Order and chaos!

Two projects here:  Mondrian-inspired paintings and Pollock-inspired splatter art.  Be mindful that these projects will set the mood/energy/focus level for your group!  Choose them wisely :)

 We used electrical tape to help keep the black lines straight and defined.

Outdoors- obviously.  We used thinned tempera paint and flung it (in turns) with big paintbrushes.

We cut the final product into chunks so everyone could take home a piece.

We mixed glitter into these paints.  It was a smashing success!

IMPORTANT:  Remember to either take off shoes or have parents send in ones that are ok getting splattered!  I forgot this step.  Live and learn!

Andy Goldsworthy-inspired group art

This is one of my favorite projects I've ever done with kids.  My group of 6-8 year olds gathered in our little studio and looked at a few works by Andy Goldsworthy.  I brought in one colorful bouquet for us to dismantle and use, and we found a lot of objects to use on our own.  All ideas were kid-generated, and everyone participated in the construction of our pieces.  I took a few high-res photos and printed out a glossy copy for each child to take home, and hung one in my own house for a while.

My kids LOVED this experiential project, and talked enthusiastically about wanting to go home and make more art in their backyards.  (As always, click a picture to see a bigger version of it!)