Big Bugs

I created "Big Bugs" with children of all ages at the OKCMOA recently for Drop-in Art. We focused on symmetry, line and pattern.

First we looked at examples on the board of symmetry. We also looked at bugs and parts of a bug's body which includes a head, thorax and abdomen.

To get started we fold our large drawing paper in half and use a black oil pastel to draw HALF of our bug's body. We draw the body parts and add other things like legs, wings, antennae, patterns and designs to create our own unique bugs.

We FOLD the paper closed and rub all over our design. This will transfer the oil pastel using the heat of our hands to the other side of the paper and give us perfect vertical symmetry. Now we go over those light lines with our black oil pastel to make it complete.









Now we jump into paints. For this project we used Crayola washable tempera paints. The kids really enjoyed watching their creations come to life through color! This project is very adaptable for different ages.



You will need:
-Big white drawing paper
-Black oil pastel
-Tempera paints, brushes, washout bowls
-Examples of bugs and symmetry

Farm Land

Little ones ages 3-5 years old joined me at the OKCMOA for a fun filled class about farms. We were taking a look at farms because of the current exhibition, 1934: A New Deal for Artists. We began the class by taking a look at a small slideshow I put together of real farm landscape photos. We looked at the layers of color and line.

We also talked about farms and why the land on farms is so important. We talked about crops and our favorite grown foods.

To create our beautiful farm landscapes we began by cutting a piece of paper into 4 pieces.



Now we use a paintbrush to paint the pieces yellow, green and brown.



The top section of our paper is the sky and we painted our sky blue with cotton balls and used those cotton balls to make white clouds in the sky.



We visited the gallery while our paint dries. We sat in front of farm paintings and I read the book, Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash.

We return to the classroom and use our glue sticks to put our crops together on a piece of colored construction paper. I compared it to a puzzle, getting the pieces to match up. Now we finish our farm land by adding some details with more paint and q-tips. We add lines and dots and finish them up!



You will need:
-White paper
-Tempera paints/brushes
-Q-tips
-Cotton balls
-Construction paper
-Scissors
-Glue stick

City Prints

Children of all ages joined me recently at the OKCMOA to learn about printmaking. This fun art project had us painting and printing our hearts out.

First we used watercolors to create the backdrop for our cities. We painted the top half of our paper with warm colors to represent the sky and the bottom half with cool colors to represent water.





We set our papers aside to dry and move to our next step.

Now we draw our city design on printing foam. We used a pencil to press firmly into the foam leaving the valleys that will be our lines when we print.



Now cut your city outline out of the foam and get ready to print. We used Speedball ink to load our brayers and spread a thin about of ink on our city.





We line up our city on the top half of our watercolor paper and press all over the backside of the foam. Carefully lift to reveal your first print.



Now we use the same piece of foam without re-inking and press to create a print on the blue portion or reflection of our city. Carefully lift and you are finished! Make as many prints as you like!



You will need:
-Scratch-Foam Printing board
-White paper
-Watercolors, brushes, wash bowl
-Pencil
-Scissors
-Printing ink, brayer and plexiglass

Tabletop Puppet Show

So, the favorite project from my Elmer's Kid's Craft Camp were the tabletop puppet shows. The kids really enjoyed making these fun little people all put behind a little theater that sits on the table in front of the performer.

We started with our Elmer's Bi-Fold Foam core board. I used my X-Acto to precut a square opening on the prefolded side of the board.



This should be done by an adult or with adult supervision as those blades are way sharp and I have cut my own fingers on them several times!

Now with each each of our theaters being cut and ready we use our X-Acto scallop and zig-zag scissors to cut and use our Elmer's Craft Bond sticks to glue down different papers. We do not paper over the pre-cut fold on the board because we need that to fold back when we are finished.





To add a little sparkle to our theater we use the most awesome pens- the CraftBond Gel Pens to write and color. Then we use a few dots of Elmer's glue and add various sequins. These are set aside to dry while we create little paper puppets.



We used our gel pens again to draw our characters. We used different colors of cardstock and glued them together with the Craftbond Glue dots and Tape. We attached a little craft stick to the bottom of each character and finished with some Elmer's 3D Glittle glue. Oh yeah, who doesn't love glitter glue!?





When everything was dry we turned our theater over and used the CraftBond Tape to attach fabric to the back. I recycled and used some of the packaging material Elmer's sent to me but you can use whatever fabric you have on hand!



Now set your theater up on the table and get ready for the show! So much fun!

You will need:
For Puppet Theater:
-Elmer's Bi-Fold foam core board
-X-Acto blade
-X-Acto Scallop and zigzag scissors
-Papers
-Craftbond gel pens
-Elmer's Glue dots, Craftbond glue sticks, tape
-Sequins optional

For characters:
-CraftBond Gel Pens
-Scissors
-Craft Papers
-Glue Sticks
-CraftBond Glue Dots and tape
-Craft Sticks