Media
Explore Lorna Simpson’s Counting
Look closely at this photographic composition by Lorna Simpson .
How To: Have your own Messy Playdate at Home
By Amanda Crowe, Assistant Educator
Follow-up to Creative Playdate: Messy Playdate, December 5, 2013.
Kids love to feed their curiosity by making a mess and using their senses in the creative process. Research for the education of the young child shows that more mess-making leads to higher forms of learning.
Homemade Peppermint Playdough:
Supplies:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1 tsp cream of tartar (for smooth texture)
1 cup water
1 tbsp oil food coloring (cake decorators paste or liquid makes great colors)
1 tbsp peppermint extract (easily found at craft stores in candy-making section or grocery store in baking section)
Extras:
Glitter
Ziploc bag or airtight container
Directions:
- Mix together flour, salt and cream of tartar.
- Add water and food coloring, whisk until smooth.
- Cook over medium heat until playdough is nearly set (not sticking to the sides of the pan).
- Add peppermint extract and stir until blended. Remove.
- Knead when cool, add glitter and continue to knead.
- Store in Ziploc bag or airtight container for up to three weeks.
Extension activities: Fill an ice cube tray with small trinkets (buttons, coins, beads) and hide the trinkets in the playdough for your child to discover. Older children may enjoy using tweezers to “dissect” the dough. This is a great way to develop fine-motor skills.
Dinosaur Stamping:
If your child likes the idea of painting, but the concept of using brushes or fingers is not so appealing, then incorporate the objects he/she loves into a lesson not soon forgotten. Try using an assortment of dinosaurs, animal figures and even Little People to trample through the paint and make “footprints” on paper. Use cars and trucks to roll through red and right into yellow to engage your child in a mini color-mixing lesson. Have a warm soapy dishpan full of water or shaving cream nearby – and watch your children’s eyes light up as they give their painted toys a color “bath.”
Coffee filter painting:
A great way to use up old food coloring on a rainy day is to experiment with drip painting and color saturation on a porous coffee filter. Be prepared to use a large stack of filters, as your kids will be entranced by the way the colors appear to “crawl” and “stretch” across the filter, creating beautiful tie-dye masterpieces when dry.
Rolling prints:
Old spouting, PVC tubing and roof edging (with safe edges for children) cut in half length-wise make wonderful ramps for rolling balls, cars and marbles. Line your ramp with paper, dip your ball in paint – and, voila, you’ve made a rolling print!
Check out all our fun kids classes and playdates at https://akronartmuseum.wpengine.com/calendar/list/kids-families/16/.
How To: Make a Thankful Tree
By Amanda Crowe, Assistant Educator
Follow-up to Story Time in the Galleries on November 21, 2013
Bridging language connections to art-making deepens a child’s understanding of and appreciation for literature, the arts and the world they live in. Carry out the message from our reading of “Sylvester and the Magic Pebble,” by author William Steig, through creating “thankful trees” at home.
Supplies:
Paper, cut into small, individual pieces
Ribbon or shortened pipe cleaner
Small terracotta pots
Small Styrofoam ball to fit snugly inside the pot
Cotton batting to cover the Styrofoam
Artificial pine branches or floral sprigs with spreadable branches
Extras:
Hole puncher
Embellishments to decorate the tree: buttons, pony beads, ribbon, foam shapes
Fabric scraps to decorate the outside of the pot (watered-down glue or Mod Podge is a great collage medium)
Directions:
- Place the Styrofoam ball into the pot.
- “Plant” the artificial pin branches or floral sprigs in the Styrofoam and cover it with the cotton batting (will look like snow in the pot).
- (Optional) Decorate the tree and pot.
- Ask your child what they are thankful for. Write down their thoughts on small, individual pieces of paper. Hole-punch each piece and tie a ribbon through it, or simply use a shortened pipe cleaner.
- Tie your child’s notes of thanks to the tree’s branches and celebrate a moment of gratitude!
How To: No-Sew Lavender Eye Pillow
By Amanda Crowe, Assistant Educator
Follow-up to Creative Playdate: Yoga for the Young
Help your child relax while crafting this simple no-sew lavender eye pillow.
Supplies:
1 tube sock cut down to 10 inches long (cut off foot portion and elastic band near knee)
1 cup dried lavender flowers or 6 drops essential lavender oil
1 ½ cups buckwheat hulls or uncooked rice
Ribbon
Directions:
- Close the sock at one end by typing with a ribbon.
- Fill the sock with the lavender and buckwheat hull filler, allowing enough room to close the other end of the sock with a neatly tied ribbon.
- Now, snuggle up in your favorite cozy place and relax with the eye pillow across your forehead while listening to music or a good book.
Check out all our fun kids classes and playdates at https://akronartmuseum.wpengine.com/calendar/list/kids-families/16/.
Read MoreHow To: Plantable Art
Supplies:
Used paper
Warm water
Bucket
Blender
Liquid water colors OR colored tissue paper (bleedable)
Flower seeds (small)
Plastic stitchery canvas
Extras:
Plastic tracers and/or cookie cutters
Directions:
1. Rip and tear pieces of paper, do not use scissors because the rough edges are necessary.
2. Place pieces of paper in a warm bucket of water. Once paper has been in the water for a few minutes, tear pieces into smaller shreds.
3. Add liquid water colors or bleedable tissue paper to the water/paper mixture.
4. Drain the water and fill blender half way with the paper mixture. Add one cup of water and blend on low speed. Paper pulp will be created!
5. Take the paper pulp out of the blender and add in flower seeds.
6. The paper pulp can then be molded to create a 3-D form or you can flatten the pulp out, forming it with cookie cutters or plastic tracers.
7. Allow pulp to dry. Then the shapes can be planted to grow flowers or sprouted in a ziplock bag.
Between ArtCamp@Dusk, Story Time, children’s art classes, workshops, tours, lectures and art, there is always something to do at the Akron Art Museum.
Read MoreHow To: Plastic Bag Fabric
Inspired by Untitled by Alvin Demar Loving Jr.
Supplies:
Plastic bags (variety of colors, patterns)
Scissors
Irons
Parchment paper
Extras:
Sewing machine
Thread
Directions:
1. Collect plastic shopping bags. Look for interesting colors, patterns and designs.
2. Cut the plastic bags into shapes. Holding the bag taught makes it easier to cut.
3. Layer the cut pieces onto a larger shape of plastic bags. Create at least 6 layers but the more layers there are, the stronger the fabric will be.
4. Sandwich the layers between pieces of parchment paper.
5. Use a dry iron and press the layers together until they melt and fuse.
Bonus:
Make your fabric into a one-of-a-kind envelope with instructions at http://www.youaremyfave.com/2013/07/17/a-fused-plastic-bag-envelope-is-my-fave/.
Between ArtCamp@Dusk, Story Time, children’s art classes, workshops, tours, lectures and art, there is always something to do at the Akron Art Museum.
Read MoreHow To: Plastic Bottle Beads
Supplies:
Plastic bottles
Scissors
Embossing heat guns
Permanent markers
Needle nose pliers (insulated)
Extras:
String or wire
Beads
Directions:
1. Collect and rinse plastic bottles. Try experimenting with different colored plastics.
2. Carefully cut the bottles into strips, varying the width of the strips will create different size beads.
3. Decorate the strips with permanent markers creating designs, patterns, or even writing a secret message.
4. Roll up the plastic strips and hold firmly with the pliers.
5. Heat the plastic with the heat gun and watch the plastic shrink and harden. When you are finished, let the bead rest on the pliers.
Between ArtCamp@Dusk, Story Time, children’s art classes, workshops, tours, lectures and art, there is always something to do at the Akron Art Museum.
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