Art Projects for Sunday Church School: Mixed Media Collage

This series of blogs about including art in the Sunday Church School will offer a variety of art techniques and ideas. Each week will focus on one medium, offering a tutorial for one project (which can be used at multiple age levels), as well as several other suggested ways to incorporate the medium in other projects. The purpose of the series is to offer Sunday Church School teachers ideas which they can keep in mind for future reference as they plan to use art in their classroom. Each technique can be applied to a variety of lessons, whether Bible stories, Church history, lessons on the Faith, etc. For the purpose of keeping it simple, the cross will be used in each illustration throughout the series.

 

Mixed media art can be used with children of all ages. It is an art form that can be very detailed and take a lot of time, or can be basic and fairly quick to complete. The materials vary according to what is available and/or what the artist wishes to incorporate into their piece. Mixed media is an art form that can be easily used in the Sunday Church School classroom, especially in collage form. Here is one example of a mixed media collage project. (This project is geared towards older children because of the many steps required to complete it.)

Cover your workspace to protect the table. Gather all of the art mediums and supplies that you wish to make available to the children, and place them in the center of the workspace. (Generally speaking, this is the point where you tell the students to use the mediums/supplies as they wish to create a piece of art reflecting whatever it is that you taught about in the lesson. This blog will show the process of creating one specific piece of mixed media art featuring an “embossed” cross on a mixed media background.)

For a project like this, first draw the focus piece (in this case, the cross) on a piece of cardstock or cardboard. Cut it out if desired.

Outline the focus piece and any details you wish to include with tacky craft glue or hot glue. (The type of glue you use is up to you: it can depend as well on the age/ability of your students and the amount of time you have for the project to dry/cool.) Set the focus piece aside, to allow the glue to dry or cool.

While the glue on the focus piece is drying/cooling, begin to decorate the background. (Students can use any type of media for this part of the project. Watercolor art is the base for this particular piece.) Paint a piece of watercolor paper with plain water. Paint over that water with different colors of watercolor paint. The colors will run together and mix on the already-wet paper.

While the paint is still wet, sprinkle salt on the paint. Set the background piece aside to dry.

When the glue on the focus piece is dry/cool, cover the entire piece with glue from a glue stick.

  

Gently place a piece of tin foil over the entire piece, wrapping the foil around to the back. (This requires a bit of careful thought if your piece is a shape, such as a cross. Cut the foil as needed to be able to wrap it around to the back.) Add a little glue stick glue to the back if desired, to hold the folded-back parts in place.

On the front side, smooth the foil down carefully with paper towel-covered fingers to avoid tearing the foil.

Use a cotton swab to push the foil against the paper at the glue ridges. Work slowly and carefully: the foil tears easily.

Use a blunt pencil to add additional details into the foil.

Rub the whole thing with dark shoe polish, let it dry for a few minutes, and then gently buff it off with a paper towel. The focus piece is now finished. Set it aside while you finish preparing the background piece.

  

Returning to the background piece, gently brush the salt off of the paper. Add scraps of other paper, stamped images, bits of fabric, or whatever is desired for the final effect.

Glue the focus piece onto the background piece and add any desired additional touches.

Your mixed media collage piece is finished!

Note: this project can be easily simplified for use with younger children. For example, the focus piece could be simply cut out of cardstock and decorated with crayon, rubber stamps, or even stamped fingerprints. The background could be decorated in a similar manner, or with swatches of colorful paper. The beauty of a mixed media collage is in its versatility: whatever you have on hand is fair game for use in whichever way the students wish to use it in their art piece!

The cross for this project was inspired by this: http://makeitawonderfullife.blogspot.com/2011/12/owls-foil-glue-and-shoe-polish.html

The watercolor ideas for this project can be found here: http://artfulparent.com/2014/04/watercolor-techniques-for-kids.html

Here are more collage links to inspire you:

http://mollymoocrafts.com/art-project-for-kids-collage/ (using paint, magazine photos, and stickers)

http://mollymoocrafts.com/art-project-for-kids-collage/ (using marker, paint, fabric, and sequins); http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/3f/0c/d5/3f0cd50ed003b06d4d362b2c0e38c0cb.jpg (this is a picture only, but shows use of fabric/lace scraps in collage)

Following are other ideas for mixed media collage:

***

Create a still life with a mixed media collage as illustrated here: http://theartclassroom1.blogspot.com/2013/05/adaptive-art-collaged-still-life.html?m=1

***

Gather pictures, color swatches, and/or letters from cereal boxes to use in your mixed media art as suggested here: http://www.carlemuseum.org/blogs/making-art/artist-michael-alberts-visit-carle

***

Glue colorful strips from magazine in parallel lines and then cover that with a negative cut-out of black paper as suggested at  http://suzyssitcom.com/2012/06/feature-friday-cut-paper-art.html

***

Start with wiggle eyes glued on paper, and allow the children to draw around them: http://www.houseofbabypiranha.com/2012/07/wiggly-eye-drawing-starter.html

***

Sew buttons onto paper and have the children draw them into some part of the Creation. http://ertoris.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/knappeblomster_26.html

Or, glue buttons on paper and allow the children to incorporate those buttons into their drawing. http://www.redtedart.com/2014/04/02/button-crafts-button-art-button-cards/

***

Stamping ideas that can be used in mixed media art:  make your own foam stamps like this: http://www.carlemuseum.org/blogs/making-art/make-your-own-foam-stamp

make prints using found materials as demonstrated here: http://www.carlemuseum.org/blogs/making-art/printing-found-materials

print with the wheels of toy vehicles as shown here: http://www.carlemuseum.org/blogs/making-art/printing-toy-trucks

make your own stamp pads for stamping as demonstrated here: http://www.carlemuseum.org/blogs/making-art/make-your-own-stamp-pads

***

Use mod-podge, paint, and paper scraps on a piece of wood to make a beautiful scripture verse wallhanging as found here: http://www.crayonfreckles.com/2013/04/mixed-media-art-for-kids-mod-podge.html

Art Projects for Sunday Church School: Using Watercolor Paints

This series of blogs about including art in the Sunday Church School will offer a variety of art techniques and ideas. Each week will focus on one medium, offering a tutorial for one project (which can be used at multiple age levels), as well as several other suggested ways to incorporate the medium in other projects. The purpose of the series is to offer Sunday Church School teachers ideas which they can keep in mind for future reference as they plan to use art in their classroom. Each technique can be applied to a variety of lessons, whether Bible stories, Church history, lessons on the Faith, etc. For the purpose of keeping it simple, the cross will be used in each illustration throughout the series.

Watercolor paints are easy for children of all ages to use. They are also inexpensive, but produce beautiful results. There are many ways in which watercolor paints can be used in the Sunday Church School classroom. Here is one of them: Create a watercolor resist with contact paper shapes and stickers.

First, cover your workspace and gather the items you will need for the resist.

Create the resist. Place stickers and/or shapes cut from contact paper onto watercolor paper, creating the desired covering. Remind the young artists that whatever they cover on the paper before they paint will resist the paint and leave a white image when it is removed.

Paint the watercolor paper completely. Be sure to paint right up to the edge/cover the resist shapes with watercolor paints. (You may want to have tissues or paper towels available in the event that color begins to pool where an artist doesn’t want it. The pool of color can be gently dabbed away.)

Allow the paint to dry.

Carefully remove the resist shapes to reveal the white paper beneath them.

Your project is finished!

The following inspired this project:

contact paper resist: http://artfulparent.com/2009/06/the-art-group-lives-again.html

stickers (or tape) resist: http://artfulparent.com/2013/12/sticker-resist-starry-night-cards.html

 

Age-related notes:

Younger children will want to use ready-made stickers or cut very simple shapes from the contact paper for their resist. Teachers of younger children can tape the children’s watercolor paper to the table cover, so that the piece does not move around as the children paint on it.

Older children can spend more time cutting more intricate resist items from the contact paper, to stick on the watercolor paper before painting. Perhaps they will want to use sticker letters to include a word or message. They may also want to use different treatments for the wet paint, such as dabbing it with a scrunched up paper towel or plastic wrap; or sprinkling it with salt or oil to add another effect to the color.

 

Following are a myriad of other ideas of ways to use watercolor paints in the Sunday Church School classroom.

***

Apply white glue in the desired shape, and, while it is still wet, cover the glue with salt. Drop watercolors (or slightly-watered-out food coloring) onto the wet, salty shapes, allowing the color to soak into the salt and mix where the colors meet. This is not a long-lasting project (because the salt dries and can easily peel off), but it is fun and pretty! http://www.cbc.ca/parents/play/view/art-science-salt-glue-watercolour-experiment or http://artfulparent.com/2012/08/watercolor-and-salt-painting-revisiting-an-old-favorite.html

***

Create a watercolor resist “stained glass” picture. Draw on a piece of watercolor paper with crayons. Paint over the drawing with watercolors. When it’s dry, “paint” the back with olive oil. When that dries, tape the “stained glass” picture to a window! http://artfulparent.com/2011/08/a-rainbow-stained-glass-window-1.html

Here is another crayon-resist watercolor project: Create watercolor resist blocks by drawing on warmed wooden blocks with crayon, then painting over the image with watercolor. http://artfulparent.com/2012/06/beautiful-art-blocks-melted-crayon-on-wood.html

***

Create your own watercolors as suggested here: http://www.learnplayimagine.com/2013/08/homemade-paint-natural-watercolors.html. This could easily be tied in with a lesson on the Creation!

***

Paint large swatches of color on paper. Sprinkle the wet paint with salt. Allow it to dry. Brush the salt off (with a paper towel or your fingers). Cut an image (snowflakes are used in this example) from a different piece of solid-colored paper to glue on top of the salted paint background. http://artprojectsforkids.org/watercolor-salt-and-snowflakes/

***

Drop vegetable oil on freshly painted watercolor images for an interesting effect. http://babbledabbledo.com/easy-art-projects-for-kids-watercolors-oil/

***

Use watercolors to paint doilies as suggested here: http://megduerksen.typepad.com/whatever/2011/02/craft-thursday.html?cid=6a00d8341c469c53ef0147e28576c3970b#comment-6a00d8341c469c53ef0147e28576c3970b or to paint coffee filters as suggested here: http://handsonaswegrow.com/watercolor-coffee-filter-flowers/ or here: http://www.pinkandgreenmama.blogspot.com/2010/12/coffee-filter-art.html#.VMK3LVWJOuY.
Once dry, the doilies and the coffee filters can then be used to create something (a garland, a flower, or a snowflake, for example).

***

Find 32 fun ways to use watercolor paints with children at http://www.howweelearn.com/easy-watercolor-painting-ideas/.

Art Projects for Sunday Church School: Using Markers

This series of blogs about including art in the Sunday Church School will offer a variety of art techniques and ideas. Each week will focus on one medium, offering a tutorial for one project (which can be used at multiple age levels), as well as several other suggested ways to incorporate the medium in other projects. The purpose of the series is to offer Sunday Church School teachers ideas which they can keep in mind for future reference as they plan to use art in their classroom. Each technique can be applied to a variety of lessons, whether Bible stories, Church history, lessons on the Faith, etc. For the purpose of keeping it simple, the cross will be used in each illustration throughout the series.

 

Markers of all sizes should be a staple in the Sunday Church School classroom. Both wide-tipped and fine-tipped washable markers are versatile for use in art projects with children of all ages. Older children can safely use permanent markers (wide, fine, and ultra-fine tips are available) as well, greatly expanding the variety of surfaces on which the art can be created.

Here is one way to use markers in the Sunday Church School classroom: create a piece of zentangle-inspired art. Zentangle is an art process that begins with basic shapes drawn in marker, overlapping each other, creating a variety of different new shapes. After that, all of the empty spaces are filled in with color or repetitive doodles. Zentangle-inspired art can be done with wide or narrow markers, depending on the skills of the artists, and only requires two basic materials: thick paper and markers. Note: depending on the degree of detail that the artists use, this project can be very time consuming. It could be completed over a period of several Sunday Church School classes.

First, draw (or trace) the main image on the paper. (Zentangle is usually drawn on 3.5” squares of paper, but zentangle-inspired art can be used for any size of paper.)

Add additional squiggles or shapes to fill up the paper.

Fill in every “hole” with repetitive doodles and/or solid blocks of color.

Your art piece is finished!

Find the answer to the question “What is a Zentangle?” here: http://tanglepatterns.com/zentangles/what-is-a-zentangle

 

Here is a link to an idea page with a free printable pdf of some basic doodle ideas, as well as many ideas of ways zentangle (at the end of the blog): http://tinyrottenpeanuts.com/zentangle-patterns-starter-sheets/

 

Here’s the blog of one parent who is using zentangle with a five-year old: http://www.whatdowedoallday.com/2014/02/zentangles-with-5-year-old.html.

***

Children of any age can use washable markers to color on coffee filters, spray with water, and watch the colors spread and mix. This is effective for a “rainy” scene or to create a colorful paper that can be used to create something else such as a butterfly as demonstrated here: http://savegreenbeinggreen.blogspot.com/2014/03/try-it-tuesday-coffee-filter-butterfly.html?&cuid=acdff711a7fea12e0459a453f73ed5ef, or a snowflake as demonstrated here: http://handmadekidsart.com/how-to-make-a-snowflake/

***

Tie markers together with rubber bands to make multiple lines at the same time, as illustrated here: http://www.learnwithplayathome.com/2012/07/drawing-in-bunches.html?m=0

***

Create an object lesson about the beauty of the individual being greatly enhanced in the context of a group, as this teacher discussed with her class, and then use permanent markers on clear plastic cups, baked and shrunk to create “glass” as mentioned here: http://alexisanneart.blogspot.com/2012/02/5th-grade-dale-chihuly-installation.html

***

Create colorful coasters with plain white tiles, permanent markers, rubbing alcohol, and a sealant as demonstrated here: http://blog.sharpie.com/2013/04/coasting-into-spring/

***

Sunday Church School students can collaborate on a group project, each using markers to create one (or more) square(s) of a grid. When put together, this grid will create a piece of art (in this case, a face). http://mseatonsart.blogspot.in/2012/11/this-lesson-originally-came-from.html

***

Permanent marker on cotton fabric (tshirts or socks work well), with rubbing alcohol dripped onto it, creates a tie-dye effect as demonstrated here:  http://blog.intellidance.ca/blog/4-22-2012/simple-tie-dye-using-sharpies.

***

Make beautiful “embossed tin” art with aluminum and permanent marker, as demonstrated here: http://babbledabbledo.com/art-ideas-for-kids-embossed-tin-art/

***

Art projects for Sunday Church School: Chalk

This series of blogs about including art in the Sunday Church School will offer a variety of art techniques and ideas. Each week will focus on one medium, offering a tutorial for one project (which can be used at multiple age levels), as well as several other suggested ways to incorporate the medium in other projects. The purpose of the series is to offer Sunday Church School teachers ideas which they can keep in mind for future reference as they plan to use art in their classroom. Each technique can be applied to a variety of lessons, whether Bible stories, Church history, lessons on the Faith, etc. For the purpose of keeping it simple, the cross will be used in each illustration throughout the series.

Chalk is a little-used, but versatile, bright and beautiful medium for children of all ages to use for art. It is fairly inexpensive and can be used on paper, chalkboards, or sidewalks, depending on how permanent the art piece is desired to be. Here is one way to use chalk in the Sunday Church School class: glue-resist chalk drawing. Note: this is a 2 week project, since the glue needs to dry before the coloring begins.

Cover the work area with newspaper, to protect the table from glue and/or chalk. Select a sturdy paper for the base of the project. White or black paper will make the chalk colors really “pop.”

Have your students draw with glue on the paper. (You can use white, black, or colored glue on white paper: and white glue on black paper) Encourage the students to draw large shapes; not small details (they can be added later with chalk), because the glue may run/pool.

Allow the drawing to dry.

When it is completely dry (at the next week of Sunday Church School), color the spaces between the glue with chalk. This can be done in several ways: coloring with pieces of chalk; or coloring with chalk and then blending the colors with fingers or cotton swabs (demonstrated); or using fingers to spread colored chalk powder (pulverized chalk) in the spaces and perhaps even over the glue, if desired. You can use slender chalk (like teachers used on blackboards long ago) or sidewalk chalk: either comes in many bright colors! Note: provide dry paper towels for the students to wipe the chalk dust off their fingers between colors.

Lightly spray the finished results with chalk fixative or fine-spraying hairspray to keep the chalk from rubbing off.

Your project is finished!

Here are links to similar projects: http://totschool.shannons.org/glue-paint-and-chalk-pastels/ used colored glue; and http://missartypants.blogspot.com/2013/10/stained-glass-windows.html uses white glue on black paper.

Following are many other ideas of ways to use chalk for art projects with children:

***

“Paint” with chalk! This link recommends this method for preschoolers, but suggests that kids of all ages would enjoy it, as well. What’s NOT to like about painting water all over a piece of black (or white) paper and then drawing on it with chalk? The colors left behind are vivid; and can even be smeared with fingers (like finger paint) to blend them. http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/46190/painting-with-chalk-and-water

***

Allow your students to use chalk to draw on the sidewalks outside of your church, to help parishioners see what you’ve been learning about! Here’s a suggestion for a variation on drawing with sidewalk chalk: draw, and then paint/sprinkle over the drawing with water! http://www.mykidsadventures.com/chalk-plus-water-art/

***

Do you have tiny nubs of chalk that you don’t know how to use? Separate them by color and crush them. Allow your Sunday Church School students to “draw” with glue and sprinkle the chalk powder on the wet glue. Spray with hairspray to affix. (Inspired by http://www.savvysource.com/activities/activity_b786_crushed-chalk-art-work.)

***

Draw or paint with chalk onto sandpaper as suggested in the first two methods listed here: http://www.blogmemom.com/art-activities-for-kids-sand-paper-art13169/

***

Soak sidewalk chalk in a water-sugar mixture for brighter drawings that don’t rub off so easily as dry chalk drawings: http://mom.me/toddler/12637-kid-talk-wet-chalk-art/

***

Trace around a stencil with chalk. Smudge the chalk line away from the stencil shape with a cotton ball for a “glowing” effect: http://buggyandbuddy.com/crafts-kids-chalk-stencil-heart-collage/ or http://buggyandbuddy.com/christmas-light-chalk-stencil-art-kids/

***

Here are a variety of uses for sidewalk chalk, indoors or outside: http://www.brighthubeducation.com/preschool-crafts-activities/113203-eleven-sidewalk-chalk-activities-for-indoors-and-outdoors/. Although it is suggested for preschoolers, many of these would work for a variety of ages of students.

***