Yarn Contour Drawings

After giving a slide lecture on the element of design:  LINE, I had my elementary students create contour drawings from yarn.  Some students just did clumps or strands of yarn, while others attempted to represent horses or figures with long  hair.  The piece above started out as a still life of fruit, but once this 4th grader stepped back and looked at the banana, he decided to make it into a smile, making a banana mouthed man with yarn frayed hair.  I told him I loved it so much that I would share it with all of you!

Bubble Painting

 Bubble painting is fun to do for little kids who are get excited about blowing bubbles through straws (like I did in kindergarten). To do this, you mix 3 tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon of dish soap, and a few squirts of food coloring in a cup.  Use a straw to blow bubbles until they are coming out the top. Then pull the straw out and gently place a piece of paper on top of the cup until the bubbles pop.  If you want more organic forms, wait until you make enough bubbles to start coming down the side, and then move the paper without pressing it to the cup top. You can create some wonderful textures and overlapping colors with this process centered art project. Experiment and enjoy!