oday’s project is much easier than it seems. The supplies are easy to find and you can embellish it any way you like. I will show you how I created a paper “locket”, but I’m sure you will come up with wonderful versions of your own paper jewelry.
Supplies.
Supplies –
Paper – decorative paper , magazines, craft paper etc.
Cardboard – cereal box, pasta box, card stock
Glue – glue stick, white glue or Mod Podge
Scissor
Pencil
Necklace – a chain, length of yarn or something similar to complete the necklace
Special thanks to my grandson and daughter who graciously allowed me to use his image.
**keep in mind that if a child is wearing a necklace like this, it should be a jewelry chain. Not yarn or any other length of string that can be a choking hazard**
STEPS –
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I used different sized jars to cut out my circles. The same size circles for the photo, cardboard and decorative paper. A slightly larger one for the fringed backing.
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You can attach the bezel (loop) to the back of the locket or to the larger, fringed backing. Slip your chain through the open loop. All set! As you can see, I made a few of these 🙂
If you would like to see some of the jewelry I make using paper, glue and quite a few more things I find around the house, visit my etsy shop – Pattemade
For the full project video, visit Art Out of Anything on Facebook.
Today’s Story Time read aloud was “The Rainbow Goblins” by Ul de Rico. This is a stunningly illustrated book that tells the story of the Valley of the Rainbows and the greedy goblins who want to steal all the beautiful colors.
Rainbows are magical and even the scientific explanation for their origin is the stuff of wonder. Light streaming through water molecules at just the right angle to bend light? Amazing. White light that actually carries the spectrum of colors? Incredible. Nature and science really are magic and so is art.
You can watch the read aloud video and see how I created the mini rainbows above at Sea of Visibility on FB.
Rothko was an abstract artist who expressed emotions with color. he also tried to make viewers feel certain emotions only using color.
When I was playing with lipstick, eye shadow and nail polish to blend and combine colors, I was reminded of Mark Rothko’s abstract color paintings. Just trying out different color combinations and blending the different pigments together made me happy. I thought I knew what result I would get but was pleasantly surprised every time.
Here are two great sites to visit to learn more about the artist Mark Rothko and to make your own rainbow experiments.
No paint at home? No problem! You can make dyes and paint at home using vegetable scraps and fruit. In one of my previous videos, Drawing with Glue, I showed you how to use condiments like turmeric, paprika and cinnamon as pigments, today we’ll be using food!
** Be sure to have help from a grownup because there is some boiling water involved**
In today’s video available at these links – on FB and Instagram you’ll see how you can use carrot, beet, lemon and blackberry dyes to make a bubble painting, straw painting and a funky texture painting.
I have included the link to download a wonderful picture tutorial from http://meyamo.com/ that I followed to make these dyes.
I didn’t have any powdered sugar, so I left that out. This gave me a paint that is very close to watercolor and I was able to use the same techniques I use with watercolor paint.
Supplies–
Orange carrots, purple carrot, frozen beets, blackberries and lemon
Watercolor paper – you will need sturdy paper. If you don’t have card stock or watercolor paper, I suggest gluing a few pages of copy paper together or gluing copy paper to a piece of cardboard. This will prevent the paint from soaking into the paper completely.
This is a great use for any older fruits and vegetable scraps you have. You can also use any jars or plastic containers you’ve been saving or have in the recycling pile to store your paint for future paintings.
Finished bubble painting
Finished straw painting.
Texture created with salt on beet paint
The concentration of color depends on how much water is added to the fruit and vegetables. Although the color may be very light at first, it does dry darker and once your first layer of paint is dry you can add more to make your color more vibrant.
Make the straw painting by dropping puddles of paint on the paper with a brush or spoon and blowing the paint around, producing some really abstract designs.
Adding salt to the wet paint will give you an interesting texture. See how the texture changes by adding more or less. Once dry, brush or tap off the salt and see what your texture looks like.
If you don’t have any paintbrushes, you can also use a cotton ball or a make up sponge! This sponge gave me 3 sides to get interesting prints from.
Make up sponge as paintbrush/stamp.
Sponge prints using carrot and beet paint
As you can see, there are many ways to experiment with your natural dyes. What other kind of natural paint has been used throughout history?
Here are some links to more resources about that –
Hello! today’s project is super simple but can be expanded and transformed into anything you like! Collage is an art technique that almost everyone has used at some point. It lends itself to so many possibilities and can be created with just about any materials you have on hand.
As always you can see the full video project at Art Out of Anything on Facebook and Instagram. Brand new project videos on Tuesday and Thursday every week.
For today’s project I chose the following supplies –
Paper – all kinds to tear up like magazines, construction paper, tissue paper, copy paper etc.
Glue stick
Pencil and/or marker
Scissor
Paper to draw my shape on and as the canvas for your collage
STEPS –
Choose shape you would like to fill. I chose a heart but also drew a silhouette of a cat. You can also use coloring book pages or print out coloring pages or line drawings and use those as your shape guide.
Tear the collage paper into small pieces to fit your shape. Optional – you can also cut your paper into pieces with scissors. Tearing is also a really good fine motor skill to practice.
Start gluing your pieces to the inside of your shape as if you were coloring. You can overlap pieces or place them next to each other. You can also leave space in between pieces. Try all different ways to fill in your shape.
Once completed, add one coat of glue to the entire surface of your collage to glue down any loose edges. Here is my completed heart shape collage which I glued onto a page from a magazine, cut around it, then glued onto another full magazine page to make a border. The red page was a perfume ad so the heart smells pretty too!
Of course you can also come up with your own theme for a collage! Here are some examples of collages my students made that describe their favorite place –
My House
The Beach
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City
The Golden Gate Bridge
You can also make a collage using only shades of the same color, only faces and more. Challenge yourself to create a collage landscape using only pictures, like they did in the examples above of their favorite place. What picture do you think they used to represent the sand? Hint – it’s an advertisement for flooring.
Picasso and Braque were the first to use collage they way we recognize it, in their work. Here’s a link to a fantastic article, with photos of amazing collage work by famous artists My Modern Met – Collage Art
This is a digital shape collage maker that uses your own photos – Shape Collage download
It’s also an app for Android and IPhones.
Collage is an art form that I use in my personal work all the time. I even make collage jewelry with scraps of anything I have on hand –
I hope you find wild and wonderful things to make collages of!
Please contact patty @eljaiekart@gmail.com for remote learning workshops and professional development bookings.
Today’s Story Time Read Aloud is Miss Spider’s Wedding by David Kirk. You can see the video read aloud and video tutorial at Art Out of Anything on FB and Instagram.
I love insects. I love reading about them, drawing them and creating mashed up illustrations of insects and other animals! David Kirk’s stunning paintings that illustrate Miss Spider’s Wedding, remind us how beautiful insects are and also how beautiful a little feeling called love is too.
When I decided to make insects for this project, I didn’t have any clay or dough and I thought maybe other people might not have any either. SO, I have made some simple insects using paper, tape, straws, shish kabob sticks, paint and glue. You can also use chopsticks and Q-Tips or pencils.
Below you will find links to sites that show you how to make your own dough at home, learn more about insects and some free downloadable templates for inspiration.
Steps –
Wings – I am sure you have probably seen this classic symmetry activity. It’s the easiest and prettiest way to get pairs of wings for your insect.
fold a piece of paper in half
place paint, directly from bottle or tube, near the center crease of the paper.
add as many colors as you like but make sure you are using small amounts of paint. You don’t want the paint to leak out!
once you have all the paint colors you like, close the paper on the crease so it’s folded again
begin spreading out the paint in between the two halves of the paper.
You can see the paint faintly through the paper and can shape the wings by using your hands and spreading the paint. Open your paper and you have your wings!
Finished “butterfly wings” symmetry.
In my project, I used an 8.5″ x 11″ piece of copy paper and once dry, was able to cut out 3 pairs of wings.
Butterfly using a shish kabob stick
Bee using paper and tape
Dragonfly using a straw
I also made a “bee” using paper and tape. It’s easy to mold paper into shapes and hold together using tape. You can watch me complete that little bee on the video.
Science Connection – Insects are some of the most interesting species on the planet. Here are some links to learn about the difference between insects, bugs and more –
Today we have 2 projects to explore, one that can be used over and over again and one that is unique and one of a kind.
Finger painting is a great activity for kids of all ages and adults too. It provides a wonderful sensory experience and promotes fine motor skills while providing a relaxing, creative activity. It’s not as popular as other art projects unfortunately because it is most definitely super messy. But what if I told you, you could finger paint without turning your hands (and maybe your furniture) into a paint palette? ?
Well you can, with some simple supplies!
No Mess Finger Painting
Supplies –
Plastic baggie (preferably Ziploc although you can tape the top of the baggie to prevent any paint squeezing out).
Paint – acrylic, tempera, washable paint is best. If you have no paint, you can mix up some instant pudding or use one of the recipes listed in the links below to make your own “paint”.
Your hands!
Optional – Q-Tips, end of paintbrush handle or pencil
Steps –
Pour paint into the plastic baggie. If the paint is too thick, mix it with a splash of water before you pour it into the baggie. Paint should not be too thin.
Carefully squeeze out all excess air before sealing bag. Add tape to the top to prevent any leaking.
Once your baggie is ready, you can use your fingers, Q -Tips, or the rounded end of the paintbrush handle or pencil eraser end to create designs.
This activity is great for learning about color mixing.
It’s fun to “paint” by removing, or “erasing” pigment instead of adding pigment, by moving the paint around and creating designs. This activity is also a wonderful way to explore elements of art such as color (primary and secondary colors) and negative space (the space around and between the subject of an image).
It’s super relaxing and fun to watch the colors mix and spread. Plus you can “erase” designs by gently rubbing and moving the paint around. You get a new canvas to create!
Our second project today is a MONOPRINT, a form of printmaking where the design or drawing can only be made once.
Some supplies we used.
Supplies –
Cookie sheet or aluminum tray. I used a pizza tray today in my video, but I usually use disposable aluminum trays in my workshops. As long as your paint is non-toxic and water soluble you can always clean the tray after using.
Paint or a homemade substitute (see link below)
Mark making materials like Q-Tips, combs, fingers, plastic utensils etc.
Paint spreader – you can use a brush, stiff cardboard, paint roller or a brayer (if you have one!)
Paper
Steps –
Spread paint evenly onto the tray with your paint spreader. The paint should be opaque and smooth, a nice thin layer is best.
Use your mark making tools to create a design. Try to work quickly since the paint may begin to dry and that would prevent getting a good print.
Your design will be reversed, so remember that if you are using words.
Once your design is ready, place the paper on top and gently burnish (rub) the surface of the paper to transfer the design from the tray to the paper.
Pull the print – as you’ve seen in our previous videos, gently lift off the paper, starting at the top from the tray.
Our finished Monoprint. The image will be reversed, so be mindful if you are using words.
As you can see above, some of my paint had started to dry so I ended up with a slightly uneven print. Sort of looks like a woodcut! This can also be called a reverse print because the design is made by the lines where there is no paint.
Here are some links to learn more about the elements of art and ways to make your own paint.
Be sure to visit, like and follow us on FB and Instagram for weekly project videos and read aloud story time for all ages. Contact Patty at eljaiekart@gmail.com to learn more about our professional development workshops, now available via Zoom and/or Google Hangouts.
I used acrylic paint, yarn, thread, water and clothespins.
Monoprint of a section of unfinished action painting.
Completed action painting laying flat to dry.
The left over parts of an art activity can be interesting too!
Happy Earth Day!
Today’s art project video can be viewed at Art Out of Anything on FB and @artoutofanything on Instagram.
With this project we continue to offer art activities that you can do at home or in the classroom with much of what you already have on hand so you can work with what you have!
Action painting is exactly what it sounds like, painting with movement.
Jackson Pollock was a painter know for his action paintings. You can see him painting and hear him talking about his artistic process in this video – SFMOMA – Paintings have a life of their own.
You can also visit his house on the east end of Long Island in NY or virtually at Pollock-Krasner House. His wife, Lee Krasner was also an amazing artist.
Pollock’s paintings are not only colorful and lively, they also contain fractals, which is another example of how math can be found everywhere in art.
Today we will make our own action painting using yarn and paint.
Project Steps – the steps for this project work best being viewed but I will give you the abridged version here.
gather your materials – I used acrylic paint, pieces of yarn and embroidery thread, clothespins, cups, paper and paint.
cover you work space with an old sheet or tablecloth or even a garbage bag.
pour paint into cups, add a splash of water if paint is too thick
clothespins are used to pick up yarn pieces and dip them into the paint cups. Make sure to coat the yarn as much as possible with the paint.
once your yarn is ready, lift it out of the cup with the clothespin and drop it onto the paper that is your canvas. You can also drag the yarn on the paper or shake it so it create splatters.
I would suggest leaving the yarn on the paper until you have completed your piece so that the paint has time to soak into the paper. This also creates a more cohesive finished piece.
once you feel your piece is done, remove the yarn using the clothespins or your fingers. You can even use chopsticks or tweezers!
You can lay your finished masterpiece flat to dry or hang it. If you have runny paint on your piece, your painting will change as the paint drips while it is hanging. Just be sure to place some newspaper or another garbage bag under the hanging painting to catch the drips.
I mentioned the word fractals earlier. A fractal is a never ending pattern. They can be found in math equations and in the world all around us from tree branches to snowflakes. Scientists who have analyzed Pollock’s seemingly random placement of paint, have discovered these never ending patterns in his work. Can you think of how that would happen when he was dripping and dropping paint and lots of other objects into his paintings without any obvious intentional placement? I have my own theory but you have to watch the project video for that!
Here are some links to really interesting articles about their theories and what they found –
I hope you enjoy getting messy and exploring the wonderful world of fractals and art.
Follow us on FB and Instagram @artoutofanything for weekly videos and activities. You can also contact us at eljaiekart@gmail.com or direct message us at FB and Instagram if you are interested in remote professional development workshops or homeschooling workshops.
Today’s story time read aloud is about a little frog that would rather be any other animal than who he is. It takes a crafty wolf to remind him why we should be happy to be who we are.
I love this book because the illustrator gave the characters so much personality. It’s also a very important message for everyone.
Looking at the illustrations in this book reminds me of how easy it is to learn how to draw animals, or just about anything, by breaking the object down into simple shapes.
In the slideshow above you can see how I used circles, squares, rectangles and triangles to draw some of the animals found in the story.
If you look at the world around you, you will notice that geometry is everywhere!
Here’s a link to a more detailed explanation and drawing practice – Art Tutor Blog
Try this free downloadable template that uses triangles and circles, to get started on your own animal drawing – Shapes drawing template
Connect the groups of dots and see what animal you get. Can you guess what animal it is?I did leave out one shape, see if you can tell which shape fits to complete the drawing.
There’s a new art project video every Tuesday and Thursday @artoutofanything on FB and Instagram and a new Story Time every Saturday.
Thanks so much for visiting today and keep creating!
Today we will be exploring art and math by creating a collage made entirely by chance. Or was it?
This project is geared toward early childhood classes and young kiddos. It allows them to experiment and explore mathematical theories like probability. Although your little one may be too young to question whether randomness exists, we can certainly introduce them to the idea of making predictions and observing results using glue, yarn and paper!
Supplies –
paper, card stock, cardboard or any other surface you will use to be your canvas.
glue – liquid glue works best.
collage materials – I used different lengths and thicknesses of yarn, thread, rope and tape. You can also use different types of paper. You can even use dental floss!
Steps –
art is messy – make sure you spread newspaper or a plastic garbage bag on your work surface
lay your canvas down and cover with glue. I don’t paint the glue on because I’ve found that the collage materials need a thicker line of glue to adhere to the canvas.
the application of the glue can also be “random” by squeezing the glue bottle and moving your hand around the canvas or squeezing and letting the glue drip where it will .
once your canvas is covered to your liking, start by dropping your collage materials, one by one onto the canvas.
try dropping the yarn or paper close to the canvas, from farther away or even stand on a chair and drop them onto the canvas placed on the floor!
I used yarn, ribbon, paper strips and even duct tape to make my collage.
The idea is that the collage materials will land where gravity takes them and so the result will be a collage that is determined by chance and not by the purposeful placing of the materials.
Once your collage is dry, you can preserve it by covering it with clear plastic wrap or paint on a coat of watered down white glue.
I covered my collage with Press ‘N Seal. You can cover the finished piece before the glue dries. Little hands love to pick off the materials before they are dry. Cut a piece a little bigger than the collage overlap and tape edges to the back.
Project Extensions –
can you predict where a piece of yarn or paper will land?
does the placement depend on how thick or thin the material is?
do you see any pattern in how the pieces landed or where they landed on the canvas?
if you use yarn and thread, once dry your collage makes for a great sensory experience too. The glue and yarn make interesting textures!
Art History – Jean (Hans) Arp was an artist that was part of the DADA movement. One of his most famous artworks is; Untitled (Collage with Squares Arranged according to the Laws of Chance).
You can learn more about Hans Arp and his technique here – MOMA Learning
You can watch the step by step video for this project at Art Out of Anything on FB and Instagram. New projects posted every week on Tuesday and Thursday!
Today’s project is an old favorite, with a new twist. In keeping with our motto of “work with what you have”, drawing with glue just got a little interesting.
Supplies –
white glue
paper – construction paper, card stock, cardboard or all of these
sand
glitter
Sand and glitter will be used as your pigments (colors). No sand? No glitter? You’ve got great powdered pigments right in your kitchen cabinets!
I used the following:
salt
sugar
pepper
condiments like onion powder, paprika, nutmeg, cinnamon, dry mustard, ground or instant coffee etc.
I put my powdered pigments into little plastic shot glasses, but you can use yours straight from the original containers too.
A great addition to this project is to have some music playing and “draw” to the music. Music and art are very good companions. It’s interesting to see how different kinds of music can inspire you and your kiddo to create.
You can start drawing a free hand design by letting the glue flow and drip from the bottle.
If you want to get a steadier line, place the tip of the glue bottle at an angle on the paper and use it like a pencil to draw.
Tap the container to control how much powdered pigment is added to the drawing.
You can use only one color at a a time for each drawing or you can use a variety of colors to get lines that fade into eachother. That’s my favorite technique.
Multi color on white paper
Multi color on black paper.
Give the glue a little time to dry so it doesn’t drip when you pour off the extra colors. Remember, the thicker the line the longer it will take to dry.
Once your piece is complete, be sure to save the excess pigment. Now you’ll have what I like to call, the very special Pre K Rainbow color mix that you can use for more projects 🙂
I’ve gotten a little fancy with my paper here and will use my Pre K Rainbow color mix as my pigment.
Spiral complete!
As you can see, there are so many different ways you can experiment with pigments and one of the most interesting results, is that you end up with a pretty fragrant work of art. See if you can find condiments that work well together in terms of their scents. Nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar might just inspire you to make a glue drawing of cupcakes or a pumpkin pie!
Resources and Project Extension – When I do this project in an Art Out of Anything workshop, I always start by introducing a popular art from from India called Rangoli. Here’s a link to the history of this beautiful art form, the traditional process and free templates to download to try your own – https://www.dltk-kids.com/world/india/mrangoli.htm
Once all of your amazing artwork is completely dry, shake off any excess pigment and if needed, carefully brush off any left over pigment with a soft paintbrush or tissue.
One last thing, no white glue? No problem, glue sticks work just fine too.
Glue sticks dry much faster than liquid glue so you have to work a little faster, this would be a good time to play some peppy music!
artoutofanything.com 