Numbers, Paint and Jasper Johns

Do you want to create art with numbers? 

If so, simply gather cardboard or poster board, pencils, safety scissors (or a knife -- with adult assistance), paint, brushes and magic markers. Glue and glitter are optional. 

Ready set go and choose a number, any number. 

Next, draw your number, nice and large on cardboard or poster board. 

Then cut the number out. 

Finally, draw some fun designs on the number shape and using magic markers or paint, fill in the designs. You might also wish to add some glue and glitter when you are all finished.

Did you know...

Artists throughout history have used numbers in their artwork. One of these artists is Charles Demuth, an American painter who lived from 1883 to 1935. One his most well-known paintings is called "The Figure 5 in Gold". This painting was inspired by a poem by William Carlos Williams who wrote, "Among the rain and lights, I saw the figure 5 in gold, on a red firetruck..."

Another artist who loves to use numbers in his art is Jasper Johns, an American artist born in 1930. He hides numbers in his paintings and collages so you really have to look closely to find them.

Now you know.

Find thousands of FREE art lesson plans (including this one) at http://www.kinderart.com.

Lesson: Andrea Mulder-Slater

Illustration: Geoff Slater

Milk, Tempera and King Tut

by Andrea Mulder-Slater

Would you like to add a little zing to your paintings? 

If so, simply gather some canned condensed milk, powdered tempera paint, a mixing bowl, paintbrushes and paper.

Ready, set go and put a small amount of powdered tempera into the mixing bowl. If you don't have powdered tempera, you can use chalk dust or even food colouring instead. 

Next, add a few drops of condensed milk to the tempera. 

Keep adding more condensed milk until you have a nice, gooey mixture that's not too thick and not too runny. 

Then, take your newly created paint and start painting a picture. Because you have used milk instead of water to make your paint, your painting will have a nice shiny gloss to it when it dries. 

Store all of the unused milk paint in a lidded container in the fridge.

Did you know... 

Some of the oldest paintings in the world were painted with milk paint.

According to the folks at The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company in Groton, Massachusetts, "Cave drawings and paintings made 8,000 years ago, even as old as 20,000 years ago, were made with a simple composition of milk, lime, and earth pigments. When King Tutankhamen's tomb was opened in 1924, artifacts including models of boats, people, and furniture found inside the burial chamber had been painted with milk paint."

Now you know.


Find thousands of FREE art lesson plans at http://www.kinderart.com.

Keep creating!
~Andrea

Hot Rocks (Melting Crayons onto Stones)

If there's anything we have a lot of, it's crayons and rocks. So, J and I thought it might be fun to combine the two, to see what developed. To make these "hot rocks" you will need, clean rocks, a cookie tray, parchment paper, some wax crayons, a knife or cheese grater and an oven set to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

First, we took a cookie sheet and lined it with parchment paper.

Next, J placed the rocks on the parchment - leaving some space in between each one.

Meanwhile, I used a sharp knife to create some tiny crayon slices. I started with a cheese grater but found the knife was much more efficient.

Once the crayon pieces were ready, J placed little piles of them on top of each of the rocks.

Here's her photograph of what one of the rocks looked like, before the tray went into the oven.

When all the rocks were covered with crayon bits, I put the tray in the oven (preheated to 200 degrees Fahrenheit). We left the rocks to "bake" until the crayon bits had melted - about 10 minutes or so.

After the melting was complete - I took the tray out of the oven to let them cool. Here's how they looked "fresh out of the oven".

And here's how they looked, about 20 minutes later - when fully cooled. 

We polished them up a bit - using an old rag. To keep them looking fresh, a coat of non-toxic sealer or even beeswax would do the trick.

Remember, you can find lots of terrific ideas for kids of all ages (Pre-K through collage) at www.KinderArt.com 

Keep creating!
~Andrea

Blotter Butterfly Painting

As a followup to the Caterpillar Sculpture we created, Jannique and I made an attempt at butterfly paintings. All you need for this activity is paper (we tried both construction paper and computer paper), paint, paintbrushes and the usual water, containers and newspaper.

Step One:
Fold paper in half and open it up again. Paint on one half of the paper only.
I found placing a paper towel on the "non-painted" half helped to
prevent the entire sheet from being decorated.

Step Two:
Remove the paper towel (if you used one) and fold the sheet over.
Rub your heart out.

Step Three:
When the rubbing is complete, open the paper up.

Step Four:
Delight in the magic that is "Blotter Painting"

The finished product.

We've got lots of great Butterfly themed ideas on KinderArt.com. Here are a few:


Zip Bag Butterflies
www.kinderart.com/crafts/butterflybaggies.shtml

Coffee Filter Butterflies
www.kinderart.com/crafts/butterfly.shtml

Paper Bag Butterflies

www.kinderart.com/sculpture/bagbutterflies.shtml

Keep creating!

Andrea

Colorful Caterpillar Sculptures for Kids

J has been a tiny bit obsessed with caterpillars lately. She absolutely loves them (even though one gave her a nasty rash this summer).

So, today - being the beginning of a brand new year (you know, leaving the old behind and embracing the new) - I thought she might enjoy creating a caterpillar sculpture of her very own, with plans to make butterfly paintings tomorrow.

When I mentioned my idea, she was intrigued and went to put on her painting apron. Then, the two of us gathered our supplies: some paint, paintbrushes, a cardboard egg carton (which I cut in half), chenille stems, googly eyes, glue and some assorted paper cutouts.

Here's how it went...

Painting the egg carton.

Painting is more fun in pairs.

Squeezing glue on the googly eyes.

There. Now he can see.

Adding glitter glue to the chenille stem "legs".

Sticking the chenille stem legs into the holes that I poked in the egg carton.

That should do it.

A few final embellishments and... voila!

She thought he needed a tail. A paper cutout of a foot in a flip flop did the trick.

J is 3 years old, but this lesson would be equally as ideal for children in the primary grades (Kindergarten to Grade 2 or 3).

Tomorrow, we will make butterfly paintings. Stay tuned...

Here are some caterpillar themed ideas that you can find on KinderArt.

Egg Carton Caterpillar
http://www.kinderart.com/across/eggcaterpillar.shtml

Caterpillar Patterns
http://kinderart.com/artbook/caterp.shtml

Caterpillar Tissue Collage
http://www.kinderart.com/across/cater.shtml

For even more inspiring ideas, visit KinderArt.com.

Keep creating!
Andrea