Create Unique Art Experiences By Mixing Art Materials & Processes
Ever catch your preschoolers hoarding toys because they just can't decide what they'd like to play with? While there are obvious social ramifications and lessons to be learned in these situations, you can also take a little bit of art inspiration from these troubled decision-makers.
Instead of planned projects and isolated exposure to art materials, try pulling out a menagerie of art supplies for your students to experiment with. No decisions here! Your students will be thrilled to find out they can hoard use them all! Erin, creator of the blog Inspiration Surrounds Creativity Abounds, suggests incorporating water color paints, glue, and colored sand! The Creative Process
- Provide your students with water color paper, water color paints, and kids paint brushes. Invite them to experiment mixing colors, creating patterns, drawing lines of different shapes, styles, and sizes, creating bright/saturated colors, creating light/muted colors, etc. Set paintings aside to dry.
- While the water color sets, give each student a small plastic baggie and invite them to use a kitchen scoop to place a small amount of craft sand in the bag. Next, allow them to choose their favorite color of food coloring or liquid water color paint and help them add several drops to the bag of sand. With it properly sealed, invite the children to massage the liquid color. Your students will be delighted to squish, knead, and shake their bags to make colored sand.
- Place water color paintings in shallow baking trays (have students take turns) and provide students with bottles of Elmer's® school glue, inviting them to make fun glue designs on their paper.
- With the glue still wet, have students spoon their newly created colored sand onto the painting, shaking off the excess into the pan.
Your students are sure to have fun experimenting with so many different supplies, textures, and processes!
Inspiration Surrounds... Creativity Abounds: Mixing It Up With Water Colors, Colored Sand and Glue.