Supplies: paper + paint
How to:
1) Fold a piece of paper in half, then unfold.
2) Randomly paint with one or more colors on one side of the fold.
3) Refold paper over paint and press.
4) Unfold paper. What do you see?
Cardboard Block Printing
Materials
Corrugated cardboard, assorted sizes
Craft knife
Glue
Paint & a brush
Paper
Instructions
Find a flat, medium sized piece of cardboard for your base. We cut off the flap of a box.
Using the craft knife, cut out a variety of shapes.
Arrange the shapes onto the cardboard base and glue down. Note that when you make a print with your block, the design on the base will be mirrored.
Quickly paint just the shapes on the block with a thin coat of paint, but still covering them completely.
Turn over and press the block onto a piece of paper, pressing firmly.
Lift the block off and your design will be printed on the paper. Let dry.
To make more prints, paint the shapes again and print. A great part about this project is the block can be reused many times.
Georgia O'Keeffe Flowers
The famous artist, Georgia O'Keeffe, is known best for painting huge flowers. Here's our O'Keeffe inspired paintings. Go ahead and give this fun project a try!
Materials
Large pieces of paper
Paint (any kind)
Paintbrushes
Big artificial flowers for examples/inspiration (optional)
Paint shirts
Instructions
Let the kids pick a flower they like and their colors. Mix new shades if necessary.
Paint! Encourage the kids to paint the entire canvas - the flower should be pretty large and have a background.
Starry Night Paintings & Dioramas
These cool paintings are inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting, The Starry Night.
Materials
Canvas
Black acrylic paint
Rubbing alcohol (91% isopropyl)
Paint brushes
Glow-in-the-Dark duct tape
Glow-in-the-Dark paint
Paintbrushes
Miscellaneous materials
Glue
Spray bottle
Cardboard box
Instructions
Water down the black paint to a thin consistency.
Cover the canvas with the paint very quickly.
Use the spray bottle to dribble/spray some drops of the rubbing alcohol over the wet black paint. Watch as the paint and alcohol mix
Paint the inside of the box black.
Let the canvas and box dry overnight.
Trim the canvas if necessary and tape or glue to the back of the box to create a background.
Use the glow in the dark paint and duct tape to create a starry scene. With other materials, add other objects to the scene---just remember that they won't glow.
Take the diorama into a dark place to see the scene glow.
Tips
Test out the project several times to make sure that the alcohol will react correctly. It can be tricky.
For another project, create just the canvas as the cover for a book about constellations.
Clay Eggs
Materials
Large slabs of clay
Inflated balloons
Paper plates
Acrylic paint
Paintbrushes
Instructions
Cover balloon with reasonably thin slabs of clay (they must be long enough that they meet around the balloon). Make sure to leave a small hole at the top, large enough to pull the once-popped balloon out.
Pinch or slightly smooth out the edges. There shouldn’t be any holes but these are not meant to look pretty or perfect.
Let the eggs dry on paper plates for a couple of days, pop the balloons and let dry for a few more weeks.
Decorate with paint. For example, some kids painted theirs like dragon eggs.
Tips
There’s a fine line between too little clay that will not hold up its weight when the balloon is popped and too much clay which will collapse on itself. Use your best judgement and good luck.