November 17, 2011  by

Watercolor Exploration

For the second week of art class, we focused on liquid watercolors. We began with an oil pastel/watercolor resist technique where the combination of an oil pastel drawing and watercolor painting creates a resist effect. The oil pastel resists the watercolor and shows through the painting!

The 2s classes practiced making marks and drawing shapes. Then painted over their drawing with liquid watercolors.

Of course glitter was involved and some children chose items from the shelf to incorporate into their paintings.

We also practiced more fine motor skills by using droppers to suck up the paint and drop it onto coffee filters. This type of paper soaks up the watercolor to make an interesting tie-die effect.

Finally, the 2s classes, had a super sensory exploration with white foam paint (which feels like shaving cream, but is non-toxic), watercolors, and fun tools!

For the drawing portion of the 3s/4s classes, we focused on self-portraits. Each child was given a hand mirror to study their faces before using oil pastels to try to draw themselves.

After a fun attempt at self-portraits, the kids began to explore the watercolors with droppers, toy cars, and glitter.

After class, the kids continued the fun outside- playing at the water table and spraying liquid watercolors onto a large drop cloth.

The evolving garden at GROW also proved to be a source of non-stop entertainment. The chickens and bunny were enticing the younger ones, while the older boys were engaged in some hard work… filling up a wheelbarrow with logs and straw! 
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May 3, 2011  by

Flower Fabric Dying and Balloon Painting

It’s spring time and beautiful flowers are in bloom! Because flowers have so much color to offer us,  I decided to try out a flower dying technique with the older classes. I gave each child a piece of muslin fabric and a mallet. They chose some flower petals and leaves, placed them on their fabric, folded the fabric over, and pounded away.

As they pounded, the dye began to show through the muslin. When they decided they were finished, they opened it up and peeled off the petals to find their fabric filled with color.

After our fabric dying, we moved on to bigger and messier things… balloon painting! We started off painting with small air-filled balloons (for safety it was important that if any balloons popped, they were thrown away immediately). The kids dipped the balloons in paint and dabbed them on the paper, which created circular swirls of color.

Soon I brought out balloons filled with water for the kids to try out. The water added weight and movement to the balloons and were really fun to squish around!

Things began to get messy and the kids moved around the studio painting at the easels and trying out their balloons in different places.

Some of the water balloons popped and the kids decided that they wanted more water to use in their work.

I recently got some new basters and was excited to have the kids test them out!

So much fun!

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October 12, 2010  by

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 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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May 11, 2010  by

Floor Mural and Mother’s Day Gifts

Finally… a full week of warmth and sunshine! I took advantage of this beautiful weather and held our classes outside this week. We began class with a group floor mural, which we painted using some exciting new techniques. I first demonstrated the “bouncy nylon brushes” (hosiery filled with dried beans and rice) that make interesting prints when bounced on the canvas.The children dipped the bouncy nylons onto the plates of paint, then bounced them like a yo-yo to paint the canvas. This was a little tricky for the toddlers, but still a lot of fun!



After introducing the bouncy nylons, I offered the children other tools to use with the paint: Large scrub brushes, whiskers, paint rollers, balls- and trucks of course!



Along with the mural, I placed an easel outside for a different painting experience.




Being outside meant that the sand and water tables were accessible- and therefore very enticing!
To finish our Mother’s day projects from last week, I brought out a tub of organic potting soil, the finished pots, and a selection of flowers. Each child retrieved a shovel from the sand box and got started planting their flowers.

After potting, I gave the children a squeeze bottle to water their flowers.



Squeezing the bottles became an extended activity!
Some of the finished flower pots…


Happy Mother’s Day to all you mamas out there!

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