Watercolor Experiments with Leaf Prints

My final themed art class this summer is Art Experiment Lab. It's half art class, half science lab. Our first project dealt with how different materials reacted with watercolor. It expanded on a project I did last October. The children first started with a watercolor wash and laid their leaves down, veins up. I offered salt, rice, rubbing alcohol in mini spray bottles, and baby oil to use about their pieces. The children could see which elements absorbed the watercolor and which repelled it. Last they used a darker color to paint around the edges of their leaves and left them to dry. If they chose to, they created a contour leaf drawing with chalk pastels to glue to their finished piece. While this project emphasizes process over product, I think their pieces are quite magical. Artwork by K-4th graders. ( The original idea for this project can be found here from Groove Is In The Art )

Global Art Fun

The last 3 weeks my Global Art Fun classes have created artwork inspired by the art and cultures of Japan, France, Mexico, Egypt and China. Here's a sampling. (K-5th)

Winter Rabbits with Tints and Shades

These whimsical winter rabbits were a big hit with my students last year, so I made this our final art project in my MaryMaking Favorites class. This was another collage project, with children creating their tint and shade acrylics background first and then rabbits in chalk pastel. They're just begging for a short story to accompany them.

Colorful Collage Still Lifes

This week my MaryMaking Favorites Class students (K-4th) created these colorful still life collages. You can find my original post (October 2013) for these here. To be fair, I don't know if I would necessarily classify these as a favorite among my students. Not that they complained mind you, but the children tend to favor animal lessons. This was a personal favorite, so I decided to repeat the lesson. It also incorporates a wide variety of media: watercolor, acrylic, oil pastels, chalk pastels, and charcoal. I think they are bold, colorful and perfectly imperfect...everything I Love about children's art.

Snorkeling Self Portraits

The first project in my MaryMaking Favorites classes was Snorkeling Self Portraits which I originally posted back in November 2013. Because this is a collage project with separate board and papers for fish, water, and snorkelers, it was a perfect art project for the 2 hour class. I also like it because it involves a variety of media: watercolor and salt, acrylics, oil pastel and markers. Some children had snorkeling stories of their own to share which made it fun. Artwork by K-4th graders.

Abstract Re-Mix

I just finished my last class of the school year with my Kinder through 1st graders. We had a lot of fun doing abstract name collages, symmetrical tile prints, Suminagashi and Kandinsky inspired circles. Next week I begin my series of summer art classes. Themes include: MaryMaking Favorites (favorite projects from the past school year), Around the World Art Fun and Art Experiment Lab (mad science meets art). I hope you all have a Wonderful summer! Since I live at the beach, the fact that I have no vacation plans probably will win me no sympathy. I will continue to post student art work throughout the summer.

Suminagashi Minis

If you've never tried Suminagashi before, you must! But be warned, it's highly addictive. Suminagashi ("floating ink") is a paper marbling process that originated in Japan in the 12th century. My Abstract Art Fun Class (K-3rd) created mini monoprints using 4X6 photo paper. Each student had a small plastic container of water. With a small brush they floated their Sumi ink on the top of their water. When they were finished laying their colors, they gently swirled the water with the backs of their brushes and then laid their paper on top. Each monoprint is completely unique, like a fingerprint. I chose each child's best 3 and mounted them on black foam core. I've also done this project at my daughter's birthday party and the children created note cards and notepads. And my last Abstract Art Class used their Suminagashi prints in a collage.