Alesia’s Art Activities
Alesia Lacina has a long history of arts education in Grinnell. Here are some of her favorite art activities for you!
Snowglobes
Materials
- Small glass jar, like a baby food jar
- Little figurines and scenery
- Glitter
- Hot glue gun & glue
- Fabric scraps
Instructions
- If together, unscrew the lid from the jar. Arrange some small figurines and scenery inside the lid. Hot glue the scene down in the lid.
- Pour a bit of glitter into the jar. Fill with water.
- Screw the lid back on the jar. Hot glue around the edge of where the lid and jar meet. This will prevent the snowglobe from being opened.
- Take a small fabric scrap and hot glue it around the edge of the lid.
- Flip over the jar and the snowglobe is complete.
Artist Biography Books
Artist biography books are a fun way to teach kids a little art history. These books contain a short biography of an artist to read aloud, an example of their work, and the bookmaker's interpretation and impressions of the artist.
We make one book about each artist, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. We used photocopies of a book's (see Sources below) biographies and painting examples which were then cut out and glued to the book pages. Tweak this project to your heart's content, though. Two ideas are to make one book including both Picasso and Matisse, or include little biographies about other artists.
Materials
Several sheets of construction paper (depending on how many pages you want in your book)
Paper scraps or drawing materials
Stapler w/ staples
Glue sticks
Print outs of biographical information, Picasso painting example, etc. (See Sources or click image at bottom for PDFs)
Instructions
Fold a few pieces construction paper in half (short end to short end) to serve as the outer cover and pages of the book. Tuck them inside each other and staple along the inside crease.
Using the example painting as a model, decorate the cover in the style of Picasso. Using the paper scraps makes a more interesting visual than markers, but use anything.
Cut out and paste the biography and painting example inside the book.
On the last page, write your thoughts about Picasso - do you like his art work? How did you use his ideas/style in your own artwork on the cover?
Source
Book: " What’s the Big Idea?: Activities and Adventures in Abstract Art” by Joyce Raimondo
- For more artist biographies, check out these websites:
CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR PRINTOUTS
Floam
Floam is a fun science & art project. If you don't know what it is, it is like silly putty with styrofoam beads mixed in. You can't exactly sculpt with it because the putty is not stiff enough, but it's very fun to play with.
Materials
3 cups styrofoam beads
1/2 cup school glue
4 tsp borax
1 cup water
Large bowl to mix ingredients together
Small bowl
Food coloring
Instructions
- Mix borax and water together in the small bowl.
- In the larger bowl, mix together the styrofoam beads, glue, and a few drops of food coloring.
- Stir in 6 TBSP of the borax/water mixture.
Marble Mazes
Materials
box (Nutrigrain, Teddy Grahams, etc.)
craft knife or scissors
straws
masking tape
marker
a marble
Instructions
Tape the box shut.
Cut out a large side of the box, like in the picture.
Cut straws to different lengths. Tape or glue down the straws to make paths for the marble to go through.
Mark start and finish.
Use the marble to try to get through the maze.
Tips
The kids also had fun trying out each other’s mazes and trying to make theirs “the hardest.”
- While glue does keep the straws in place, tape works the best
Flour Balloon Creatures
These flour balloon monsters are basically funny-faced stress balls. We draw faces on our flour balloons, but draw whatever you want.
Materials
Flour
Large bowl/tarp/tray
Balloons
Funnels
Pencils/sticks to push flour down
Sharpies
Instructions
Using a funnel, pour flour into the balloons over a large bowl, tarp, or tray to catch any stray flour. You many need to use a pencil to push as much flour as possible into the balloons.
Tie off balloon.
Decorate balloon with a face/character.
Tips
Regular balloons work best (not the really skinny ones).