Picasso art projects for kids

Life is good: art is great!

In my efforts to fulfill the "teacher" part of my role as parent, I dubbed an entire week, "Great Artists Week" at our house a few weeks ago. Problem is, we've been doing so much that I haven't taken time to download pictures! Until now...

I always try to work information into our discussions and we often discuss famous artists--Van Gogh, da Vinci, Michelangelo, as well as Matisse and Monet. It is easy to see art in the everyday. Gardens, a weathered sign, fruit, animals, people waiting for a bus, trees with magnificent leaves...they've all been the subject of works and works and works of art.

But Picasso, who happens to be one of my favorite artists, has really caught the eye of our five-year old. I especially love the simplicity of his line art and adore the imperfection of his cubism works. And it's the cubism pieces that have really grabbed our big kid's attention. We've talked about how Picasso was a ground breaker with the introduction of cubism. Cubism was really unique and different for the time. For Pablo Picasso, it must have felt both exciting and daunting to show this new kind of art to people. It's been a great way to discuss the importance of listening to your heart when creating art and not trying to make your work look like anyone else's, but rather to be inventive and listen to your own creative soul. Picasso once said, "I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them." This also provided a nice segue into a conversation about not following the crowd and being an individual in all realms, not just art.

We've had a lot of fun looking at and discussing Picasso's artwork and then interpreting it into our own. I asked the big kid to draw a self portrait with sidewalk chalk. Then, I drew some lines in it to create a "cubism" effect and then he colored it in.

He really loved this and asked for me to make more "cubist" images. (What is it about boys and dragons?)

Then he wanted to do some drawings on paper with marker "like Picasso". (I love that!) Including a dinosaur, of course...

And another dinosaur...

We've talked a lot about Picasso's line drawings--about how simple they are. We talked about the lack of detail or the minimal detail and then tried our hand at some of our own.

We looked at Picasso's peace doves and discussed our role in world peace. Truly, world peace is possible. And it begins with you and me. If we create peace within our home, then go out into the world in peace--if we show peace and understanding and love to everyone we meet and then they, in turn, do the same thing, we will begin a chain reaction of peace that will flood the world with goodness, kindness, and love. It's idealistic (and I love that) and I believe, it really is possible.

So we made some peace doves. And then cut them out and made a mobile out of them! All we needed was clear fishing line and some glue stick and voila! Of course somehow, I forgot to take a photo!

I love this quote from Pablo Picasso: "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." It always breaks my heart when I hear people talk about art like it is silly or childish. I look around at the world and all I see is art. Gardens are like paint palettes. The sky, a canvas kissed by blues and white. The texture of peeling paint, the curls and twirls of a wrought iron fence, grooves from tires driven through mud, patterns of bricks and feathers and waves---all art.

Each day, I have a project or two lined up with different artists and styles, but Picasso continues to creep in.

In paintings...

 

And games, too. The big kid loves collage and wanted to do a collage "like Picasso" so we talked about this piece and how Picasso didn't always make his faces or bodies evenly distributed or look exactly like a face or body in the mirror. So the big kid drew a face, two eyes, two eyebrows, a nose, and a mouth and then cut them out. Then, we moved the pieces around like a puzzle to find the "masterpiece" in it.

 

 And then he decided on this...

You don't have to have paintings hanging in a gallery or an art degree to love art or to teach your children about art. All you need is curiosity. All you have to do is ask questions, be observant, and wonder. What do you think was the artist's inspiration? What is your favorite color in this painting? What is different about this artist's style in comparison to the other artist? Just like anything else in life, it's okay not to have all of the answers. And just like anything else in parenting, it's usually the kids that end up being the teachers! Ask your kids to talk to you about some artwork and prepare to be amazed at the observations and creativity! 

"Art is everywhere you look for it, hail the twinkling stars for they are God's careless splatters." (El Greco)

Butterfly Activities for Kids

Life is Good: we're not molting and eating it!

I often say that I feel like my children are my teachers and I am the student. They have taught me so much---of exceptional note, to live in the moment instead of constantly looking ahead to tomorrow or the next big thing. They've also taught me how exciting and wonderful the world is when you look at it through their young eyes, minds, and hearts. However, from the time I entered parenthood, I not only took on the role of mother, but I also adopted the title, "teacher". I know that with my every breath, I'm teaching them. My demeanor, my words, my actions, everything is a direct influence on who they are and who they will become. I also feel it is my responsibility to teach them about this wondrous world. So this week...it is the wonders of BUTTERFLIES!
We've been talking about nature and transformation and reading lots of books. Here are a couple of our favorites.

Ten Little Caterpillars combines a rhythm that toddlers love and facts & info to keep preschoolers engaged. I love Lois Ehlert's style and Bill Martin, Jr has written so many modern classics for kids. The Life Cycles book has tons of information. It is a bit dry for the little one, so he perused the pictures in the Critter Counting book while the big kid and I learned about how butterflies lay their eggs. One of the biggest moments of the day was the discovery that caterpillars molt (shed) their skins up to five times before it grows into its chrysalis. And often eats its own skin! EWWWWW!
We've also been making caterpillar and butterfly art like these (below) using printmaking techniques.

For the butterfly, you fold a piece of paper in half...

Then paint half of a butterfly on one side of the folded line...

After, fold the paper over on top of the painted side and smooth it...

Peel it back slowly...

And voila! You've made a butterfly "print"!

To make a caterpillar "print", we dipped the end of an empty herb container into paint and then made a series of circles, then the big kid added legs, eyes, and a smile. 

And of course, we needed some sunshine in the picture, too!

I love the face on this caterpillar...

So cheery! I guess it is not aware that it might molt and then eat its skin soon! : )

I love making art and it is my sheer joy and delight to make art with my children. I try so very hard not to influence their style and to explain the difference between "crafts" and "art". The process of exploration, experimentation, and examination of art is more important to me than the end product. However, I have never found an end product that I didn't rejoice over! If you look closely, you can always find something beautiful in a child's work!

Today was no exception. We played around and had fun. We used recycled materials (YAY!) which I hope teaches my children that they can make art anywhere and from anything. Using recycled materials encourages stretching your brain to think of alternative uses and purposes and promotes creativity. I love watching the wheels turn in these little minds. 

And those wheels are exactly how we got this...

The big kid asked if we could make a caterpillar using our hands. Of course, we can!

Upon further inspection, we decided we could make a dinosaur out of our hand!

First, we painted the bottom of our fist...

 And then our hand...

 

Looks like a dinosaur to me! A T-Rex, maybe?

 

And a Spinosaurus, too? (With the addition of fingertip "spines".)

 Not to be outdone, little brother created some prints of his own using paint, the herb container, and the end of an empty cardboard spool.

 I think it is beautiful work! 

All of this reading, learning, art making and dinosaur creating made us hungry! So we went back to butterflies...