Tag: kids art classes

Designing fonts  – week one

Designing fonts – week one

The theme for this term’s classes is text. Artists have used text in a wide variety of ways, and not always legibly. Think of Picasso’s use of newspapers in his collages, or Michaux’s development of asemic writing (week 2). Of course then there is illustration which uses text as the inspiration and comic books which marry words and images to create something else. We will look at all these are more during this term. For our first session we focused on inventing our…

transfer dyes – good for bags, t-shirts etc.

transfer dyes – good for bags, t-shirts etc.

Over two weeks (along with hat making – see my next post) the kids have been working with iron-on transfer dyes, also called disperse dyes. Here you paint onto paper and when it is dry you can iron what you’ve painted onto fabric. This is a great technique to play with as you do not have to simply transfer what you paint, you can cut it up, and mask areas when you are transferring – very much like printing. The first step is…

weaving – with wool, fabric, ribbons, threads…

weaving – with wool, fabric, ribbons, threads…

This week we made our own looms out of cardboard (cut along two edges with pinking shears) and used them to weave amazing patterns using wool, fabric, threads, ribbons – all sorts! The colours the kids combined were fantastic. This activity suits those who like to work slowly – really getting into the zone – rather than those who are easily  bored with repetitive activities. It’s also one for those who like working with different textures – all the results are just begging…

Needle felting – 2d and 3d

Needle felting – 2d and 3d

This week everyone did a lot of stabbing – though of course not themselves or each other. Needle felting works by repeatedly stabbing the fleece with a special, barbed felting needle. This mats the fibres together and the felt gradually takes on a shape or form. You can do this 2d on top of pre-felt (semi felted fabric) or 3d to make small forms (most made animals). Be careful to do the stabbing on top of a large sponge and be careful always…

Easy batik with glue!

Easy batik with glue!

This week we used glue instead of hot wax to form a resist against the acrylic paint. Originating in Indonesia, in batik  hot wax would be poured on using a tjanting (a kind of tiny pot on a stick with a hole in the bottom). Then when the wax is dry and hard paint is applied onto the material and it won’t go wherever the wax is. You can build up layers this way, and whatever colour is beneath the wax will be…

Paper clay – parts 1+2

Paper clay – parts 1+2

These two weeks we were busy with paper clay sculptures. Paper clay is a kind of paper mache, but the paper is mulched first before applying to the armature. I used this recipe from Jonni Good and it worked really well. The first step is to create the armature. What worked best was cardboard and scrunched up newspaper (careful to scrunch up the newspaper as tight as you can)  but wire is also possible. Its really important that the sculpture is as tight…

Half term arty fun!

Half term arty fun!

This half term we had another eclectic mix of activities on offer. The sculpture activities seemed particularly popular – including making abstract sculptures out of bike parts, more delicate sculptures out of wet toilet paper (surprisingly able to hold a shape) and of course many varied and imaginative cardboard creations! This time we also had a few bold children embarking on a 3-day project in which a small group designed and constructed a fish tank, complete with a futuristic city inside – called…

Exploring paper weaving

Exploring paper weaving

This week I showed the kids some basic, and some more complex, ways of weaving with paper. With help from Naomi Kendall, who provided this helpful post on the subject, we made some beautiful designs,  using both strips of coloured paper and strips of magazines to make some v beautiful patterns. Of course, you don’t need to keep to the regular patterns I demonstrated. Some adventurous children deviated from the patterns with strips of different widths, as well as colours which did not…

Marvel at our marbling!

Marvel at our marbling!

Exciting this week as the kids tried their hands at marbling – with some always unexpected, beautiful results. Marbling is an ancient technique of paper decoration, in which paint is dropped into the ‘size’ which is water thickened with a special powder. (traditionally a type of seaweed). Because of this thickener the paint sits on top of the surface of the water and from there it’s possible to take a print. Before you do that though you can manipulate the paint on the…