Dirty Pour is an acrylic art technique that allows one to pour multiple colors into a cup and then pour the cup over a canvas and then tilt and swirl the canvas around until the art takes shape. It’s a very fun cathartic and exciting artwork art form that I have thoroughly enjoyed learning, creating and teaching other people.
I have recently rediscovered the simple, easy and cheap beauty of a salt dough recipe. And the best part is, it keeps kids entertained for hours! Literally! It’s such a small fun thing and you can do so much with it.
I remember making a glass jar topper with salt dough and some kind of gummy chewie things on top that we sealed with shellac and put candy inside of. Only once the candy was gone, I started secretly picking off the gummies on top and eating them. Shellac and all. Amazing all the stupid things we did as a kid that people think NOW would kill us.
Many times as parents/adults we want our kids to create something “Beautiful”. We have forgotten about honoring the process children go through to create their works of art.
At one point in time, Picasso’s art work was considered “crap”. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We want our kids to make these beautiful pieces of art that we can proudly post on our walls, on the fridge, in our offices at work but we spend too much time looking for perfection and not for HOW your child arrived at their proud works of art.
Paper mache has been around for decades. The process is basically the same but the materials have shifted a bit with each generation.
When I was a kid we used flour and water and newspapers to cover our creations. My hands were goopy and gross and the texture and smell bothered me. As I became an adult I learned from another art teacher to use Liquid starch. Easy to get at the dollar store and cheap too!
What do a child’s incisor, 15 bottles of alcohol ink, and 3 rolls of paper towels have to do with summer art camp?
Well, let me tell you… This week was week one of my summer art camp. 9 kids, 2 teachers, and one co-teacher, 4 tables socially distanced around my living room, 14 chairs and the AC set to 66 (were in Texas Y’all what do you want from me?)