Paper and Glue Rubbing Plates

February 11th, 2021

One of our favorite tools to use in the Art Studio are rubbing plates. We’ve made several posts about making them with natural materials, manufactured materials, and materials from around your home. But to use them in the Art Studio during the pandemic, we had to think of a new way to create rubbing plates. We needed to make rubbing plates that could be single-use and fit the safety protocols for the Art Studio- something that all educators are balancing during the pandemic. To make them more sustainable, we determined that the plates had to be durable yet paper-based, and something that folks could take home. In thinking back on a previous toddler program, we realized that we had a solution, using only liquid glue, and sturdy paper! READ MORE

Inspired by the Small Things

January 18th, 2021

While prepping supplies in the Art Studio, there are often a lot of small pieces that are left behind. Small scraps of paper become large piles as we cut and hole punch materials for our Every Day Art Projects. And the more time we spend looking at them, even the smallest scrap becomes inspiration for art-making. This blog post will share some of the scraps we have been saving, and how they can be used for art-making. READ MORE

Painting with Found Materials

November 18th, 2020

When thinking about creating a painting project during a pandemic, we thought about all the different ways you can paint without a paintbrush using every day materials that you can find at home. We were inspired by one of Eric Carle’s artistic processes, where he paints tissue papers to later use in collages. While he uses a paintbrush to paint, he has also used found materials to make marks including carpet squares and brooms. Inspired by how materials can be stamped, pulled, and pushed across the paper, we decided to create a project that allowed for color-mixing and painting with found objects. READ MORE

In Celebration of Paint

November 14th, 2020

When we talk with educators and caregivers about paint, there can be many complex reactions to the medium. Paint is one of the most popular materials for guests of all ages. Vibrant colors, blending new colors, and making marks immediately on a surface makes paint very exciting to work with. But with this medium, there can be stress around how educators or caregivers manage the material. Paint can easily be transferred to other surfaces in a home setting or classroom that can add more time to cleaning up and stress if it stains. When compared to drawing and collage, paint explorations can require more planning. In this post, we’ll explore how we’ve thought through the set-up and selection of tools and materials in advance to allow children the opportunity to explore the medium in a self-directed way, while making it manageable for educators and caregivers who are balancing a lot of factors all at once. READ MORE

Collage Storytime

October 19th, 2020

During the past several months, we have been developing our virtual art-making programs and asking ourselves how we can continue to explore stories and materials with school and community groups when we aren’t working with them in-person. In this post we will share how we developed a multi-sensory, virtual story time with the goal of inspiring collage-making at home and in the classroom. READ MORE