Creating art on your own can be challenging enough. There is a lot of pressure to draw or paint realistically. I wanted to give the kids a chance to think out of the box and use some unusual materials. They loved it! I really wanted them to understand that art can be so many things, created in so many different ways, have messages, and made with so many different materials!
I’m not sure if other teachers or parents don’t think children are able to understand more obscure concepts but I sure believe that with anything they just need some guidance.
This summer I was able to provide some fun collaborative art activities for the kids during Locust Street Art’s Young Artist Summer Camp. A two week art camp for youth ages 8-14. We did EVERYTHING. I mean EVERYTHING. Painting, drawing, charcoal, pastels, screen-printing, ceramics and sculpture to name a few. I wanted to share some of our more untraditional projects!
collaborative & experimental art
A simple paint pour on repurposed wood|
I love that the kids were able to experiment with paint. For the most part we like teaching them to have a plan, but sometimes it’s nice to create something quickly! (Especially with children…) Each student was given a small cup of watered down paint. We talked about color mixing and composition.
A yarn installation on the yard
This was so much fun! The students weren’t quite sure what we were doing or why… but once they caught on and noticed the shapes we were creating with the yarn they were so excited! It was a simple and successful way to create installation art and also share it with the neighborhood!
Some line work with left over paint and an scrap paper!
I have a hard time throwing out a semi-used sheet of paper or washing out left over paint. I see an opportunity to create something with EVERYTHING. We had some left over paint from our previous project so collaboratively I suggested we fill in the negative space with lines. Where do we need lines? What thickness and color should we choose? When we have extra time in class I see it as a great opportunity to do something fun with a simple and sneaky lesson.
Here are some images from camp! Like I mentioned above I encouraged the kids to use up semi-used paper and left over paint to create something experimental.