Never in our life would we have taken a step back to appreciate and enjoy the small things in life, but our “Corona life” forced us to stop and smell the coffee. In some parts of the world, children have started school and in some, the lockdown continues, the versions progress. Whether in lockdown or in the long weekend, we have some ideas that promise to keep your kids busy, entertained, and above all, happy!
Today on the blog we have the lovely Shima, who introduces an interesting concept of art for kids called process art. This concept focuses on the experience gained in the process of making art and not on the final product. Process art resembles play and that is the reason for it being particularly interesting for children as they own the ability to extract fun out of the process of play, not contemplating what playing leads them to. A perfect example of “living in the moment“.
The 5 easy projects you find here need minimal material, most of which you can find around the house and these arts are suitable for anyone with any skill level. The directions suggested are general guidelines and can be customized to you/your child’s liking, for instance, use any regular paper if you can’t find the one for watercolors or if you want to draw a line as opposed to a dot, just go for it! The most important point is to have fun!
Water Beads Coloring
When water-soluble paint enters a pool of water it creates a bursting effect traveling through the whole body of water. You can create a mini version of this effect by experimenting with water beads.
What you will need for this:
- Watercolor paper
- Water color
- Pointed brushes
- Water
How to:
First, create tiny pools of thick paint in your watercolor palette by mixing water into your little paint pans so you have them ready to go. Next, dip your brush in clear water and wait for a drop to form at the tip of your brush. Carefully place the drop on paper. Now grab paint from your tiny pool and carefully feed the water bead with only the tip of your brush so you do not burst the bead. The paint will travel quickly into the bead and starts dancing around. After a couple of seconds, the bead will be completely colored. Repeat the process to fill your paper. Let the water beads dry and you have yourself a piece of abstract painting.
Positive vibes hand print
This project is perfect for these times: who doesn’t need some positive vibes these days? And positive vibes are even better when they are in rainbow colors.
You will need:
- Paper Towels
- Washable markers
- Spray bottle
- Plastic tray
- Water
How to:
First, trace your hand on the paper towel using the last color of the rainbow which is violet or the nearest color you can find in your box of markers. Do the process slowly so the marker’s ink can sip into the paper towel and create a saturated line. Next outline your handprint with the next color of the rainbow being indigo and repeat the outlines with the remaining colors. Now place the paper towel on the plastic tray and spray the towel with water trying to saturate it so the ink can travel easier. And there you go! You have created a bursting rainbow effect.
Lasagna Sheets Broken Glass Art
Broken glass art is a mosaic piece containing tiny pieces of glass shards. It sounds like a scary idea to be presented to children but what if we use lasagna sheets instead? Lasagna sheets have the same irregular shapes and sharp looking edges when broken into pieces.
You will need:
- Lasagna sheets
- Watercolor
- Paintbrushes
- Glue stick
- Paper
How to:
Start by breaking your lasagna sheets in the middle which will give you some irregular shapes. When you feel like you have enough start coloring each with watercolor. Try using minimal amounts of water so first your pieces don’t start curling up and second they turn opaque. You can do a second coat of paint to make the color deeper. When you are finished lay them to dry for about 15 minutes.
When your pieces are dry start arranging them on paper. You can either put the edges together tightly or leave a little space in between. Continue till you have filled the paper.
Magazine Cutouts Crazy Hairstyles
This is a recycling art project which will get some use of your old magazines already in your recycling bin. The idea came to my mind when I was reading the book “I Don’t Want Curly Hair” with my daughter.
You will need:
- Old magazines
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Paint (watercolor, crayons, coloring pencils, etc)
- White paper
How to:
Start by flipping through the pages of your magazine to find your desired photo. Usually, makeup or jewelry ads have larger portraits. Next cut the person out and don’t forget to trim out the hair too. Glue your photo on paper and start drawing a crazy hairstyle by either imagining a style or googling to get some ideas. It would be fun to match the hairstyle with the expression of the person in the photo.
Artist Yayoi Kusama Study
One of the most amusing ways of discovering art is to recreate artworks from great artists. This allows to walk in the artist’s path and be inspired by their point of view. I would like to introduce Yayoi Kusama and her series of installations called “Dots Obsession”. The vibrant yellow color of the latex inflatables and their mesmerizing shapes installed in the gallery makes me think of a banana straight away. But feel free to use any yellow object or even simply yellow paper.
You can read more about the installation here. To know more about the artist, click here.
You will need:
- Black marker
- A banana
How to:
This is an activity where having a discussion with your child is key! Start by paying attention to the size of the dots and their pattern. You can talk about the large inflatables and their material being latex which gives them a glossy finish. The questions can go on and on before getting the project started depending on the child’s curiosity.
Now that you have done your study being it one question or a thousand, start creating your dots on the banana with Yayoi Kusama’s pattern in mind. When you are finished feel free to eat your piece of modern art to make a bold statement!!
Shima is the founder and teacher of Creatilily art workshops. Her fondness for experimenting with different mediums and tools is why most of her workshops focus on the process of art and the unconventional experience that comes with it. She hopes that her workshops tingle the unique artistic sense of each child to create a perfectly imperfect piece.
Follow her on Instagram for ideas and to reach out.
Are you enjoying our content? We would love to hear your opinions in the comments sections. Stay tuned for more resources, we are turning a new leaf and will soon have an expert editorial panel talking about – ex-pat living, parenting, food, nutrition, mental health, motherhood, home improvement and more. Stay well and stay with us!
To read more articles from our corona series, click here.
Get in touch with me: About Me I Work With Me
Visual learners often process information based on images or written materials. Most of these kids are very observant and have great memory retention.