Learn how to paint these gorgeous rainbow leaves with this simple watercolor tutorial!
All summer long in the studio, my staff and I have been going live on our studio facebook page with little lessons and art ideas for home. My most recent video is seriously a combination of my favorite things: It’s watercolors. It’s botanicals. It’s loose and gestural. AND it’s rainbow!
If you want to learn a simple watercolor technique to paint leaves (either in rainbow OR in the more traditional green color), definitely check out below.
Here’s another art invitation for sculpture lessons; this one uses WIRE! (The best part?! 100% of the supplies for this wire sculpture project for preschoolers can be purchased at the dollar store.)
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What is an “art invitation”?
Simply put, an invitation is a set of materials offered to the students where there is no end product in mind and no wrong way to explore and use the supplies. I like to think of an invitation as a challenge for the kids and a surprise for me!
Setting up your sculpture invitation
Curb appeal matters for art invitations. They have to be inviting, right? So, clear the table, get out an art tray, fill the pretty containers, and set-up a work station for your artist.
The wire can be any easy-to-bend aluminium wire. Just make sure the thickness of your wire and the hole size of your beads match up. This is the wire we use in the studio. and even pipe cleaners from the dollar store works well too. Cut your wire into pieces about 8-12 inches long; you’ll need 4-8 pieces per kiddo.
Beads
Any beads you have around the house will work as long as they thread on your wire. We use from Discount School Supply. Dollar store work too!
The base of your sculpture can be clay, playdough, salt dough, or even a rock. The clay or playdough is my favorite. This year, Miss Sam offered rocks as a base and it definitely added a new challenge.
In the studio, we usually have a GROUP of young artists working with wire so we all wear safety goggles to protect our eyeballs. Our students love them; these are the ones we have.
Making Your Wire Sculpture with Your Preschoolers
Using the supplies provided, artists can create their sculptures.
I love teaching side-by-side. You may want to model some of these skills:
Looping the wire with both ends stuck to the base
Twisting two pieces of wire together
Coiling the wire around your finger (or a pencil)
Creating recognizable shapes from the wire
Securing a bead to the end of your wire (so the rest of the beads don’t slide off)
Finishing your Wire Sculpture
If your artist wants to keep his/her artwork, I suggest you keep it on paper plate or piece of cardboard until the dough/clay dries.
That said, not all art needs to be kept. Especially process art like this!
It’s perfectly okay to deconstruct your sculpture when you’re done. Put all the beads back in their container, straighten out the wires, and save your clay/dough in an air-tight container. This way, you can offer the same invitation another day!
Have you ever tried wire sculpture with your young artists?
Glue guns for ALL! I love our low-temp hot glue guns that we have in the studio. So I will proudly allow most all ages use them because hot glue guns for kids is a game-changer.
Why? Well, for a couple reasons:
One, because they are an incredible tool for building. Sometimes, hot glue is SERIOUSLY the only thing that’s going to get the job done.
Cardboard Unicorn Craft made with hot glue
And, two, I love them…because they are slightly dangerous.
Risky, slightly dangerous situations provide important learning opportunities AND they create interest and excitement. Accomplishing (conquering!) that dangerous situation builds confidence. Children learn about their own abilities and sensibilities.
In the studio–whether its glue guns or power tools or hot wax for kids–we always review the safety instructions. And, we never make a student use something that he or she is uncomfortable using. But, given the opportunity and the proper guidance, you might be surprised what these young people are capable of!
