



Before heading outside for the second half of class, some of the children found time to make prints and check out the shelf for more materials.
Because of the hot weather, I decided to bring the kids outside for the second half of class. We began with a bleeding tissue and water collage where the kids placed pieces of tissue onto a large paper and sprayed the whole thing with water. When it dries, the tissue falls off, but the color remains.


The rest of class was spent playing with water, making mud pies, and painting on the easels.





Some of the finished bleeding tissue collages!

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September 14, 2010  by

Art and Wine Night

It’s back to school time so I decided to invite all of the moms from this upcoming session to indulge in a night of art-making and wine! Many of the moms have been watching their children here in the studio for months and I wanted to offer them a chance to finally participate in the creative process. It’s a way for them to get a taste of what their children are experiencing in art class and also get a chance to connect with other moms in the community. It was fun to hear how the children responded when their moms said “I’m going to art class tonight!”One child said, “but that’s my favorite class!” And another child said, “why can’t I go?” It’s wonderful that they feel a sense of ownership here in the studio :)We started off the night making monoprints with acrylic boxes (like we most recently did for Father’s day cards).



Then we moved on to collages with tissue paper and tempera paints (mixed with glue and water). This is a great project for anyone to jump right in, regardless of art experience- it’s simple and always beautiful!
Outside an easel was set up for a collaborative canvas painting. It now hangs in the art studio for the children to see :)
Thanks Mamas! Let’s do it again soon.

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August 18, 2010  by

Stamp-Making, Collage, and Watercolor Target Practice!

This week we focused on gluing and collage work- and began by making our own stamps! I gave each child a thick block of foam, an assortment of thin foam shapes, and a bottle of glue. I explained to the children that they could glue the shapes down onto the foam blocks and when they dry, they can use them as stamps. As I observed this process, I realized that the kids who have been in art class for a while, were squeezing small dabs of glue onto their blocks and gently placing the shapes into the glue. Do you remember some of our first collage projects? The children would squeeze out an entire bottle of glue and dump as many collage items onto their paper as they could (no matter what age). In a past blog post, I explained that it is important to let them experiment with the glue and materials and eventually they will learn how to self-regulate. Well it looks like that time has come! Of course I’m sure they will still experiment with squeezing and dumping, but I’m ecstatic to see that they really are learning in here!



After putting their stamps to dry, I offered the children a tray of small materials and some colored glue to continue working in this collage medium.









The children moved around the room to work at the easels and collect items from the shelf.
Then they discovered the scissors again!



As the weather has begun to warm up, I wanted to end class with a fun outdoor art game. I created two bulls-eye targets on paper and hung them on the easels outside. Then I gave the children water color spray bottles to shoot at the targets from behind a line (thanks Rhian for this awesome idea). These kids have great aim!






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July 24, 2010  by

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!

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June 22, 2010  by

Watercolor Fun!

This week the older class started off making suncatchers. They were very interested in peeling off the tissue paper after gluing it down and seemed focused on the sensory aspect of their artwork over the design- which is probably why they requested clay again for the next class! After suncatchers they moved on to watercolor painting with various brushes and tools.





This week the toddler classes worked on watercolor and oil pastel resists. They began by first drawing with oil pastels on the watercolor paper.



After a while I brought out the liquid watercolor paints for them to add to their drawings. Soon, the children were bringing various tools and materials to the table to use with the paint. The new foam shapes and glue were a big hit!
Kirsten takes a snack break as she watches Austin experiment with a necklace.



On the easels, the children painted over a large paper decorated with foam stickers. Once the paintings are dry, we will peel off the stickers to see what’s underneath!



Towards the end of class we brought the watercolor spray bottles outside for a different style of painting.

See you next week!

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May 18, 2010  by

Sculpture Building

This week, for a 3-D experience, we worked on sculpture building using re-purposed items. I offered the children a base for their work, glue, and various 3-D materials that I got from SCRAP (Scrounger’s Center for Reusable Art Parts) in San Francisco. This is a great project to do when you have a bunch of random items around the house that you would otherwise throw away (wood scraps, broken jewelry, old keys, bottle caps, etc.)
The toddlers work is more flat like a collage, but as they get older they will begin to experiment more with stacking and building.



For most children, the gluing is the most exciting part! In these early stages of art class, I try not to limit their use of glue because it is part of their creative learning experience. As they continue to use and learn about glue they will eventually learn how to self-regulate as well.


After most of the building was done, I offered the children smaller collage parts and glitter to add to their work.



In two different classes the children discovered the scissors and became very interested in cutting.



The older class missed out last week on the floor mural, so I brought it outside towards the end of class for them to work on.
For the next two classes, I hung the mural on the wall and offered the kids rollers and scrub brushes to paint with.


With each class, the canvas gets more and more interesting!
I hope to see you next week at the spring art show!

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