This house garland can be painted in endless ways. Here I used some white crayon resist, watercolor, and a splash of gold tempera paint. Set this out for a group of children and let them explore the resist technique used when mixing crayon and watercolor. You could make these in a classroom, or at home…
Process Art
Styrofoam Printing with Kids
Printmaking is one of the fine arts (including painting, drawing, collage, and sculpture) that involves making a “master plate” which you then can use to make multiple images which are printed in reverse. There are so many ways to print, it’s almost endless! Potato and veggie printing, linoleum printing, mono prints, bubble wrap printing, yarn…
Jackson Pollock: Large Scale Collaborative Painting with Kids
The American artist Jackson Pollock is one of the most recognizable painters of our time. His drip, splatter and pour technique is now so iconic, there is probably not an art teacher in the world who hasn’t adapted his action-centered art making in their classes at some point. But although his style in now ubiquitous,…
16 Liquid Watercolor Art Experiences
Liquid watercolors have become one of my favorite art materials. They are not as convenient as regular palette watercolors, which we use more often just because they don’t require as much set-up or clean-up, but they are just so beautiful to paint with. The colors are very rich and vibrant, and you can cover large areas…
Solar System Mixed-Media Art with Kids
To celebrate Earth Day this year, which falls on April 22nd, I decided to do this very process-oriented solar system mixed-media art project with my campers! It is truly perfect for every age, from preschoolers to middle schoolers. It is a two day process and an exploration of circular shapes, painting with droppers, and deep…
Process Art with Plasticine Clay
Shannon Merenstein from Hatch Art Studio in Pittsburgh is back to share with us her very favorite kitchen tools to use with plasticine, and why plasticine has become her favorite go-to material for process art at home with her two young boys. I invited Shannon to write a quick post for me when I saw…
Smash Painting
If you are looking for a really simple, exploratory, physical, colorful, messy, highly engaging, and FUN creative experience for outdoors, this smash painting is it! It will make your kids so happy that they will squeal with joy. And when all is said and done, you’ll have a collection of really cool and unique little…
Creative Invitation: Adventure Boxes
Are you familiar with the phrase Creative Invitation? It’s when you set out some interesting materials on a table which are so enticing, they beckon or invite children to come over and make a creation. Typically, this is a simple set-up with no set instructions and is child-led and open-ended, where there is no right…
“Pinecone Forests” Invitation with Drip Painting
These “pinecone forests” were made with a drip painting technique that every child, no matter the age, loves!! The little ones get a really good hand workout, and the older ones take time to layer their colors and watch them blend. This painting invitation cost very little but has so much going on that it…
Contact Paper Collage
If you have never used sticky paper with your kids, let me tell you that it is a sure thing. This contact paper collage art invitation is a favorite that we go back to again and again. They never tire of these materials and this prompt because it’s completely open-ended which kicks their imaginations into…
